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Sunday, July 15, 2012

EDUCATION


Such a huge topic, where to start?

Where to focus?

How about salaries of teachers? Okay, let’s start there.

Michigan ranks quite high on the salary scale nationwide. Our elementary teachers average $57,958 a year salary and a decent benefit package as negotiated through their union. (A union to which they pay very high dues for membership.)  Secondary teachers average $55,000. I have no idea why the difference or if these are accurate salaries in my rural area, but I do know that in this economy it isn’t bad pay for 9 months work of 60 hour weeks, but no one is going to get rich or support their family in high style on that income. They will pay their bills and some will work summer jobs to stay afloat.  New York teachers make about $13,000 more than Michigan teachers. $68,000 is a little more respectable except that the cost of living in New York is probably  higher than that of Michigan.  Point is these are the professionals to whom we’re giving our children for 8 hours each of 5 days for 9 months every year for 13 years. 

To verify those salary numbers you may check out the following link…

Each month the teacher spends about 160 hours with your child. That works out to $40.28 per classroom per day. So let’s say there are 25 children in each classroom.  That’s $1.61 per child per DAY.  Your weekly childcare bill is $8.05 per child. Now in this daycare, they will also be given instruction in math, English, history, social studies and science and many other fields. The kids sometimes make friends for life under these teachers guidance and most definitely they advance their ability to live in the world as adults one day at a time and one year at a time.  That makes your child’s education one big value, if you ask me.

Our teachers are not only underpaid by a large amount, they are more importantly undervalued and grossly underappreciated. I know some are awful and should not be alone with a child EVER and classrooms are a vast waste of time with those undedicated and uncaring individuals. I believe them to be in the minority, however, and that the schools are filled with mostly teachers who want to help form your child’s mind and fill them with information they will use every day of their lives. They will help prepare your child for college or help train them to a particular trade to help assure their futures as contributing adults. For all of this, you are paying $8.00 a week!  Yep, they deserve a big raise and they deserve your respect. They have mine.
Maybe one day this week, thank a teacher. They are not working for a paycheck to support an elaborate lifestyle, they are teaching because, for the most part, they love teaching your children.

Now, how important is your child’s education these days? How many people do you know who have graduated with a degree in xyz and are working in a completely unrelated field, if they are working at all?  I am afraid I know several. It is a mystery to me why just having attended college and graduated with some diploma and some degree makes you the perfect candidate for some job that you never even considered actually doing. Never wanted to do and don’t really want to do it now, but you have bills to pay and this job is a big paycheck. Common.

I guess the education is important. It’s a job. It’s the key, apparently, to obtaining the higher paying jobs with a future even if you have no idea in what field to study for the world four years from now, when you will walk out with your own degree in biology to accept the job at Dow Chemical in the Human Resources Department.
Education is never wasted, can’t really argue that.

Jo

28 comments:

  1. I know teachers play a huge role in our culture, and I'm grateful to them for doing what they do. But if the salary averages you post are accurate, I'm finding it hard to believe they're having hard times. Maybe it's just a regional salary difference,but they can't live on $55,000.00? Holy shit. I make $15,600.00 a year, and that's even being a fucking manager. I make too much money to qualify for food stamps or welfare,but I can just barely feed myself and pay my rent. I don't have the education that teachers do but holy shit, if I found it hard to live on $55,000.00 a year there would be something seriously fucked up. Sorry.

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    1. I didn't say they couldn't live on it, I said they don't live lavishly. I say they graduate with $40,000 to $60,000 in student loans and don't start at that salary. I'm saying they are shaping our future citizens and are making less than the pre-school daycare centers. That isn't right and it isn't even close to being a decent wage for the jobs they do. Often they work from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Just keeping up. Taking work home every day. It's an enormously important job with very little respect and not nearly enough compensation.
      Just my opinion, of course.

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    2. There was a bumper sticker that I came across, long ago, that read "Teachers are in it for the outcome, not the income" and I believe that to be true.

      Unless you are a full-time instructor/professor, there are NO benefits, and the wages are MUCH lower than the figures you gave, well under what Steven indicated.

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  2. When my daughter went to college, she considered majoring in education. I said, "Don't you dare!" We may only spend six hours with the kids, but the time involved in planning those six hours makes for a much longer day. I get to school around 7:20 and often won't leave until 6:00 at night. Plus, I must bring work home during many evenings and weekends. I spent hours of every vacation working on progress reports. Mind you, I have twenty-six years experience and a Master's Degree, but my 24 year old son, with an undergraduate degree in Economics, makes close to my salary and may soon pass me. Between the constant evaluations and pressure to bring up test scores, the job is grueling and stressful. It's shot up my blood pressure, pushed me into the pre-Diabetic range, and I take anti-anxiety pills that I DON'T NEED in the summertime. I used to love teaching, but I'm afraid all this pressure on us has sucked the fun out of my job. Not to mention the fourteen bills from the Tennessee Republican Congress aimed at taking away my rights, bargaining power, retirement benefits, etc. I love the kids (my stress rarely comes from them), but I'm counting the days to retirement.

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    1. I hear ya, Joyce. My friend is in similar circumstances. I have nieces who teach and they would settle for a little recognition from their students families. It's a tough, tough job that should not be taken for granted and should be elevated to it's true value.
      Oh, and Joyce, Thank YOU for all you do and for all you give.

      And for sharing and reading.

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    2. Actually the students and their families are very appreciative. It's someone else I'd like to hear from as well as those legislators who have made our lives miserable. All would be better if they'd just get off our backs and let us do our jobs.

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  3. Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

    Will Durant

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    1. Education is the transmission of civilazation.
      Will Durant

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  4. A lot of interesting facts. My daughter would like to be a teacher someday and I wonder if she really has any idea what she is in for. I hear so many bad things about it not to mention the debt that she would have leaving school. There is still time for her to change her mind. I don't think education guarantees employment doing what you study for. If you don't get a job doing what you wanted, isn't it a waste of money to get that sheet of paper. Just my humble opinion. I hope things are better by the time my kids have to worry about it.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

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    1. I find it so sad that education is not a field our children are looking at with great anticipation. College prepares our kids for so much that has nothing to do with the scholastic achievements, but everything to do with being an adult. I never feel learning at any level in any field is a waste of time or money because growth has been achieved regardless and that is always a good thing. But, back to my point, educators are just not respected and valued and compensated for what they do day in and day out. Our states do not provide them with the freedom to educate. They are tied up in paper work and rules and regulations that hinder them from teaching our children and the children graduate completely unprepared for life. It has to change.

      I hope your daughter follows that dream IF she still feels it when she is 18 or 19 because following your dream is always worth doing. Don't ya think?

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    2. Kathy, have your daughter research the federal TEACH Grant and also Teacher Loan Forgiveness on studentaid.ed.gov. Those two programs alone can help make an undergraduate education program much more affordable.

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    4. Rae, In order to qualify for most of the teaching grants/forgiveness programs you have to be willing to work for 5 years (it may vary) in an underprivileged school. For me that would mean moving away from everything I am familiar with, and comfortable with, and living in an area I would not want to be in... let alone teach in.

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  5. Thank you for posting this, Sandra. My fiance is a teacher in a low income, rough and tumble urban area. His classroom is overcrowded. He does not make $55,000 per year, even with five years experience. $55K might seem like a lot of money to most people, but such wages are before taxes. Then, we have rent and our living expenses to consider which is a big hole being in New York (try throwing $20,000 away on rent annually for a 1 bedroom apt in a so-so neighborhood). Further, he paid for his education out-of-pocket and had to earn his Master's to retain his teaching license - having a graduate degree is mandatory after the initial certificate expires. He wakes up earlier than 5 am every morning to write lesson plans for his kids and falls asleep almost always after midnight due to grading and working hard to give them every possible advantage, though such attention will always fall short of most suburban pupils take for granted, like textbooks and even classroom walls. His students often cannot afford or do not bring basic school supplies with them, so he purchases that too, and a personal children's book collection for them to use. I have over a thousand unsharpened pencils in a box in our hallway. His school does not provide paper or toner, so again, all of that is his responsibility. The city used to give a $200 reimbursement for the entire year for each teacher, but did away with it. Every year, we spend thousands out of his paycheck without complaint for needy students without taking the tax deduction (most things he purchases on the fly and he has so much paper around, he misplaces the receipts).

    I am not asking for pity in this matter because neither of us went into Education for the money. We feel driven to help and do our best for the next generation. Respect is something educators do not often receive, but is greatly appreciated. I see him easily throw aside his sleep-deprivation to help his students succeed despite challenging obstacles. Posts like this help make those sacrifices worthwhile.

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    1. Woops, I meant Jo! I was flipping through tabs and got them mixed up when replying. Forgive me? You have a fabulous blog, Jo.

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    2. I do forgive you...not a problem and thanks so much for the fabulous blog comment! That helped, a little. he he

      On a more serious note, I do appreciate and respect dedicated teachers who really want to make a difference in our kids lives. The financial side of teaching is harsh to say the least and your fiance is not all that unique in the desire to help always. I know some others who do the same and it's never ending. There is so much need and so little help anywhere else.

      Thank you so much for sharing your story with us and also for being one of the really GOOD GUYS who are willing to sacrifice for the children who really have no one else. Truly, thank you, both.

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  6. Very true post. I am angered at the low pay for teachers and I love the way you broke it down per student. You really laid it out there like it is and I like that. Great post!! <3

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    1. Thank you Emily Rose...I am hoping things change while our youngsters still think it's an honorable and valued profession. Because it is.

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  7. My partner was a teacher for years at the high school level in mathematics--generally alegbra and pre-calc were the classes she had. She was excellent at doing so, but got burnt out in the system even though she taught only at the better private schools. Her pay was ok; she makes more doing something else now. I remember she told me she decided to major in Mathematics for teaching because it's a shortage area and she's a minority (they can check off their EOE boxes when they hire her), ensuring she could always have a job teaching. That has been absolutely 500% true.

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    1. Thanks for sharing that Eccentricity...it's interesting and a bit sad. Often the stories of teachers are sad. I'm hoping for a brighter future for all of the dedicated souls who only want to teach and prepare students for their futures.

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  8. Replies
    1. I'm glad you were! :-)

      Also wanted to add, you say no benefits, here in Michigan the union teachers are blessed with a good benefit package and only the part-time or subs are excluded. The salaries are from the indicated website and are accurate averages, I believe. The problem is the lower the area income, of course, the lower the teaching salary and the higher areas get the big pay. Kinda feels to me like it should happen in reverse.

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    2. The same is true here, the full-time faculty has good benefits, but they encourage hiring of part-time instructors. Thus... the majority still have no benefits.

      Yeah, the incentives are backward to be sure.

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  9. Seems to be a world wide thing. Teachers here complain about their salaries too

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    1. The teachers I know complain much more about the crap they have to do that has nothing to do with teaching. They want to teach and they want respect from their communities. Not do much to ask.

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  10. I have always felt that teachers should get paid a higher salary. It's one of the most important jobs out there - to educate our children and adults as well. A higher salary would make the job more competitive, thus having the best teachers out there. I've ran into a few teachers in my day and thought to myself, "Why in the world did they get into this field, anyway?"

    Nice take on the subject, Jo!

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    1. We are on the same page, Linda. I have also met some who chose the wrong field and many who are trying so hard to make a difference for their students.
      Thanks for sharing.

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