Teacher Salary Analysis - Classroom 2.02024-03-28T18:15:42Zhttps://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/649749:Topic:108664?commentId=649749%3AComment%3A109522&feed=yes&xn_auth=noPlease know that I really do…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-08:649749:Comment:1166702008-03-08T03:33:39.113ZPhilhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/Phil40
Please know that I really do sympathize with your situation. I am sorry to hear what is happening.<br />
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As a teacher though, I was making so little that I actually quit on purpose. I had no job lined up or anything. What did I end up doing? Collecting quarters out of video games, counting the money, and driving it to the bank.<br />
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I made $15,000 more per year than I did as a teacher. After 1 1/2 years through a little networking I landed a second contract for another $20,000 per year.<br />
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So why did I…
Please know that I really do sympathize with your situation. I am sorry to hear what is happening.<br />
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As a teacher though, I was making so little that I actually quit on purpose. I had no job lined up or anything. What did I end up doing? Collecting quarters out of video games, counting the money, and driving it to the bank.<br />
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I made $15,000 more per year than I did as a teacher. After 1 1/2 years through a little networking I landed a second contract for another $20,000 per year.<br />
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So why did I quit? It goes back to daycare. My wife did not want to work at all with a new little boy in the house. I did not quite make enough to pay for everything.<br />
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So we compromised, moved across the state so grandma could watch my son three days per week, and I went back into teaching.<br />
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My point is, you will likely find something that pays more than what you do now. As a very qualified person, I would head back into the private sector. I would not even wait to find out what happens with your position.<br />
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Good luck,<br />
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P Now this is the kind of pay I…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-08:649749:Comment:1166682008-03-08T03:27:40.417ZPhilhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/Phil40
Now this is the kind of pay I am talking about. Of course, the idea of living in NY City is not a pleasant one. I mean, you have simple condos going for $1,000,000, right?
Now this is the kind of pay I am talking about. Of course, the idea of living in NY City is not a pleasant one. I mean, you have simple condos going for $1,000,000, right? Phil, check it out. NY Charte…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-08:649749:Comment:1166542008-03-08T02:45:50.757ZNancy Boschhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/nbosch
Phil, check it out. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/nyregion/07charter.html?_r=1&ex=1362546000&en=42a791901da019ff&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin">NY Charter School</a> pays $125,000<br />
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Could there be hope? haha
Phil, check it out. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/nyregion/07charter.html?_r=1&ex=1362546000&en=42a791901da019ff&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin">NY Charter School</a> pays $125,000<br />
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Could there be hope? haha Exactly - I wouldn't mind the…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-06:649749:Comment:1163502008-03-06T23:42:43.321ZLaura Gibbshttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/lauragibbs
Exactly - I wouldn't mind the job in-security if I knew my contract was being renewed based on my performance. But my performance is not even a factor - it's the "big picture" of the budget - I try not to think about it too much, except to keep tinkering on my "Plan B" which I will pursue if the axe falls. GOOD LUCK.
Exactly - I wouldn't mind the job in-security if I knew my contract was being renewed based on my performance. But my performance is not even a factor - it's the "big picture" of the budget - I try not to think about it too much, except to keep tinkering on my "Plan B" which I will pursue if the axe falls. GOOD LUCK. Indigo, GOOD LUCK with all th…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-06:649749:Comment:1163082008-03-06T22:22:10.470ZLaura Gibbshttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/lauragibbs
Indigo, GOOD LUCK with all that. The one complaint I do have about my job is that it is year to year and I have no job security of any kind, unlike my tenured colleagues. I know how you feel - and I hope this will turn out okay! FINGERS CROSSED.
Indigo, GOOD LUCK with all that. The one complaint I do have about my job is that it is year to year and I have no job security of any kind, unlike my tenured colleagues. I know how you feel - and I hope this will turn out okay! FINGERS CROSSED. Hi Phil, re: the point above…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-06:649749:Comment:1163052008-03-06T22:21:04.619ZLaura Gibbshttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/lauragibbs
Hi Phil, re: the point above (I think we got so nested in the discussion that Ning won't let me add a reply), I think this is where we disagree: exactly because you have this great education, and because your job is one that gives you constant stimulation and chances to grow and learn new skills, you have incredible opportunities, the kind of opportunities that a secretary, locked in what is often a grinding, repetitive job, may not have at all. Teaching is not just one skill as you say, but…
Hi Phil, re: the point above (I think we got so nested in the discussion that Ning won't let me add a reply), I think this is where we disagree: exactly because you have this great education, and because your job is one that gives you constant stimulation and chances to grow and learn new skills, you have incredible opportunities, the kind of opportunities that a secretary, locked in what is often a grinding, repetitive job, may not have at all. Teaching is not just one skill as you say, but many skills - and a great environment in which to be learning new skills all the time.<br />
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As someone who worked for quite some years as a secretary before getting into teaching, I would never say that secretaries have more opportunities than teachers - there's a kind of freedom that comes with having a job that is comparatively free of professional responsibilities (I was able to read and read and read in my spare time when I worked as a secretary, since I never took work home), but it's that lack of professional responsibilities which results in fewer professional opportunities as well, and why secretaries are, in general, paid so little even though they may work very hard. Point well taken.
But the se…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-06:649749:Comment:1162882008-03-06T21:42:42.883ZPhilhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/Phil40
Point well taken.<br />
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But the secretaries did not spend $30,000 and many years becoming secretaries. Yes, they are highly-skilled, but it did not take them years to get there.<br />
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I have two college degrees. They do not make that much less than me. In fact, when you consider that much of my money for the last several years has been spent on continuing ed, they may have made more than me during those years! One year 1/3 of what I made was spend on continuing ed.<br />
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I would also argue that they have more…
Point well taken.<br />
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But the secretaries did not spend $30,000 and many years becoming secretaries. Yes, they are highly-skilled, but it did not take them years to get there.<br />
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I have two college degrees. They do not make that much less than me. In fact, when you consider that much of my money for the last several years has been spent on continuing ed, they may have made more than me during those years! One year 1/3 of what I made was spend on continuing ed.<br />
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I would also argue that they have more opportunities than me. They can quit or start work at another job without much thought to "when the school year begins". If I decided to take some time off to explore my opportunities, I would not be able to go back into teaching for 12 months. Their jobs, by nature, are more transitional, with plenty of opportunities for advancement.<br />
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In fact, no matter what school I go to, I am going to get paid the same in my state.<br />
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Are their people who have it worse than teachers? Of course. But they also have more opportunities. No matter what I do, how hard I work, etc. I pretty much get paid the same. And while people do quit teaching and make the leap into another profession, my skills are teaching skills. Not transitional skills like secretaries and others may have--keyboarding, web design, newsletter layout, database design and maintenance, and other cool things that make them more valuable in the market place.<br />
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So not only am I going to tell my students to stay out of teaching because of lack of pay, but once they take the teaching track, their skills are limited to once profession--Teaching.<br />
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Poor choice all around and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't. Although you and I clearly ag…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-06:649749:Comment:1162832008-03-06T21:10:54.356ZPhilhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/Phil40
Although you and I clearly agree that teachers need to get paid more, I don't think this is the way to do it.<br />
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I am always bummed when I hear or read that we need to make exceptions. Affirmative action needs to be completely eradicated. People losing their homes because they signed a bad mortgage do not need "special assistance" from the government. And teachers still need to pay taxes just like everybody else.<br />
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There is a much better answer. One that has made America great! Free Market…
Although you and I clearly agree that teachers need to get paid more, I don't think this is the way to do it.<br />
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I am always bummed when I hear or read that we need to make exceptions. Affirmative action needs to be completely eradicated. People losing their homes because they signed a bad mortgage do not need "special assistance" from the government. And teachers still need to pay taxes just like everybody else.<br />
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There is a much better answer. One that has made America great! Free Market Economy.<br />
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Privatize education (actually-use the voucher system). Let students and parents choose their school and their teacher!<br />
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Until then, you are going to get the same mediocrity that we get now.<br />
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Incidentally, the mortgage crisis is partly due to poor parents trying to move to nice neighborhoods so their kids could have a chance at a decent education. They took the interest-only loan, and are now regretting it. The #1 indicator of house value is the school the kids will go to.<br />
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If people could pick their school or teacher, then house values would level out and you would not have poor and rich neighborhoods.<br />
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I know why I chose my house. So my kids would NOT go to the school I teach at!!! We only have 50% passing the state exam. No...my kids will be going to a school down the road where 90% of the students pass thank you very much.<br />
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Of course, I would send them to private school but I am a teacher...can't afford it.<br />
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Before anything starts thinking I am making up facts, I encourage you to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Two-Income-Trap-Middle-Class-Parents-Going/dp/B0009309HW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204837685&sr=8-1">"The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are Going Broke"</a> by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi. Same story: Middle class parents buying nice houses in nice neighborhoods so their kids can go to a decent school. This book was not written about Education, but rather it is a financial book. It ended up being about education because it is sending many normal families to the poor house so that their kids can have a nice education.<br />
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Sad that this is the price of getting a good education in America. Phil, there are professors an…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-06:649749:Comment:1162792008-03-06T21:03:20.704ZLaura Gibbshttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/lauragibbs
Phil, there are professors and staff at my university who have taken part-time jobs just to cover the dependent child healthcare costs. That is definitely not right. For folks with families, raising kids, the salary challenges are much more serious... but that is true in all professions, not just teachers, of course. The secretaries at my school, incredibly underpaid but vital to the effective functioning of the university, do not begin to make enough money to pay for healthcare for their own…
Phil, there are professors and staff at my university who have taken part-time jobs just to cover the dependent child healthcare costs. That is definitely not right. For folks with families, raising kids, the salary challenges are much more serious... but that is true in all professions, not just teachers, of course. The secretaries at my school, incredibly underpaid but vital to the effective functioning of the university, do not begin to make enough money to pay for healthcare for their own kids - and that is seriously wrong. This thread started with some…tag:www.classroom20.com,2008-03-06:649749:Comment:1162772008-03-06T20:53:36.138ZPhilhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/Phil40
This thread started with some discussion about people feeling stuck in their job so that their wife could stay home with their kids. Others (me) pointed out that teaching never pays enough for my wife to stay home (and, believe me, this is what she wants).<br />
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Children changes everything.<br />
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That is why I delivered pizza for Pizza Hut last year. Despite having a Masters Degree.<br />
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Money should be a factor for career choice. It should only be second to doing what you love.<br />
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With almost 50% of teachers…
This thread started with some discussion about people feeling stuck in their job so that their wife could stay home with their kids. Others (me) pointed out that teaching never pays enough for my wife to stay home (and, believe me, this is what she wants).<br />
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Children changes everything.<br />
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That is why I delivered pizza for Pizza Hut last year. Despite having a Masters Degree.<br />
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Money should be a factor for career choice. It should only be second to doing what you love.<br />
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With almost 50% of teachers quitting before their 5th year, obviously they are hurting. And the #1 reason that teachers quit is money.<br />
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Therefore, I go back to what I said before--Teachers do NOT make enough money. 180 days per year or not. It just isn't happening.<br />
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Another point to add to this--which teachers are the ones quitting? I would guess the smarter, more motivated ones.