Are American teachers really so poorly paid?

Question

Why is that so? Teachers should be paid really well. They could form a huge union, demand better salaries, have their own retirement pension plans (like in Ontario, Canada).

Answer 1

I have been teaching for 7 years now. I am finally over the $50,000 mark. I also have a master's degree, which helped me get there. Each year, thanks to our union, I do receive a raise. It is basically a cost of living raise. We are lucky in that respect. If we would like to see a bigger raise, we must continue our education. Even then there is a limit on what we can do. Once you have so many hours in at a college you can't make any more money. However, because of NCLB, we have to continue to take classes and professional development in order to continue teaching...usually with NO reimbursement. So basically we end up spending a lot of money each year just so we can continue doing our jobs. How many other professions out there require this??????

As for it being a low-stress job that we get paid for year round, that is WRONG!!!!! Teaching is extremely stressful...we worry about our students day and night, take our work home with us constantly, do extra things for the district we do not get paid for...I could go on and on. Our salary is based on 9 months of work for 7.5 hours each day. Anything we do above and beyond we do not get paid for doing. While some of us do receive a paycheck all year, we choose to do this so that we have a paycheck all year. Otherwise we would not get a paycheck during the summer.

Am I happy with what I do? Absolutely. I wouldn't do anything else. I don't teach for the money. That is not what it is about. I think teachers are valued at some level, but we don't have to show that as a society through a paycheck. If, as a society, we want to show our teachers that we value what they do then we need to take steps at home and teach our kids the value of an education. Too many students walk into my classroom each day unprepared to learn--they do not have supplies, homework completed, or a good attitude. That all has to come from home. Teach your children to treat school as their job and teach them to have respect for other adults. Have consequences for your children when they do not do their job. As adults we have consequence--we loose our jobs. Obviously we do not have the right to 'fire' kids from school, but we do owe them the chance to get a great education. That can't occur if you have a classroom full of children that do not want to be there. I know, I know...most kids don't like going to school, but we need to teach our kids at home that school is important.

I will get off my soapbox now. I was just replying to some of the comments I had read on here and got a little carried away. But education is VERY important to me and I have chosen to make it my life's work. And I will never, EVER, regret that decision.

Answer 2

We already have teachers' unions in the US, and here in Denver, anyway, teachers have an awesome pension plan. It's really not that they are paid so very terribly; it's that many people, including me, feel that they should be receiving salaries comparable to those of doctors and lawyers for what they do. Entry-level teachers in Denver make about $30K a year, which is about what an admin. assistant makes. You can live on it, but it's tough. Older teachers, however, do reasonably well. My mom is due to retire in about 5 years and she's pulling about $50K a year, even though after taxes and the involuntary contribution to the pension, it's more like $36K.

Denver has had a couple of teacher strikes in its history to demand better pay, cost-of-living increases, etc. The most recent one was about 10 years ago. My mom went ahead and crossed the picket lines, though, because she felt that the kids inside waiting to be taught was a tad more important than money.

Answer 3

Look at the performance of college students going into graduate school. Those who majored in education are among the lowest scoring on the GRE and other graduate exams.

College students know where the pay is, and it's not in teaching.

I took a 50% pay cut when I went from being a full-time Army officer to being a teacher. If I had stayed in the Army I could have retired five years ago after earning $9000 month and enjoyed a high retirement pay with full lifetime medical benefits. I changed because I enjoyed teaching more. We do have unions, pension plans, and medical benefits, but the best benefit is job satisfaction.

If you want smarter teachers, pay them more.

Many of us work part time at other jobs and find summer employment to be able to support our families. If we were paid more, we could spend more time and attention on our students.

If you want smarter students, pay teachers more.

Answer 4

The range of salaries for teachers in the USA is extreme. I believe the lowest starting salary is in South Dakota (around $22k a year), to some states where it maybe $40K a year. Some states have good pension plans others don't. Some school districts have good health plans, others don't. It all depends where you live. One of the problems is that a large group of people believe teachers are overpaid and that teachers only work 8 months a year. They ignore the time before and after school, the time during the summer etc., all the money teachers put into their school district. For my wife's first teaching job, to make her room usable, we had to buy window shades, shelves, file cabinets, and paint her room. No one reimbursed us for that. I spent on average $600 a year for supplies for my room. Oh by the way, the private school usually pay less and have fewer benefits.

Answer 5

Depends on which state and which school district. The higher the teacher's credentials, the more he/she will get paid. Most teachers start out with their teaching certification then go back to school and earn their master's degree and make more money that way. As was stated earlier, national board certification helps with the pay too. There are teacher unions and retirement plans (STRS here in Ohio)

Answer 6

Lots of misinformation in the answers here. I'll try to answer with some links so you can see for yourself.

When some say that the rate for paying teachers is fine or too much, they are not taking into account the level of education needed to be a teacher. When you take your teaching job, you are signing up to be a learner forever. I will give my answer using an example of people who have earned a Master's degree.

Salary.com lists average Master's level career salary at 53,000 in 2003.

http://www.salary.com/learning/layouthtmls/leal_display_nocat_Ser285_Par409.html

Us Department of Labor lists average teacher salary in 03/04 as 46, 597.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos069.htm

My district pays an extra $584 for having a Masters degree.

http://certificated.lausd.k12.ca.us/Research/documents/salarytables/ttableannual.pdf

We do get paid significantly less than our peers with the same amount of schooling. The argument about time off is one that is always brought up. You cannot get another job as you will only be available for 2 months. Some teacher do pick up extra money by working summer school, or have smallish jobs. I know of a teacher with a doctorate that works retail during summers. (talk about overqualified)

Finding that extra work is nice, but as I said before most will not have time to do this. Classes are constant. I have taken classes the last two summers. What other career expects you to keep up your schooling? What other carrer expects you to do the bulk of your work outside the time constraints of the class? (teaching is fun, but most of my work is paperwork, grading and planning)

Not one of my lawyer friends have to buy office supplies on their own. every teacher I know spends out of his/her own pocket.

One thing never brought into the discussion is the social security offset. Many states reduce or deny any amount you might get from social security because teachers have a state system. Many who come to the career as a second career, lose all benefits they might have built up previously. It is not a salary for life as another put it.

Stress: I laughed when I read the poster who said it is a low stress career. The CDC listed it as the most stressful career!

http://www.cdc.gov/ulcer/myth.htm


good luck to all!

Answer 7

Pay depends on school districts and on school taxes, which pay for public schools, maintenance, salaries, and everything else school.

I live where I do because the public school is consistently in the nation's top 20. School taxes are high (surprise!) at $23.65 per $1000 valuation. The buildings and facilities are fine, but nothing lavish or exceptional.

The teachers, however, *are* exceptional, and exceptionally well-paid, with a median salary over $50,000. Every student, from AP to special needs, is likely to have several teachers who could be addressed as "Dr. _____" after earning the PhD. in their specialty.

Answer 8

LOL THey HAVE a huge union... Teachers aren't highly paid because they aren't valued in society and also they are paid through taxes... Also, I think teachers have played the poor sap so long no one cares anymore. Only way to make more is to keep going to school and getting better degrees for increases... That and National Certification helps in many areas....

Answer 9

There are already teacher's unions and pension plans in the US too. Some are well paid, some are not.

Answer 10

To those of you who think teaching is easy & low stress - teach a class of 20-30 kids with every learning level, immigrants with little English knowledge, parents who are hyper-concerned & contacting you over every little thing, parents who couldn't care less, kids who come to school dirty & neglected day after day, kids who have so many after-school activities they don't have time for homework, the list goes on & on. Then you are expected to have all these kids performing on grade level on a test in the spring so your school meets Adequate Yearly Progress for the No Child Left Behind requirements every year. All this for 30k a year if you live in a well-paid area. How many of you are studying to become teachers because it's a low-stress, high-paying occupation?

You have to love it to do it.