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No, teachers get paid on a scale for teaching experience and education level. Some more specialized subjects can get higher pay, special education teachers, because some of those areas require a masters degree for new teachers.
I am licenced as a teacher and a school counselor. I have two MAs and 16.5 years of experience.
I can still remember when I was single I had to rent rooms in houses to survive instead of get my own apartment somewhere.
I went to school for almost 10 years at night while working full time. First I went 45 semester units for my credential. Then I did two MAs at 45 semester units each. It took a while because I just couldn't take that many classes at once and because after my first MA I got married and started a family.
In many large urban areas there are lots of opportunities to "add" to your salary. In Los Angeles, there are many year round school and you can teach during your off-track time and make quite a bit. They were also so short on staff that a teacher could work during his/her conference period and get a stipend for that.
In LA I made a decent salary. We are now in NC and my salary will literally be about 45%-50% lower. The benefits here STINK.
The fact is that many of us did get into education because we love what we do, not because we wanted to make a lot of money. It does hurt though when people don't value teachers at all. Teachers used to be a respected profession. Now it is all about "what are you going to do special for MY precious darling." We live in such a me, me, me society that many times teaching isn't enjoyable anymore.
I started teaching in 1989. It is amazing me to how different teaching is even compared to 18 years ago.
Location: Newton, NJ (but my heart is in Tennessee)
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I used to work for a school district library. The senior level teachers and administrators were very well paid. The superintendent was forced to resign after a year but still collected his 6 figure salary. Perhaps the junior level teachers were not paid as well but that is to be expected when you are starting out. There are 2 things that bother me however.
1) I am not sure if, as a rule, they contribute to their medical benefits premiums. If not, this is a tremendous bonus. I heard of one district where they wanted to make teachers contribute a small amount. They were outraged and went on strike. I was sitting there thinking "do you have any clue how much I have to pay for my insurance premiums?" They should have been thankful they were not paying hundreds of dollars a month like most people.
2) Whether their salaries seem high or not could depend on who you are comparing them to. One misleading list had a number of occupations and their salaries, with teachers at the bottom. Well, sure if you list them along with doctors, lawyers, CEO's and their ilk, it is going to look like they are the most underpaid people out there. Their average salary is higher than many other occupations.
My first year in trucking (after a 30-day driving academy...), I earned more than a teacher with a Bachelor's and 5 years experience in my wife's district (and real estate/cost of living is pretty reasonable in the Dayton, OH area) I'm definitely on the side of "teacher pay is not high enough". However, I do think that some things such as tenure should be reworked. I admit that there is no easy answer to that dilemma, however. I (mostly) believe in the NEA but education's critics do have some valuable points. However, I don't think the "fixes" are anywhere near as easy as many of them suggest... I guess the fact that there aren't people lined up to take teaching jobs says a LOT about pay and working conditions.
(FWIW, even at the entry level, living in truck stops for three weeks+ at a stretch takes an AWFUL lot of money, and working 70+ hours/week is a lot, so comparing jobs isn't always valid...)
Most teachers have aides and students grade test now! So what work goes home?
Most teachers do not have aides or if they do, the aides only stay for a class period, but not all day - at least that was my experience. Most classes are over-filled with students. I was 1 teacher with 32 students with NO AID and I taught ALL SUBJECTS in inner city Houston. What work goes home? Most of it in fact. Students may help with grading multiple choice questions but they can't help with grading writing skills.
I can definitely agree with the poster that said good teachers are underpaid/undervalued and bad teachers are overpaid/overvalued. Afte only 1 year of teaching, I knew I had made a big mistake. I cared for my students greatly but I just didn't have it in me. For all you "good teachers" out there, kudos!
Average Teacher works
8-4 (8 Hours)
1 hour break so now we are down to 7 hours of actual work
They average $45,000 per year
and they work 39 weeks per year
so they are making about 1153.00 per week of work ..this is giving them paid winter breaks and spring breaks .. and snow days etc.
So basically teachers are making $33.00 per hour that they are working.
Most teachers have aides and students grade test now! So what work goes home?
In my oppion they are over paid ..many go into the profession for the wrong reasons ........... to get summer off? What about the child you are teaching ? What about the child who needs a good teacher?
If your heart is where it should be then you are probably under paid!
This is grossly inaccurate.
My teaching day is from 8:45 am-4:30 pm (base..doesn't include tutoring or club sponsorship. Tutoring was on Wednesdays from 4:30-5:30...club sponsorship was 1x a month on Thursdays from 4:30-6:00...also, factor in required detention duty...about 2 weeks a year from 4:30-5:00)
I had planning period from 2:30-4:15...but I only had a free and clear planning period on Mondays. Tuesdays was department planning, Wednesdays was team planning, Thursdays was either a book study discussion or district planning (yes, we were required to read 3 books as a faculty in addition to our other duties) and Fridays were Special Education planning.
Oh yeah...I had to be at work by 8 am for special education team meetings 2x a month...and for faculty meetings 1x a month.
Lunch? what lunch? Our lunch period was 22 minutes, and within that time I had to get the kids from the classroom, to the restroom, and in the lunchroom. Once there, I had to watch them--I didn't have a duty free lunch.
If a parent wanted to meet, and they can't come during my planning period..well guess what? I'll be at school late (or even early) in order to accommodate him/her.
I haven't graded papers yet. I haven't written my IEP's yet. All of this comes home with me, or I stay late to get it done.
All of this for a starting salary of about 37K in my district.
Summers aren't truly "free and clear"...that's usually when teachers complete their required hours to keep their certificate clear...or they do like I do and take classes during the school year. Oh, and unlike other professions, the school district doesn't pick up the tab for your additional degrees (well mine doesn't)
So are we underpaid? Heck yeah. I love what I do, though. I love the true art of teaching. The rest of this stuff (paperwork, mindless meetings, etc), they can take it and shove it.
My teaching day is from 8:45 am-4:30 pm (base..doesn't include tutoring or club sponsorship. Tutoring was on Wednesdays from 4:30-5:30...club sponsorship was 1x a month on Thursdays from 4:30-6:00...also, factor in required detention duty...about 2 weeks a year from 4:30-5:00)
I had planning period from 2:30-4:15...but I only had a free and clear planning period on Mondays. Tuesdays was department planning, Wednesdays was team planning, Thursdays was either a book study discussion or district planning (yes, we were required to read 3 books as a faculty in addition to our other duties) and Fridays were Special Education planning.
Oh yeah...I had to be at work by 8 am for special education team meetings 2x a month...and for faculty meetings 1x a month.
Lunch? what lunch? Our lunch period was 22 minutes, and within that time I had to get the kids from the classroom, to the restroom, and in the lunchroom. Once there, I had to watch them--I didn't have a duty free lunch.
If a parent wanted to meet, and they can't come during my planning period..well guess what? I'll be at school late (or even early) in order to accommodate him/her.
I haven't graded papers yet. I haven't written my IEP's yet. All of this comes home with me, or I stay late to get it done.
All of this for a starting salary of about 37K in my district.
Summers aren't truly "free and clear"...that's usually when teachers complete their required hours to keep their certificate clear...or they do like I do and take classes during the school year. Oh, and unlike other professions, the school district doesn't pick up the tab for your additional degrees (well mine doesn't)
So are we underpaid? Heck yeah. I love what I do, though. I love the true art of teaching. The rest of this stuff (paperwork, mindless meetings, etc), they can take it and shove it.
What do you teach?
I work 6am-6pm and I do not make 37,000 a year ... I have parent meetings and phone calls after 6pm .. I have the additional trainings and state meetings I have to attend so many hours per year in so many different directions -
I love what I do .. am I under paid yes and no .. the rewards I receive are far more than most occupations could ever receive!
I work 6am-6pm and I do not make 37,000 a year ... I have parent meetings and phone calls after 6pm .. I have the additional trainings and state meetings I have to attend so many hours per year in so many different directions -
I love what I do .. am I under paid yes and no .. the rewards I receive are far more than most occupations could ever receive!
I'm a special education inclusion teacher at the middle school level.
That starting salary is for my district here in Metro Atlanta. Hopefully it will go up because it's too low!
I work 6am-6pm and I do not make 37,000 a year ... I have parent meetings and phone calls after 6pm .. I have the additional trainings and state meetings I have to attend so many hours per year in so many different directions -
I love what I do .. am I under paid yes and no .. the rewards I receive are far more than most occupations could ever receive!
see, I forgot about the phone calls!
I tell my students' parents to email me--they'd get a much quicker response vs. a phone call!
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), I earned more than a teacher with a Bachelor's and 5 years experience in my wife's district (and real estate/cost of living is pretty reasonable in the Dayton, OH area) I'm definitely on the side of "teacher pay is not high enough". However, I do think that some things such as tenure should be reworked. I admit that there is no easy answer to that dilemma, however. I (mostly) believe in the NEA but education's critics do have some valuable points. However, I don't think the "fixes" are anywhere near as easy as many of them suggest... I guess the fact that there aren't people lined up to take teaching jobs says a LOT about pay and working conditions.