According to GOOD magazine, 46% of public-school teachers leave the school system within their first five years. They are lead astray by jobs in the marketplace that pay them higher than the average new teacher salary of $35,000 USD a year. Based on the ideas of Daniel Moulthrop, Ninive Calegari and Dave Eggers, the Teacher Salary Project uses media and advocacy to show how teachers change the world one student at a time, and how they should be paid a salary that is deserving for such a feat.
Lets think about this- every one reading this now does so because they were taught to read.
How much is that worth to you?
(If you answered less than your current salary, think again... could you do your job if you were illiterate?)
Your ability to do your job, and do it well, is due to the tireless efforts of teachers in your life. It is important to remember that schooling is not John Donne's island- it is a community effort and a community reward. Giving our children a premier education is not enough- we must strive to give everyone our children may interact with an equal education, as they will be our children's future doctors, our children's future neighbors, our children's future co-habitants of the world. The easiest way to protect our kids is to surround them by people who have equal opportunities and ample choices for a good life.
According to the Teacher Salary Project website ( http://www.theteachersalaryproject.org/about.html#aboutProj ) 30% of American high school students drop out of school by the time they are 18. That means 3 out of 10 of your children's classmates will drop out of school. Those people will have a harder time getting a living wage job, supporting a family, or having opportunities in the future. And we need to stop thinking that it is just a number, and it doesn't affect us. It does- it affects the entire community. Lets send our children into a world where there is low crime, high standards of living, where everyone can climb to the top of Maslow's pyramid of self-actualization.
We get good citizens by giving a good education. We get a good education by retaining good teachers. We retain good teachers by paying them a salary worthy of their commitment and their results. We make this happen by missions like the Teacher Salary Project.
For more information check out these websites:
The Teacher Salary Project website: http://www.theteachersalaryproject.org/index.html
Op-Ed, Teacher Salary Reform: http://www.nj.com/opinion/times/oped/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1256363156150360.xml&coll=5
Teacher Pay and Teacher Quality: http://www.upjohninst.org/publications/ch1/tptq.pdf
Are Teachers paid too Little... or too Much? : http://www.aei.org/EMStaticPage/302?page=Summary
Yes to more pay for teachers, and this may work to increase educational effectiveness in several other ways than just keeping the same teachers around longer. It could also pull in more qualified individuals that do not chose teaching due to the inadequate pay.
ReplyDeleteAlso it may bring people from the work force to the teaching sector, these are the teachers we need. Those with work and life experience, those that can bring practical application into the classroom, much like we have practitioners in the classroom along with academics.
Finally is there a number for what teachers salary would be annualized or how many days/months is the $35,000 based on? Not arguing the pathetic pay of teachers, just looking for transparency in the numbers.