Mapping the Issue: Teacher Salary
There are so many different perspectives on teacher salary that we don't know which one is “right”. Not everyone thinks that teacher pay should be risen, even some people think that their salaries should be lowered even more than they already are.. Should we pay teachers more? Should we pay them less? People base their opinions on the way teachers work night in and night out, claiming that they don't have much work to their job while others say they have long hours with high stress and that's a lot for how much pay they get. While others say think with the benefits, along with 3 months off, their pay check is a little too high for such little work. Everyone's perspectives are different with different
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For example, Jason Richwine is a public policy analyst in Washington D.C. who made his voice be heard by writing an article called “Why We Shouldn't Raise Teacher Pay”. He states “Contrary to public perception, the average public school teacher already receives total compensation that is greater than what he or she could earn in the private sector” (Richwine 1). Clearly he disagrees with raising teacher salaries by any amount. His views might be uncommon but he makes valid points to his argument; he states that not only should teacher salaries not be raised but they are paid too much “they are already earning too much” (Richwine 1). He goes to point out that teachers are demanding too much money for how little and hard their work actually is. He says that “just because an education degree takes four years of college, it still does not make it equal to more intense subjects” (Richwine 1). Richwine explains that he thinks the teachers get too many benefits as it with retiree healthcare, 3 months vacation, job security, and many more. With the benefit and long time off from work, it is understandable why someone thinks teachers are paid too
Barber calls the reader 's attention to the low salary of teachers and how their wages need to rise. Although many people know about the salary issue for teachers, they often overlook
The first reason I agree with Matthew Miller’s “A Deal for Teachers”, is that something needs to be done about good teachers not being treated or paid right. I know many (in my opinion) great and intelligent teachers. They are working hard all the time to teach children everything they need to know. Meanwhile, they are getting paid the same as their coworkers who are doing nothing. In poor schools this might be even more important. In some cases, school might be the only place some children are getting taught important life skills, and their teachers might be the only good examples they have. I know a teacher who works in a poorer school. She’s told me about how hard it is to work at a poor school in general, with a lot of children who don’t respect teachers or adults and parents that also don’t respect the teachers. Couple that with low income and awful coworkers. If we keep giving our good teachers reason to leave by not treating them fairly, then we will never fix the problem of having so many bad teachers in our
Figlio, David N. "Teacher Salaries and Teacher Quality." Economic Letters 55.2 (1997): 267-71. Sciencedirect.com. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Taylor Mali, an American slam poet and teacher, wrote a poem titled, “What Teachers Make”. In this poem, he rhythmically tells about other professions criticizing teachers based on their choice of occupation. While teachers will never earn six figure incomes, they make a difference. Teachers dedicate their lives to leading, inspiring, and educating future generations, all while earning meager pay. Though teachers form foundation of education, their pay does not accurately represent their skills. Using merit pay systems will properly assess how much a teacher should be paid, based on their teaching ability.
What would be so bad about raising minimum wage? Before other states jump on the $15 minimum-wage bandwagon, they might want to look at what's happening in Massachusetts — one of two states with a $10-an-hour minimum wage. Massachusetts increased the minimum wage from $8 to $9 at the start of 2015 and to $10 on the first day of 2016. The state is now mired in its longest stretch of net job losses since the recession in both the retail and the leisure and hospitality sectors, Labor Department data show.
With the low expectations of teachers, students are limited in their ability to learn. As discussed before, it is difficult to predict how well a teacher will do at their job before they begin working. This creates doubt when hiring anyone, and employers may not know if who they are hiring is the right choice. If teachers are judged by not only the basic requirements met, but also their interpersonal skills and how well they are able to teach in a positive manner, there will hopefully be less mediocre teachers hired. In the same way, both an advanced teacher and an average teacher are paid the same wages, which creates a flaw in education. Even more, there should not be average teachers in the workforce if all teachers are paid the same. Though this harms the advanced teachers, who deserve more than they earn, it also harms the students, as they are taught at a lower level by the inadequate teachers. Gladwell mentions these flaws in his article, but he also explains the traits good teachers should have, which brings a strive forward in this issue. Because of this, it is clear America must be more selective and strict when hiring
Raising wages as a way to remedy poverty is one way to improve economic stability, good nutrition, good health, stable housing, and reduced lost of properties and eviction. In Matthew Desmond's argument against raising wages, he states that though raising wages is a factor to remedy poverty, it is only a third of the contributing factor and that the leading cause of poverty is eviction, rising cost of housing and policies of the housing authorities. Matthew Desmond is the coauthor of two books on race and the author of the award-winning book "On the Fireline." Also, he is the editor of a collection of studies on severe deprivation in America.
The most important reason public schools provide an excellent education is that teachers are required to be highly qualified and suited for the job. When asked if public schools were a wise investment for the government Barnard answered,” Yes, not every parent [very few in fact] are trained and suited to educate students”” (Barnard). In particular, they must acquire and maintain a license to teach. In order to earn this teaching certification, they must demonstrate proficiency in all basic skills, study their subject area in depth, and learn effective techniques of instructing all kinds of learners. They also are required to get on-the-job training under the guidance of an experienced teacher. They have to motivate students to learn and have a passion for teaching, maintain their license, and continue their own education and training throu...
Many students entering college may discover that they are not prepared for college curriculum courses. These students enter college courses facing a major issue. They find that high school has not adequately prepared them for the difficulty of college level courses. These students lacked the sufficient basis in being well equipped for advanced careers and college entry. These students have suffered a great inequality prevalent throughout high schools since several high schools do not receive equivalent aid. The unequal funding in high schools prevents students from attaining the same education that other students in different areas may receive. Unequal school funding in secondary schools causes inadequate preparation for students wanting to attend a post-secondary institution.
Every classroom should have a teacher who is well-experienced in the course that they teach. Salaries of teachers should be based on their ability to educate students the best they can so when standardized tests arrive they’ll be able to perform well. Workers who show up to their job and fail to educate their students correctly should receive a deduction from their paycheck. Although it is the teacher’s responsibility to educate his or her students, the students should also put effort in wanting to learn. Some may argue that teacher’s salaries should not be based on students test scores,I think otherwise.
Why Teachers Should be Paid More When choosing a profession there is two important questions to ask yourself; is it what you love doing and is the pay enough. Most do not pick a teaching career for the pay, the job is chosen because it is effective, feeling rewarding. Teachers should be paid more because teachers are a huge part of a child’s life, teachers do more than teach, are underappreciated and with a background check of college degrees, majors and experience we can then determine who is the most deserving of a higher pay. Teachers are a huge part of a child’s life.
There is no more critical role in our current society than that of a teacher’s. Teachers help shape the minds of the future. Tomorrow 's engineers, scientists, politicians, and educators are all greatly influenced by today 's Instructors. Without teachers society would not be anywhere near where it is now, and only a select few would have access to learning. Sadly however important teachers are in human civilization, they are still drastically understated, unrecognized and under paid. Although some people may argue that performance pay is good, performance/merit pay is bad because it will result in teachers doing much less personalizing of the curriculum, and spending that time doing only what things need to teach in order to keep their student’s
There are many ways to compile data on a teacher and determine that person’s performance. Teacher performance can be based upon classroom observation, a teacher’s continuing development and education, and students’ standardized testing scores. The controversy centers around using student test scores to determine the performance of a teacher and thus her pay. Scott Andes, a research analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation voices the merits of performance based pay with his article “Getting Serious with Education: Why Can We Measure Students but Not Teachers?” High School English teachers, Jordan Kohanim and Ashley Ulrich vehemently state why there is no merit with performance based pay with their article, “No Merit to Merit Pay Arguments.” In each article both sides debate how performance based or merit pay will affect students, teachers, schools, and com...
Imagine having to stay up every single night just to go through a million stacks of papers. This is the life of a teacher, one of the most underpaid jobs, yet one of the world's most important jobs. Teachers are paid roughly $10,000 less than other professions requiring the same exact amount of schooling. “According to a recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the teaching profession has an average national starting salary of $30,377. Meanwhile, NACE finds that other college graduates who enter fields requiring similar training and responsibilities start at higher salaries” (“NEA”).
Strauss, Valerie. "Why teachers’ salaries should be doubled now." The Washington Post. N.p., 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 5 Apr. 2014. .