With the future of America in their hands, why are teachers in the U.S. considered so dispensable, and why are they being paid so little to do such a huge task? Believe me, anyone in the profession will ask you the same question. It really hurts when teachers hear radicals announcing that teachers are overpaid. “They only work 9 months a year.” “They only work 6 hours a day.” All the stereotypical comments we've all heard again and again.
If teachers were only being paid to actually teach, maybe the pay wouldn't be considered so abysmal. Unfortunately, though, our teachers are wearing way too many hats every day, and the workload is increasing with every budget cut.
Let's see what a teacher is really worth when we add up all the jobs he/she really does:
- Secretary - takes attendance, takes lunch money, and does misc. paperwork. $33,800
- Custodian - many teachers clean their own rooms including emptying the trash and vacuuming the floors. $63,000
- Nurse - responsible for ice packs, band aids, and taking temps. $62,200
- Mediator - settles many disputes each day. $40,000
- Diplomat - walks a fine line between parents, students, and administrators. $91,600
- Purchasing agent - orders materials for their own classrooms (and often pays for it themselves, too). $78,300
- Banker - collects and keeps track of money for fund-raisers, book orders, and field trips. $125,300
- Sheriff - responsible for keeping law and order within the classroom. Deals with the “bad guys” by dealing out punishments and seeing them through. $94,400
- Librarian - purchases, organizes, and maintains a classroom library. $57,800
- Counselor - helps students resolve personal problems. $40,800
- Seamstress - repairs ripped pants, lost buttons, and torn pockets. $27,300
- Artist - designs, creates, and posts bright, attractive bulletin board displays on a regular basis. $53,500
- Politician - Makes rules & decides how things will be done. $128,800
- Judge -- “He did it!” “No, he did it!” $150,000
- Writer -- Teachers are well-known for creating lesson plans out of nothing. Some people are paid big bucks for publishing books of lesson plans they've developed. The best classroom teachers don't have time to actually write the books. $68,000
So, according to my “scientific” calculations here, a teacher should be earning around $1,114,800 a year if he/she were being paid commensurate with the job done.
Note: The salaries mentioned above were calculated using Salary.com
and the job title closest to those listed.
Plus, we are expected to continue our education and encouraged to go for our Masters Degree...without any compensation. In otherwords, other businesses offer some type of education plan where they either pay for all or some of the employees schooling...a teacher does not get this type of opportunity. Also, there is only an average of $2,000 to $3,000 increase in pay if you have a Masters Degree...which would cost me almost $20,000 to obtain!
With every budget cut, teachers are expected to pick-up the slack. I buy my own office supplies and school supplies for my class. I spend on average over $2,000 a year on these supplies. What other job are you paid so little and expected to do so much!!!
This is why so many teachers leave after only a few years teaching. It is too expensive for them to keep their job.