Something Must Be Done About Those High Paid Teachers

[KathleenElsie]

Actually, kids don’t have to go to school. They can be homeschooled. So, compulsory education, yes, in a way, but the parents can have control, if they choose, in homeschooling. ALL children deserve some sort of education, though, and I am thrilled that our government forces parents to make sure they get one…even if minimally.

Homeschooling is regulated state by state and district by district. But the fact remains that those of us that choose to homeschool, for whatever reason, pay taxes and for all of our supplies. We sacrifice, yes sacrifice, the income that the non-working parent could be earning to teach our children.

In my opinion all children deserve the best education we can give them and just any education is doing the children an injustice.

 

[boppaid]

Homeschooling is regulated state by state and district by district. But the fact remains that those of us that choose to homeschool, for whatever reason, pay taxes and for all of our supplies. We sacrifice, yes sacrifice, the income that the non-working parent could be earning to teach our children.

I see what your saying. However, if you take away using tax money to educate children, then how do the children get educated who have parents that don’t take care of it for them? In other words, lets say that our govt says there are no mandatory taxes toward education. That may be fine for Sally, Bob, and Tammy, who’s parents either homeschool or send them to Catholic School. But what about Tommy, who’s parents could give a hoot about his education? Why should he be punished for his parents ignorance or arrogance? If our society can afford to educate all children, I think it is our responsibility to do so, to the best of our ability.

And don’t forget…you CHOOSE to homeschool. No one is forcing you to. There is education available to your children that doesn’t require you to sacrifice a 2nd income. Obviously you are not happy with what is provided by our government, though, and you choose something different. That is certainly your perogative, but no one is making you do that. YKWIM?

In my opinion all children deserve the best education we can give them and just any education is doing the children an injustice.

Absolutely. And for many childrne, the public education is the best they can hope for…even if it’s not the best.

Let me add, though, that not all public schools are bad. I LOVE the public school system my son is in!

 

[mommyof4]

Absolutely. And for many childrne, the public education is the best they can hope for…even if it’s not the best.

Let me add, though, that not all public schools are bad. I LOVE the public school system my son is in!

Thank you for the acknowledgement that not all of us public school teachers are worthless!

 

[boppaid]

Thank you for the acknowledgement that not all of us public school teachers are worthless!

No…I’m all for public schools! In fact, I work in the public schools!

 

[CCM08]

Are all public schools worthless? The answer is no, but the majority certainly are. American schools spend more per child than any other country in the world and yet American students when compared to the counter parts in the industrialized world are coming out on bottom. Even when the comparsion state is a poorer industrialized state in central and eastern Europe.

Are private schools better than public schools? The data certainly shows they are. If nothing else for the simple reason that the children attending private schools have parents that care enough about the education to pay for it, and as they are paying for it actually have some influence. As compared with public schools, which are government agents, are quite open about the fact that what parents think is towards the bottom of a long list of worries.

Are public school teachers over paid? Frankly yes they are. When my uncle retired from Jefferson county schools he was a vice prinicpal earning over $90,000 a year for a work day of about 5hours. The average starting salary for a teacher in Washington state is $31,000 a year. That’s actually higher than the starting salary in the private market. Let’s look at the perks package teachers get:

1.Three months summer vacation (few jobs will ever give you three months of vacation let alone to start)

2.Two weeks at Christmas, a week “mid-winter break,” and another week spring break. (four those of us not counting that’s four months of vacation)

3.Government employees benefits package

4.Every weekend and federal holiday off no matter what. A bank can’t even off that anymore

5.A job that requires no manual labor

6.Significant amounts of sick and other types of leave

7.Rabid teacher’s union job protection ensuring employment regardless of gross imcompetence and/or molesting the kids.

What teaching lacks in bring home pay down the line of a career it more than makes up for in perks. When teachers complain about pay what you’re really hearing is “I’m jealous of my peers that went into the private market and now earn more than I do because I now regret having gone in for the perks package teaching offered.” It’s not unlike people that move to southern Californa for the climate and later come to regret it because they no longer wish to pay that “sunshine tax.”

 

[melensdad]

The teachers in our public school district make a decent wage. A first year teacher makes about $30,000 here. Not a lot, but more than a beginner in my company makes.

High School teachers in our town (population 9000) is about $30,000 as a starting salary. Health insurance cost $1.00 per year (seriously, just 1 penny over 99 cents). They also get a retirement plan.

Highly experienced teachers, who are involved with extra curricular events, lots of seniority, etc might be closer to $45,000.

Pay at other jobs in the area is comparable to a teacher’s pay, perhaps a bit higher. But no private company gives the health benefits the teachers get. My health coverage from my job costs me about $50 per week, it covers me and my daughter. My wife takes the school policy for $1 per year for her, but it costs more to cover the rest of the family through the school policy.

The Catholic School teachers make about 1/3 less than the public school teachers. But the Catholic school teachers put up with less “garbage” than the public school teachers. Most Catholic school students have parents who care about their kids, and their kid’s educations; that cannot always be said about public school parents/kids.

 

[goofyjim]

If we are going to complain about high paid teachers what about the overpaid politicians, and that includes all of them. I show no favorites.

 

[Teelynn]

I know, I am very late in this discussion. My son is a teacher in the public school system. So is my daughter in law. They have 3 children. Together, they gross about 65,000 yearly. They DO NOT get paid for summers “off”. They can choose to stretch their pay throughout the summer months, however, when they do that of course it drastically reduces their bi-monthly income. They put in 9 to 10 hour days AT SCHOOL, AND NOT COUNTING THE WORK THEY BRING HOME. There are REQUIRED MEETINGS DAILY THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR AND EVEN AFTER SCHOOL IS NO LONGER IN SESSION. They also use some of their own money for school supplies as the district will not supply EVEN SOMETIMES BASIC NECESSITIES for the kids. If they want to include their family on the school’s health plan IT COSTS THEM $650 A MONTH!!! AND THEN, IT IS A VERY BASIC HEALTH PLAN WITH NOT A LOT OF BENEFITS!!! MY SON’S SCHOOL HAS HAD TO BE EVACUATED TWICE THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF BOMB THREATS. And oh, yes, they are required to continue with THEIR education and they PAY FOR HALF AND SOMETIMES ALL OF IT OUT OF THEIR POCKETS! (depending on the courses taken)

In the weathier districts, yes, they are much better off, but NO ONE CAN TELL ME ALL TEACHERS ARE OVERPAID! BABYSITTERS? WELL, SOMETIMES, BUT THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT THE MORALITY OF THIS COUNTRY HAS FALLEN SO LOW THAT THERE ARE A GREAT NUMBER OF PARENTS WHO REALLY ARE NOT INVOLVED WITH THEIR CHILDREN. BUT…THE TEACHERS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO TEST THESE KIDS OUT, AND IF THEY DON’T, THEY ARE OUTIE, OUTIE, OUTIE. OUT OF A JOB! AND THAT IS THE WAY IT IS IN OUR DISTRICT!

 

[mommyof4]

I know, I am very late in this discussion. My son is a teacher in the public school system. So is my daughter in law. They have 3 children. Together, they gross about 65,000 yearly. They DO NOT get paid for summers “off”. They can choose to stretch their pay throughout the summer months, however, when they do that of course it drastically reduces their bi-monthly income. They put in 9 to 10 hour days AT SCHOOL, AND NOT COUNTING THE WORK THEY BRING HOME. There are REQUIRED MEETINGS DAILY THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR AND EVEN AFTER SCHOOL IS NO LONGER IN SESSION. They also use some of their own money for school supplies as the district will not supply EVEN SOMETIMES BASIC NECESSITIES for the kids. If they want to include their family on the school’s health plan IT COSTS THEM $650 A MONTH!!! AND THEN, IT IS A VERY BASIC HEALTH PLAN WITH NOT A LOT OF BENEFITS!!! MY SON’S SCHOOL HAS HAD TO BE EVACUATED TWICE THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF BOMB THREATS. And oh, yes, they are required to continue with THEIR education and they PAY FOR HALF AND SOMETIMES ALL OF IT OUT OF THEIR POCKETS! (depending on the courses taken)

In the weathier districts, yes, they are much better off, but NO ONE CAN TELL ME ALL TEACHERS ARE OVERPAID! BABYSITTERS? WELL, SOMETIMES, BUT THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT THE MORALITY OF THIS COUNTRY HAS FALLEN SO LOW THAT THERE ARE A GREAT NUMBER OF PARENTS WHO REALLY ARE NOT INVOLVED WITH THEIR CHILDREN. BUT…THE TEACHERS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO TEST THESE KIDS OUT, AND IF THEY DON’T, THEY ARE OUTIE, OUTIE, OUTIE. OUT OF A JOB! AND THAT IS THE WAY IT IS IN OUR DISTRICT!

Please go back and reread my entire original post again. Carefully. Very carefully. It was meant to be sarcastic. I’m a teacher. My husband is a teacher. We get it. I’m sittting here in school taking a break from writing report cards. If you still don’t understand the “humor” in it, please let me know and I will explain it to you.

 

[cmt]

What about those special teachers or the ones with master’s
degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair. Round it off to $7.00 an hour. That would be $7 times 6-1/2 hours times 30 children times 180 days=$245,700.00 per year.

Wait a minute, there is something wrong here!

There sure is, duh!

Even that would be too small a salary for all they/you are expected to do.

 

[mommyof4]

Even that would be too small a salary for all they/you are expected to do.

THANK YOU for understanding the humor!

I think I could manage on 250K, though. Especially since hubby and I both teach!

 

[Teelynn]

Please go back and reread my entire original post again. Carefully. Very carefully. It was meant to be sarcastic. I’m a teacher. My husband is a teacher. We get it. I’m sittting here in school taking a break from writing report cards. If you still don’t understand the “humor” in it, please let me know and I will explain it to you.

So sorry. When I went back and reread your post, I realized that it was a sarcasm. I am so conditioned to public consensus that teachers are all overpaid and underworked that I went into my defense mode immediately. I hear it all the time.

BTW, my kids work in the Public School System but my grandchildren are in the Catholic School System. We help them as much as possible with tuition as on their salaries it is really tough to come up with it. There are a few teachers at our Catholic School next year who will not be coming back because they just don’t get paid enough to make ends meet. They are wonderful teachers, and there is no way to thank them enough, and people who are in the profession themselves understand that they have children of their own to feed.

Believe me, no one knows the plight of teachers (public and private) more than our family does. It is a war zone in the public arena and the private school teacher must have a spouse that can make up for the lack of salary, or have another source of income.

Before pulling the trigger again, I promise to reread and think a little:blush:

 

[mommyof4]

So sorry. When I went back and reread your post, I realized that it was a sarcasm. I am so conditioned to public consensus that teachers are all overpaid and underworked that I went into my defense mode immediately. I hear it all the time.

BTW, my kids work in the Public School System but my grandchildren are in the Catholic School System. We help them as much as possible with tuition as on their salaries it is really tough to come up with it. There are a few teachers at our Catholic School next year who will not be coming back because they just don’t get paid enough to make ends meet. They are wonderful teachers, and there is no way to thank them enough, and people who are in the profession themselves understand that they have children of their own to feed.

Believe me, no one knows the plight of teachers (public and private) more than our family does. It is a war zone in the public arena and the private school teacher must have a spouse that can make up for the lack of salary, or have another source of income.

Before pulling the trigger again, I promise to reread and think a little:blush:

No hard feelings!:grouphug:

 

[TheGoodLife]

Great thread! Teachers do not usually get the credit they deserve. The hours are long, the work is a neverending process, there are numerous certifications (etc.) to pay for throughout your career, and the classroom conditions can be downright brutal. A person hardly ever goes into the teaching profession for the salary and bennies–working at Mickey D’s pays more! Teachers who have worked their way up the salary ladder deserve EVERY BIT of the money.

 

[KCT]

The advantage that a private school has over a public one is that they can expel a student for behavior problems much easier than a public school can. It takes an act of congress to expel a student from a public school, and then it is the public schools duty to find an alternative placement for the student, and they have to pay for the placement…

That’s where I come in. I home teach for my county. (kids who can’t attend school for various reasons - one being expulsion for discipline reasons) The county pays $25/hour plus mileage for those of us who teach these kids.

Personally, I love doing it. The kids are generally great one on one and I choose the hours I’m willing to teach.

I’d never teach in the public schools around here. —KCT

 

[psr13]

Around here it looks like a teacher makes a good salary. Usually, depending on district, a starting teacher makes around $47,000. The problem comes with the cost of living. The cheapest to get a house is around $500,000. To get a house in a non-gang area would cost at least $650,000. A one bedroom apartment will cost $1200 a month. If you can’t live off the salary, there is a problem. It isn’t an affluent area, either. It is considered to be the inner city.

 

[ChrisR246]

I didn’t cut that part from your post because I didn’t read your post. This has been a big pet peeve of mine for a long time.

Someone not reading posts they are responding to? That’s a pet peeve of mine to.

I don’t think I understand what you mean by “compulsory” education. Can you explain in a couple of sentences?

Your kid goes to public school (or an approved, regulated alternative) or you go to jail.

 

[ChrisR246]

ALL children deserve some sort of education, though, and I am thrilled that our government forces parents to make sure they get one…even if minimally.

I’m interested in an explanation of the statement that children deserve an education. From where does this arise?

 

[ChrisR246]

I see what your saying. However, if you take away using tax money to educate children, then how do the children get educated who have parents that don’t take care of it for them? In other words, lets say that our govt says there are no mandatory taxes toward education. That may be fine for Sally, Bob, and Tammy, who’s parents either homeschool or send them to Catholic School. But what about Tommy, who’s parents could give a hoot about his education? Why should he be punished for his parents ignorance or arrogance? If our society can afford to educate all children, I think it is our responsibility to do so, to the best of our ability.

How did I incur this obligation to make sure Tommy gets an education when his own parents don’t? And if you think he deserves an education, you pay for him, leave the rest of us out of it. Now I say that as another citizen, not as a Catholic. If I had the money I’d willing pay for other kids who couldn’t afford the tuition. But that is a moral decision and not one I think the government should be compelling me to.

And don’t forget…you CHOOSE to homeschool. No one is forcing you to. There is education available to your children that doesn’t require you to sacrifice a 2nd income. Obviously you are not happy with what is provided by our government, though, and you choose something different. That is certainly your perogative, but no one is making you do that. YKWIM?

I can’t clearly, politely express how angry that attitude makes me. Why is it that the “default” position is that the government has a right to my kid and my money instead of looking at it the other way? Why not start with the assumptions that 1) I can make the best decision for the welfare and education of my child 2) That there may be a variety of ways to provide an education and 3) It’s no one else’s business.

 

[mary_bobo]

Great thread! Teachers do not usually get the credit they deserve. The hours are long, the work is a neverending process, there are numerous certifications (etc.) to pay for throughout your career, and the classroom conditions can be downright brutal. A person hardly ever goes into the teaching profession for the salary and bennies–working at Mickey D’s pays more! Teachers who have worked their way up the salary ladder deserve EVERY BIT of the money.

I agree about their salary. They work hard, at an often thankless job, and I think they deserve to be well paid for that work. What I do not think they should have is tenure. Now that is a real pet peeve of mine.