General Discussion

I've got a baby on the way, and it got me to thinking about things.

I want to give something back to my community, and to be quite honest the career I'm in now is not all that rewarding.  It pays good, and that's fine and all, but I do get up some days and wonder why I keep going back.

So, I looked into teaching.  I thought I might enjoy it.  I love learning, kids, and I have a lot of patience so it seems like I'd make a great educator.  But I decided I just can't do it.

Here's why.  I don't know if you guys are aware just how little teaching pays.  For me to give up my career I'm in now I would be giving up almost half of my salary.  Not only that, but the insurance the teachers in my area get is horrible.  And with a baby on the way, I could not think of being able to pay doctors bills on top of that pay cut.

I do not want my wife to work once the baby is born.  She says she will if needed, but I do not plan on that happening.  If I were to go into teaching I could not live in the neighborhood I would be teaching in.  Even if my wife went to work it would be hard if not impossible to stay where we're living.  And I am not going to live in a bad place just so I can be a school teacher.

My point in posting this is to say that I'm just a little more than disappointed in the pay that we give to our educators in this country.  We shoot our mouths off about how important education is, yet we don't want to put our money where it counts.  I'm not talking about throwing money at a problem in the liberal sense of things, what I'm saying is we need to start seriously thinking about putting some quality teachers in the classroom and then taking care of them when they are there.

I'm one of the people who wanted to do it.  I'm pretty darned sure I could have made a difference.  But I'm not going back to school to get a certification only to make $45,000/year, have crap benefits, and put my family into a harder life like that.  And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has made this decision. 

It's the exact same situation here. Teachers are very under paid, and the requirements are insane. The tests to pass are really different, and if you fail those tests you just wasted 4 years of your life on education, and this is the reason why I backed off and chose a different career path.

It's really no surprise there is a lack of teachers avaible.

Originally posted by porgie
Here's why.  I don't know if you guys are aware just how little teaching pays.

Exactly. We pay athletes way to much money and stupid music industry. I think a solid 15% tax on all music and athletes taxes would be appropriate. The money then goes into a pool which pays teachers more money at the end of the year in a bonus. But the teachers bonus is affected by how well they teach, the rating of grades and test scores from that teacher. Because I would not want my money to go to a teacher who does nothing and doesn't push our kids intellectually.

I think not all teachers deserve more pay then others, like I said it depends. And this is a main problem with teacher pay is how do you determine who gets what based on performance. Todays teachers are not as inquisitive either with their students. They will only hand homework out ask them to read stuff and not get involved in the teaching aspects of the job. Certainly that has an impact on teacher pay as well.

If only we could get great teachers back and have a push for better scores and education then it would matter much more for me to drop money into a tax system or funding for extra teacher pays.

45,000 a year is underpaid?  I would gladly give my left testicle for a 45K a year job, let alone benefits.  I could see why people might think that's not a lot.  People in America have a tendency to spend too much money on shit they don't need.

Originally posted by xDarc

45,000 a year is underpaid?  I would gladly give my left testicle for a 45K a year job, let alone benefits.  I could see why people might think that's not a lot.  People in America have a tendency to spend too much money on shit they don't need.

Research on what it takes to be a teacher and you will realize 45k is low. You have that expectation because your not making that kind of money but try working almost all year long with little time off and being at school from 1hr before class or more to 2 hours after class then going home checking papers grades and doing the next days planner. In the end you will be so exhausted.

Originally posted by xDarc

45,000 a year is underpaid?  I would gladly give my left testicle for a 45K a year job, let alone benefits.  I could see why people might think that's not a lot.  People in America have a tendency to spend too much money on shit they don't need.

$45,000/year is not very much.  Not if you want to have a family and actually let a parent stay at home and raise the children.  There was a time where one person could go to work and pay the bills for the household.  Now the economy is based on a two income family.  Makes things real tough for everyone all around.

I'm single and run into this problem a lot.  What if you never get married, like being single, and want to buy a house someday?  You think someone is going to finance you making $45,000/year?  No way, man.

And there are places in the U.S. where rent is upwards of over $1,400/month.  That's nearly half of that income right there.  You tack on a car payment, food, gas, clothing, etc. and it adds up pretty darned quick.  Then every now and then you get that surprise bill for something like a medical test that needs to be run and you're really hurting.

And personally, I do not like living in the ghetto.  You may think that is fine, but given a choice, I'll do what I have to and get the good job so that I know my stuff is safe while I'm away from home and my family is safe while we are sleeping.

Not only that, but there is nothing evil about spending money.  You work for it, you deserve it.  You go to school and get the education, then enjoy it.  People need to get over this whole deal about thinking people who spend money are bad.

Teachers go through a lot of training.  Ton's more than just a bachelor's degree.  They deserve probably double that $45,000/year at least!

Porgie, you think that is bad, check into what the pay is for a private school teacher.  It is even lower, believe it or not.  I did not know that until recently.  I thought it would actually be the other way around.

Have you looked into maybe being a college professor?  They make more money.  You have to spend time doing some writing and stuff I think though.  Or at least some research.  You also have to get that doctorate.

My professors seem pretty happy in their careers.  However, one of my professors said he sees his students leave all the time and go into private veterinarian practice to make more money than him at something he taught them to do.  Poor guy.  He said he still loves to teach us though.   What a nice guy. 

We'd have an awesome education system if the pay was high enough to get enough new teachers into the market so that teachers are literally competing with each other to get a job.   The whole survival of the fittest thing.

Originally posted by paulscott

We'd have an awesome education system if the pay was high enough to get enough new teachers into the market so that teachers are literally competing with each other to get a job.   The whole survival of the fittest thing.

I agree with you.  I think some of it isn't all the teacher's fault though.  I just think there are some kids who do not fit into the educational environment.

I've often wondered what would happen if school were a voluntary thing.  Free to attend still, but not something that we forced kids and families to do.  If a kid wanted to be there and his family wanted him there then fine, but otherwise this other b.s. of kids misbehaving and parents not giving a crap would stop.  It brings down the kids self esteem and it hurts the other kids in the classroom who have to be around him.

I think some kids maybe would be better off learning a trade or something.  Not every person in the world is meant to learn calculus and chemistry.  There can be a lot of pride in being a plumber or electrician or whatever else if that's what fits someone better.  Just let people go where they fit in and are productive and happy.  I don't think you're going to find a