I have been a teacher for the past 29 years, and a great deal of what this article says has merit. There is simply no way to predict with certainty who will succeed in the classroom. One way to provide more help would be to offer early mentoring. Most schools don't do this because of the cost. Placing already identified "master teachers" in classrooms with new hires takes those skilled individuals out of their own rooms. It also requres hiring more teachers to cover their classes. The article does miss one important point. I often try and steer my most gifted students into a teaching career. In almost every case they refuse, and low compensation is virtually always the reason. I've even had students tell me that they would love to teach, but either they or their parents are not willing to pay for an expensive college degree if the long-term financial rewards are so limited. I love my job, and am certain that my former students would be "hooked" the moment that they entered a classroom. But first we have to find ways to get them to consider teaching as a career.

The compensation level for teachers depends on what state they are located in. In my state, I think many teachers are over compensated. They work 3/4 of the year, at most. A popular justification for this is that they put in long hours and have to continue taking classes. Well, lots of careers require long hours and additional training, without getting 3 months off at the same pay that teachers get. So, spare me.

I agree with you, kerry kittel. My husband is Romanian, and he says that the change in the education system under communism vs. afterwards (post-1989) was astonishing. Under communism, teaching primary and secondary school was a very good job and brilliant people competed for those positions. If they didn't perform, they were headed for the factories. Post-communism, teaching wages went down relative to other professions and incoming brilliant people went instead into finance, accounting, etc..

We need to recreate that emphasis on quality of education and attract truly talented educators, not by denying them opportunities in other careers, but by offering them enough money to make the work feasible and interesting. Do we want to train good engineers, scientists, writers, thinkers in America? Then let's pay for it!

I am about to enter my tenth year as a teacher. With my second Master's Degree, I will finally break the $50,000 mark. Give me an example of another job where two Master's degrees and 10 years of experience nets a salary that low.

I am paid a flat salary, I am not paid hourly. I choose to be paid through the summer because it is easier to budget when you have a steady income. By my calculation, I earn the equivalent of $18 per hour based on the total number of hours I work during the school year.

One problem that the article doesn't take into account is that many schools will NOT hire anyone with experience, because experience is more expensive. Our HR person has said as much in Board meetings, and we haven't had a hire who wasn't fresh out of college in the last 10 years.

Exactly. What teachers get in the summer is laid off. That they can choose to reduce their school-year paychecks to cover their summer layoff doesn't change that fact.

Yeah, but c'mon. It's not like it's a surprise every May/June when they don't have to come any more. Many teachers pick up other work during the summer. People try to make this sound like it's terrible: teachers having to take second jobs to survive. But seriously. They get 2 to 2.5 MONTHS off in the summer, not to mention a couple of weeks at Christmas, half a week during Thanksgiving, and a week off in the spring. Show me the year-round, six-figure job that gives that much vacation time.

Teachers salaries seem low, but cry me a river. I used to be a teacher, and I needed a better salary. I knew that meant working most of the year. If they paid teachers $80,000 for 40 weeks of work, then my year-round job would have to at least double my salary, or I would go back to teaching in a heartbeat.

we the taxpayers could send more money to the school systems but it would just be gobbled up by top heavy union management. they have plenty of money and if teachers want to bitch and moan about their salaries, i suggest they talk to the union and not the taxpayers.

teachers also need to get off their high horses about their self importance.

my garbage man is more important to me that any high school teacher.

my garbage man is more important to me that any high school teacher


There we have it. Until teachers are valued more than garbage men, the best and brightest will go somewhere else. I rode a garbage truck to pay for my education and took a pay cut as a new teacher when I graduated.

'There we have it. Until teachers are valued more than garbage men, the best and brightest will go somewhere else.'

liberal policies have turned the public schools into glorified day care centers so you are earning what you are worth.

Ok, 2 things: teachers are not compensated adequately for their time. yes they have time off during the summer and on holidays, who doesn't? And don't fool yourself into thinking they have the same breaks your kids do: have you not heard of Teacher Work Days? I would personally love to teach, but it would mean going back to school and going (deeper) in debt to make, at least initially, less than I make now. (I work in claims for an insurance company). No dice.

2nd: daycare!! yet another underpaid profession. and that you use the term "glorified day care" - I do no know if you realize, but many daycares require at least 2 and prefer 4 year or higher degrees for their teachers (many of which, ironically, are not allowed to "teach") - and they often make only around 10 dollars an hour year round, and often have to be available on holidays because working people do work those days. These seasoned, hardworking, and patient professionalls need to be paid what new teachers make. And Teachers, who do really teach, ought to be paid much more to attract better people for the job.

kacrowde

I've heard many in education say that a MS in education could be gotten in one summer since the coursework is so easy. The same can't be said of other fields.

And yes, you are working a 50+ hour week 9 months of the year, which translates into the same hours as a normal job. But guess what, a lot of us are expected to put a 50+ hour work week 50 weeks of the year and take REAL classes so we can keep our jobs. We also don't get a full pension and killer benefits, which amount to a $10k/year pay hike.

Ah yes, the killer benefits. That reminds me of when I was paying $54+ for a co-pay, and the teacher paying behind me paid $3 for her co-pay.

WHAT? Where are these people teaching with the 50k+ salaries, the killer benefits, and the state pensions? I am heading into my 16th year of teaching middle school reading/language arts and I will be making $41,000. That includes the pathetic $600 a year I also get for being the varsity dance team coach, which is a year-round position -- so no summers off here!!!! A family insurance policy at my district costs $900 a month out of pocket (the school pays for $600) and as for my state pension????? Right now, I believe I will be eligible for about $1100 a month if I work until I am 62. Obviously I am not in this profession for the money and benefits -- but what I don't get is all these people who think teaching is an overpaid, easy profession! Also, I don't know where other teachers took their education courses, but my college courses back in the early 90's and all of my recertification classes have been extremely challenging! Maybe the quality of education here in my state (Iowa) is just higher than in other parts of the country. And in that case, it makes my fabulous salary/benefits package look even more pathetic.

I live in Michigan. My sister-in-law lives in Ohio and makes $55k, teaching keyboarding with less than 10 years in. I am not a teacher, and I was excited to have my salary bumped up to $38 after 10 years in, and I've been taking college courses nearly every year since I'd gotten my bachelor's degree.

"My garbage man is more important to me than any high school teacher"?

Well, that about says it all, doesn't it? And that is why I, as a high school teacher, will never be able to teach this person's child much in my class, because the attitudes he brings from home will have far more of an impact on my ability to teach him than my own teaching skills.

It's all too easy to blame the teacher when little Johnny doesn't pass muster in school, but as every experienced teacher knows, if a kid doesn't want to learn, and has a bad attitude in class, then no manner of skill will overcome that.

Congratulations to this parent for ensuring that when little Johnny comes home from school and is asked, "what did you learn today," the answer will be, "nuttin." For this type of a kid, coming from this type of a home, I am indeed nothing more than a babysitter.