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Considering the teaching shortage and the importance of their work,I think they are definitely underpaid, especially those starting out.
With that said, one thing that people rarely mention when talking about teacher's "low" salaries is the fact that unlike other jobs, they are off for around three months per year with summers and vacations such as Spring Break and long Winter/Christmas breaks that most people do not get. So if a teacher is making 36K/year. That would really be the equivalent to 48K/year if they were working a full 12 months out of the year. Just something to think about....
But I thought teachers get 'an extra' check at the end of the school year (before summer break) to compensate for the time off. Maybe I'm wrong- I work at a school (not for the school system but for an outsourced service) and I'm not too familiar with how that works. I did, however, talk to the school nurse a couple of weeks ago and in passing she mentioned something about saving her paychecks until August. I'm in Florida, so maybe it's different.
I am a teacher in South Florida. I think teachers are grossly underpaid. Considering our qualifications/education we should be paid what others are paid in professions that require the same amount of years of education.
However, there are some districts in the US that do pay a better salary. I have heard that districts in NYC suburbs (long Island) pay well, as do districts in CT. Luckily, I have my national Board certification so I got a huge increase which is not guaranteed.
I am a former teacher, and in my experience many are overpaid. They have huge lobbies in most states and often very poor teachers continue to work despite poor job skills. Administrators in the education field are often overpaid in my opinion.
There is so much waste in education it is ridiculous.
But then again, I have known though some teachers that did not make what they were worth. It really is a messed up system. The starting salary is usually in the $40,000/yr range and for entry level as far as I am concerned, that is pretty good...
MBG
But I thought teachers get 'an extra' check at the end of the school year (before summer break) to compensate for the time off. Maybe I'm wrong- I work at a school (not for the school system but for an outsourced service) and I'm not too familiar with how that works. I did, however, talk to the school nurse a couple of weeks ago and in passing she mentioned something about saving her paychecks until August. I'm in Florida, so maybe it's different.
In TX, we had the choice between getting our pay over 9 months or over 12 months.
I have known many, many teachers who have had to work 2 jobs. I never missed an opportunity to work summer school. One factor that many forget or don't know about is how much money the teacher spends on the classroom and students. I worked in a poor neighborhood school where the meals that the kids got from school did not even begin to minimized their hunger, so my fellow teachers and I fed the kids frequently. Plus, finding (and often) buying coats, gloves, hats, shoes, school supplies, etc. for the kids adds up, too. Then, there are the teaching supplies that the schools don't provide. It depends on the school, the district and the teacher, but it can be very costly to be a teacher in certain types of schools.
Underpaid!!!!!! Starting salary here is 32k a year. Take 8% off mandatory for retirement (to pay for the lack of funds in social security), and add a required 15 credit hours in college to renew your certificate in two years. Pay about $1,000 a year for classroom and student supplies. In many districts, you have to pay part of your own healthcare and dental. We pay all of the healthcare costs for family members ($350 each person for first three in last district). Three months off???? In AZ, we work from the last week of July to the first week of June. We spend the time in between preparing curriculum for the entire year or taking college courses to renew our certificate. Most teachers don't have more than one month off a year. It's a joke. You don't teach to make a living.
I think it depends on where the teacher works but generally speaking, they are underpaid, IMO. Starting salary where I lived was upper $30K but where i ended up working was under $30K.
Teachers - good ones anyway - spend a LOT of time outside of the classroom preparing for class. They grade papers, prepare lesson plans, and think about her students constantly - like how to pair students up into efficient groups and stuff. Also, they spend a LOT of out of their own money on classroom stuff. I bet you I spent close to 1K my first year of teaching on just items for the classroom. Oof!
Who isn't underpaid nowadays? Inflation eats up most of the raises we get anyways.
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