Unfair Compensation for Teachers
In the recent days, Kentucky teachers state wide have been protesting their dropping wages, the loss of benefits, and unused sick days. The unrest of teachers is consistent across the country, not just in the state of Kentucky. Generally, public school teachers are underpaid for the amount of work they do, especially compared to other jobs that require the same amount of work. Jobs that require similar amounts of work include: accountants, registered nurses, computer programmers, and clergy members. The average salary for a teacher is $56,471 annually. The average pay from the jobs similar to teaching is about $11,000 more than teachers (“Teacher Salaries”). Therefore teachers must be paid more for the workload they carry and the amount of extra work they complete.
The average teacher’s salary is significantly less than occupations similar. Inflation also affects how teachers are paid. Due to this, salary has decreased from $1164 in 1996 to $1137 in 2017 (“The Teacher Pay Penalty”). This shows how teachers salaries are no longer reasonably sustainable since the price of living has gone up, but their wages have stayed the same. The increased price of living also affects what else they are able to pay for. Inflated prices with an unmoving salary causes problems when trying to pay for life necessities. Things other than the most basic needs are seldom purchased. For example, many teachers are unable to pay off student loans because they have to pay for basic living necessities. The stress of the debt hanging over their heads causes them to be distracted, which can cause them to not focus on their work as well. Disparity in the job also is a major issue in this job field. Disparity is where the job meaning does not match the job pay. Teachers work is extremely meaningful. If there were not people who taught there would not be any literate people. There would not be any doctors, emergency response people, or any other professions because you have to be taught how to do everything and information to perform work tasks. Disparity causes many teachers to find jobs in other occupations (“Why Doesn’t”). Teachers are also only paid for seven hour work days, when they truly work more than seven hours a day. Overall inflation and disparity cause teachers distress and forces them out of their job field; proving that teachers must be paid more.
Teachers should also be paid more solely for the amount of time they invest into their job and students. They typically arrive before and stay after their allotted paid work day. They then spend after school hours grading papers, reviewing curriculum, attending committees, reviewing class records, and entering grades into the grade book (“Kiser”). Similarly, in the summer they have to invest even more time in inservice. This takes away time from their families and time away from the second job a majority of them have to make ends meet. On average, one in five teachers have a secondary job (“How Many Hours”). Considering how many teachers there are, that is an extremely high number of teachers to have to work two jobs. To continue, teachers are in high demand.
Even though teachers are in high demand, the salary wage is still drastically lower than what high demand jobs are normally given. The average pay for a registered nurse, which has the same workload as a teacher, is roughly $69,000 (“PayScale”). This is a logical example of how high demand jobs of importance are usually paid better, unless it’s a teaching position. Ironically, similar positions such as nursing are taught by teachers, but nurses are paid more than teachers. Without teachers all other professions would die out. No one would be able to learn anything.
Without sustainable pay, the quality of teacher decreases. Many do not want to stay in a field where they do not get paid well for the immense amount of time and effort they put forth. Teacher quality directly correlates to student success (“What Is Teacher”). Teacher efficacy is a major component to student success. Based on studies, “Teacher efficacy is when a teacher believes in their own ability to guide their students to success”. Without this the quality of learning and success in the classroom would drastically decrease. If the teacher half does the job then the student is only being half taught.
The job also involves the regulation of the teacher in the classroom. They are directly managed by the administration and the school system they work under. One example of this is when the administration requests to see all lesson plans at least two weeks in advance. This shows how teachers can be micromanaged. More often than not when an issue arises the parent and child are always considered correct, and the teacher is blamed (“Kiser”). Unfortunately this is one of the major cons that drives people away from the profession. They have to put up with a lot of situations that are unnecessary. Many behavioral issues fall onto the teachers. Some parents rely on the teacher to discipline the child, when that is not in the teachers pay range, or legal in most places. Teachers need to be paid more since they have to deal with unruly parents and children.
Teachers make a huge impact on their students’ lives. Teachers spend at least seven hours a day with their students and influence them heavily. One teacher states, “I love the kids and the connections I make with them. Being PE, I see them from Kindergarten through 5th grade so I get to watch them grow. I keep in touch with many former students”(“Lewis”). This shows how students and teachers impact each other. Teachers help students with personal and academic problems. Teachers and students also form bonds. Teachers watch the students grow throughout the year and the student looks to the teacher for guidance. Therefore teachers should get paid more since they are used as both teachers and mentors to many of their students.
To become a teacher, a lot of education is required. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree is required to teach. Some even chose to get a master’s degree, or even a doctorate. They spend many hours studying and learning how to educate only to be rewarded with mediocre pay at best (“McMahan”). Along with all of the studying and test taking, the soon to be teachers get to student teach. Student teachers are unpaid interns. Most other professions pay their interns. This shows how you must have a passion for teaching because your efforts will not be monetarily compensated when they should be.
In contradiction to the argument of teachers being paid more, some believe that teachers do not need to be paid any higher. Some parents view teaching as a profession that is similar to a babysitter (“Kiser”). This is not true because without teachers no one would really know any information because teachers wouldn’t be around to teach. Perhaps if they were babysitters for that many students they would be able to make a more comfortable living salary. Many believe that teachers are paid well since they do not work summers. On average most teachers actually work between 12-16 hours a day (“How Many Hours”). This includes the seven hour school day and then all the other miscellaneous things they do to keep their classroom and students in order. It is true that public schools do not take place during the summer, but that shouldn’t reflect on the quality of work that teachers provide.
In response to the statement that teachers do not need to be paid more, there is the fact that teachers are not paid for the days in the summer. It only appears that way because the annual salary is divided by all 12 months instead of just the nine to ten months they do (“How Many Hours”). Teachers are not paid to the full extent that they should.
In conclusion, teachers should be paid significantly more for the work they do and influence they have on students. Overall people should realize that teachers should be compensated for the amount of work and time they put in to even get into the job field and to keep their jobs.
Works Cited
Kiser, Rodney. Personal Interview. 2 Feb. 2019.
Lewis, Kenny. Personal Interview. 2 Feb. 2019.
McMahan, Judy. Personal Interview. 2 Feb. 2019.
Murray, Corey, et al. “How Many Hours Do Educators Actually Work?” Technology Solutions That Drive Education, 5 Aug. 2013, edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/08/how-many-hours-do-educators-actually-work.
“Teacher Salaries in America.” Niche, Niche, www.niche.com/blog/teacher-salaries-in-america/.
“The Teacher Pay Penalty Has Hit a New High: Trends in the Teacher Wage and Compensation Gaps through 2017.” Economic Policy Institute, www.epi.org/publication/teacher-pay-gap-2018/.
“What Is Teacher Efficacy and How Leaders Can Improve It.” Concordia University-Portland, 5 June 2018, education.cu-portland.edu/blog/curriculum-teaching-strategies/improve-teacher-efficacy/.
Will, Madeline. “To Make Ends Meet, 1 in 5 Teachers Have Second Jobs.” Education Week, Editorial Project in Education, 29 June 2018, www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/06/19/to-make-ends-meet-1-in-5.html.
“Why Doesn't Society Pay Teachers What They Are Worth?” Ecologist Salary, www.payscale.com/data-packages/most-and-least-meaningful-jobs/teacher-pay-versus-job-meaning.