Why do Physical Education teachers get paid the equivalent of Academic Teachers? (career, principal)
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I subbed for PE classes before I started teaching. Where I live middle and high school PE classes have 50-60 students in each class. It was very demanding and I could never teach PE everyday. I teach physics and my classes have a limit of 34 students. Most of my students actually listen and follow directions in my classes, which is possible with smaller class sizes. Our PE teachers earn their salary and I appreciate them as valuable members of our staff.
For the record, Douglas County in Colorado is going to start paying PE and other teachers according to subject. I can only imagine the problems it will cause!
I have had the opportunity to teach PE and in a classroom. I am starting to become envious of teaching in the classroom from my experience. I have two teachers in my school who used to teach PE but left saying that could not handle it anymore. They are now a social studies and Language Arts teacher.
PE can be an easy job if the teacher chooses to do so because they can just roll out balls and let them play. They do not need lessons planned everyday. However if you want to be a REAL teacher then teaching PE is on par and might even surpass other subjects. They need lessons everyday, they need a BBC, etc. Here are some things to consider (at least in middle school)
1) Managing the locker room. Not for everyone and maybe not for anyone. Not everyone can do this effectively.
2) Managing behavior and transitions. This is the biggest one that other teachers do not even begin to comprehend how difficult it is. It is documented that out of seat transitions are the most difficult. Try running a class where the students are out of their seat standing for the whole class and moving them to different locations while teaching them content the whole day. Now imagine that class 3-5 times as big in physical size to manage. You will miss a lot unless you are moving a lot. I have seen other teachers try this and it was painful for all parties involved.
3) Managing equipment. One piece of equipment for every child or at least one for every 3 or 4. Books do not present nearly the same problem.
4) Assessing students. Want to do it right? Paper and pen is the easiest way to assess. Try getting paper out into your location into the yard and gym everyday. We need video to really assess since what we are assessing happens very fast. Those assessments are put into the schools computer software daily - easily another 1 or 2 of work on top.
5) Changing class location every 2 weeks or month. Yes we have whiteboards in our districts and a daily BBC. Things are changing. Not so fun dragging that 50 yards 2-4 times everyday.
6) The most heterogenuous class you can imagine. A real daily lesson plan tries to meet this. There is not enough support to meet this issue but you are supposed to meet all the kids needs.
These are just some of the reasons why teaching PE correctly is extremely challenging and often why it is not done. Therefore a softer version of teaching occurs where it is easier on the teacher. Therefore a stigma gets placed due to some inherent flaws. I seen progress in this regard with both the quality of teachers and I hope that progress continues. I am seriously thinking about getting credentialed in another subject because so far I can't do this job the way it is supposed to be done - mainly assessments and the energy drain it takes to manage students and deliver content when the students are out of seat.
Last edited by stephenscurtis; 09-14-2013 at 03:57 PM..
Your post is going to rile some... LOL... I've always wondered why P.E. teachers are paid as much as Math teachers. In my world, the Math/STEM teachers would all be paid the most (do some school districts do this?). The pay would be based on supply/demand. Those with more in-demand backgrounds are more likely to get higher paying jobs in industry, so need a higher salary incentive to teach. Also, their majors are much more intellectually challenging than P.E. majors (sorry P.E. majors!) so fewer can become qualified teachers.
In my district the teachers are all paid the same. The PE teachers usually make more though because they don't have massive grading loads and can coach which pays extra. Some of the academic teachers coach too.
In my system, at the high school level, PE teachers are required to record a minimum of 2 grades per week (minimum for all disciplines, A-B schedule so some weeks we only see the kids twice anyway), one of which must be derived from a written assignment.
Each unit in the curriculum must have a culminating written exam.
I ONCE taught with a PE teacher (elementary) who found out what each grade was studying in social studies and/or science and made lessons for activities to correlate with each. He clearly spent a LOT of time planning and creating games-often involving multiple skills-like an obstacle course. I honestly never saw the kids playing kickball or anything like that. He was the best PE teacher I ever saw. I'm sure all don't work that hard.
Why in the world do physical education teachers get paid the same as academic teachers when their job is far easier and far less strenuous?
Seriously, what's so hard about throwing out a kick ball for kids to play, or ensuring that kids dress out? These teachers, beyond perhaps coaching a sport for one season, are able to leave when school is over. They don't have any papers to take home. They have no real lessons to plan. Yet, many of these same PE teachers make higher salaries than a teacher who has to plan instructional lessons, grade papers, and teach in an intense manner throughout the day.
Is it strange for districts to pay physical education and academic teachers the same?
PE positions vary depending on state and even district and school. Back in the 90s when I was in high school we had what you are describing.
The high school I teach at has some very dedicated PE personnel. I myself teach AP European History and US History so I'm speaking as an academic teacher on their behalf.
One of the issues that PE teachers have to deal with is class size. some PE classes especially those that are state required can run into the 40s at some schools. Some schools may not have enough facility space for all the PE classes at one time. I know at my school we have one main gym, a lower gym with a 3/4ths size basketball court and a multi purpose room. Also when it rains my lesson plan remains the same. If you're a PE teacher who wanted to have the kids run a mile that day around the track or do something outside now you have to adjust asap and move inside.
Many PE teachers even today are expected to coach a sport. There full-time employment is tied to that coaching job in many instances. If they're not coaching for whatever reason then many times they may be on the chopping block employment wise. We had a female PE teacher a few years ago who was let go (due to budget reasons) but she didn't coach a sport at the school unlike the 3 male teachers and so it was easier to let her go based on that. we do have a male PE teacher who currently does not coach a sport but he is in his last year or two before he retires so he can get away with it in that regard.
Finally you'll find many academic teachers who end up becoming 9-5 teachers. Meaning they don't sponsor any extra curricular activities, don't coach, don't do anything but teach essentially. Those are the ones who worry me the most regardless of how good or effective they are in their classroom. Chances are they are not effective as studies have shown kids respond better to the teachers they see at a lot of after school functions or activities in much more positive manner than the ones who are out right at the contract specific time.
This has always been a confusing element to me too. With the time spent in preparation, meeting with students with questions, and grading papers PLUS trying to meet all the testing requirements that a regular teacher puts in, how is it that a jumping jacks teacher gets paid on the same grid scale.
Most all of these PE teachers coach a sport or two, but like regular teachers they get paid extra for this.
It's so competitive for teachers to find jobs that politics runs rampant. This is especially true for those competing for PE jobs. Take a look at your school's PE teacher. He/she most likely got the job from who they know or from who they were. Examples being the local sports hero, son/daughter of the local sports hero, son/daughter of someone on the school board, big time college stud in the area, former teacher/coach with a big winning reputation that moves to a large program and administration wants all the concentration on coaching the sport, etc.
This discrepancy in pay versus responsibility is a negative result of the teacher's union and no one seems willing to change it. Once again, politics.
PE positions tend to be limited in supply versus academic positions. My school has a social studies department of 13 teachers whereas the PE dept has 4 teachers. Obtaining a PE position can be very competitive compared to other areas. The last example you mentioned happens more often than the other ones. Our Head Football Coach per his agreement when he was hired with the school only teaches 4 classes in a 7 period day and one of those 4 classes is called "Football".
I teach in south carolina where there is no union though.
I wish I got a stipend for "coaching" students after school in math. Something is seriously wrong with what we value. The football/basketball coaches are so idolized that I am surprised that the district doesn't hire someone to throw rose petals in front of them on the pathway as they walk.
be careful what you wish for. I am a Boys Swim Coach, Wrestling Coach and Track / Field Coach. My after school duties pay me around 5k a year. Some school districts do have stipends for academic teams. My school honestly does field an academic team, a forensics team (debate) and i kid you not Mathletes :-). the stipends though for these programs are minimal with good cause. academic teams normally only compete once a month and rarely practice thus equating to a VERY minimal time commitment from the teacher / sponsor in question. About 5 years ago a few of us in my district lobbied the school board to increase the stipend for wrestling coaches because we discovered we were logging anywhere from 25-30 additional hours a week during the winter months after school coaching the sport (practices combined with meets / tournaments on weekends). we were successful in getting wrestling to the 3rd highest paid coaching stipend in the district.
p.s. a buddy of mine quit his cross country coaching job of 8 years because he discovered he could make more money working at home depot part time after school and with less headaches.
In my system, at the high school level, PE teachers are required to record a minimum of 2 grades per week (minimum for all disciplines, A-B schedule so some weeks we only see the kids twice anyway), one of which must be derived from a written assignment.
Each unit in the curriculum must have a culminating written exam.
my district mandates something similar. we have to have 12 "minor" grades and 3 "major" grades per 9 weeks. PE teachers are held to the same standard and are required to give a written midterm exam and written final exam.
I would pay teachers based on a combination of workload, supply-demand, and measured student performance improvement. I get that there can be potential problems with this formula and many would disagree with me.
I do not know which is more in demand - science or math teachers? IMO if the science teacher has a higher workload, but there is still a shorter supply of qualified math teachers, the math teachers should still be paid more as they have a more in-demand skillset. I think English teachers have a very high workload as well (lots of papers to read and grade), but there is more supply of good English teachers so that would drive down their salary.
I think if I was to choose one of the three variables it would be student performance improvement. Improvement being the key word there and not just looking at the overall data but seeing how they progressed over the year or from one year to the next kind of thing. work load is subjective IMO. some teachers discover how to get more with less sometimes compared to the teacher who buries their students and themselves in assignments / papers / etc.... just remember more work does not always equate to more learning. with so many alternative routes to licensure these days supply and demand would be purely a regional thing and well districts have always come up with ways to lure talent to their neck of the woods. paying a physics teacher more just because they are certified in that subject may not yield a positive net gain. i've taught with some VERY lazy special education folks yet that seems to be a very in demand subject area these days. should they be paid more simply based on their licensure? just remember highly qualified does not always mean highly effective.
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