Updated 2/4/02
 
 

1. "Teachers are paid too much."

Ask the following questions:
    "What do you pay competent people in your profession with a bachelors/masters degree and **  years of experience?"
    "Is your job more or less important to society than mine?"

OR:  Take this tidbit (see below) to parties and give it to people who complain about overpaid teachers.
 
 

    I, for one, am sick and tired of those over-paid teachers.  Their hefty salaries are driving up our taxes, and they get more holidays and vacations than you can shake a stick at.

    It's time that we put things into perspective and pay them for what they really do...baby sit.  We can get baby sitters for less than minimum wage.  That's right, we could pay teachers $3.00 an hour per kid.  And we're only going to pay them for the hours that they work, not for breaks like "planning time", lunch, "recess monitoring, or "bus duty".

    Let's see.  Three dollars an hour times five hours of work.  That comes to $15 bucks per kid for the day.  We'll pay the over-educated ones with a master's degree the minimum wage for taking care of each kid.  It's only fair.  Heck, we'll even round it off to $6 an hour.

    Now, how many kids do they teach per day in an average class?  Maybe 25? (Hey, even if it's 40 kids, they're still doing the same thing, so lets not count those extra 15 students)  OK then...$15 dollars times 25 kids.  That's $375 per day for those with bachelor's degrees and $750 per day for those with master's degrees.  We'll leave those with more than a master's degree, and teachers with experience out of our calculations for now

    Hmm, that sure sounds like alot, but remember...we're only going to pay them for the 180 days that they are actually working.  We're not gonna pay them for all those vacation days.

So let's see...that's $375 times 180 days = $67,500 per year for those with a four year degree.
Whew.  And those with master's degrees would make...now figure...that's $6 times 25 kids times 180 days = OMYGOSH!!!  $135,000 per year!?   Then we'd have to pay those with more education and experience an even greater amount.

Hey!  Minimum wage is too good for teachers.

Oh, and I suppose you want money to buy supplies for the kids too.
 
 

Click here to read some teachers' responses to this issue

 

2. "Teachers hardly ever work.  I wish I had summers off."

    Studies show that when the number of hours worked during a 365 day year (in school and out...teacher meetings, parent teacher conferences, grading papers, preparing materials) are determined, teachers work about 45 hours per week.  That's more than full time salaried workers and more than our friends in the business world.  If other professionals work beyond 40 hours, they get "over time" pay or additional hourly payments.  The 45 hours per week (averaged over the whole 52 week year) did not include time (and money) spent purchasing materials for the kids (do businesses tell their employees to buy their own supplies?) or taking college classes.

    Each business person must complete lesson plans at least three days in advance with annotations for curriculum objectives and modify, organize, or create materials accordingly.   They will be required to teach students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance, write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades, complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and arrange parent conferences.

    Participants must also supervise recess and monitor the hallways.  In addition, they will complete drills for fire, tornadoes, and shooting attacks.  They must attend workshops, faculty meetings, union meetings, and curriculum development meetings. A professional growth and learning plan is due before the winter holidays.  They must also tutor those students who are behind and strive to get their two non-English speaking children proficient enough to take the state proficiency tests and Terra Nova.

    If contestants are sick or having a bad day they must not let it show.  Each day they must incorporate reading, writing, math, science, and social studies into the program.  They must maintain discipline and provide an educationally stimulating environment at all times.

    The business people will only have access to the golf course on the weekends, but on their new salary they will not be able to afford it anyway.  There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch, and lunch will be limited to 30 minutes.  On days when they do not  have recess duty, the business people will be permitted to use the staff  restroom as long as another survival candidate is supervising their class.

    Participants will be provided with a 30-minute planning period per day while their students are at specials.  If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials at this time.  The business people must continually advance their education on their own time and pay for this advanced training themselves.  This can be accomplished by moonlighting at a second job or marrying someone with money.

The winner will be allowed to return to his or her job!

3. "Tenure.  What a bunch of crap.  What other profession has a guaranteed job for life (other than Supreme Court justices)?  I don't have that kind of job security."

    Tenure is awarded after a long process taking place over several years.  Teachers are frequently evaluated on many aspects of their performance by administrators.  They are awarded tenure because they are determined to be good for your kids.  Tenure protects good teachers with experience from being fired because the district wants to save money by hiring less expensive new teachers (or uncertified instructors) who haven't yet proven themselves (and when they do, they will then be fired to save money).  Tenure protects your children.  It's good for society.
    Yes, we have some "dead wood" in our profession, but let's remember that they were once motivated, skilled, and caring.  Give them a year or so to raise again to their former level before letting them go.  With a shortage of teachers, it's important to reclaim those who can still do it.
 
 

4. "Teachers aren't doing their jobs.  Just look at the test scores."

    Let's get this straight.  Graduation rates are higher than they have EVER been.  Those students who weren't successful in the past could drop out of school and get a factory job.  Unfortunately, those of you in the business world sent those jobs to other countries to make more profits for your company, and now you complain that people aren't working.  Test scores down?  Let's remember that we have kids taking the tests that didn't do so previously.  We now test special ed kids and kids with limited English ability who often have trouble showing their abilities on written tests.

    In fact, that's a point of contention with me.  We have to spend valuable instructional time teaching kids how to do well on the test so that the school district looks good when the scores are reported in the paper.  The exams will test superficial knowledge on dry topics that are memorized.  They involve no deep thinking, reflection, or analysis.  We're creating trivia experts.  I'm no longer allowed to teach your kids to think or enjoy learning.  There is no time for lab experiments, discussions and debates based on intensive research, or field trips to allow our kids to see "book knowledge" in the real world.  The overemphasis on test scores takes kids away from learning the material that will help them in life.

    Then I hear complaints that ½ of our schools' kids are performing below average on the test.  Perhaps you should engage in personal study of assessment.  That's the definition of "average" ("the mean")...1/2 the scores fall above the mid point, and half fall below.  Half of our country's children will always perform "below average".  It's a function of statistics.

    You also fail to consider the large number of kids who arrive in our schools with life circumstances that make it more difficult to learn.  You name it...drug addicted parents, exposure to media that downgrades teachers and education, parents who fail to support teachers, limited English ability, poor nutrition, ...I could go on for days listing all the factors that make it difficult for many of our kids to perform at a high level.

    So why are "those other countries" doing so well in comparison?  They still do what we used to do in the US: give the tests only to high performing kids.  Most countries also have higher drop out rates than us so most of the low performers have left the schools.  You can't test them if they aren't there (or aren't allowed to take the test if they are present).
 
 

5. "We ought to test teachers every year or five years."

    On what?  If I pass the test during one year, what would you place on the test for the next year that is different?  Oh, you want to talk about the initial test for certification?  Great.  I'll buy you a book that has practice tests and you can take it.  Of course, we won't have you complete the professional knowledge part.  You'll just take the parts on writing skills, general knowledge, math, etc.  Let's see how you do.

    Oh, you also say that you want teachers tested before they are certified to teach.  OK, I agree.  But then I don't want you telling me that it's OK for individuals to directly enter teaching from other fields (e.g., business, military) because they have "life experience".  Yes, they have much to offer, but their knowledge base does not guarantee that they have the teaching skills to convey the information well.  Let's be sure that they take teaching coursework and are tested and evaluated in order to move up to our level of underpayment for service to your kids (and society).
 
 

6. Anyone with expertise can teach that area of study
    "I'm leaving my accounting job.  I just got a job teaching math at the middle school."   "When I retire from my job as a lab biologist, I'm going to teach high school science."   "I used to be a social worker, but this year I'm going to teach students with behavior disorders."
    I hear these comments and cringe.  While these individuals are highly skilled, there is more to teaching than knowing the subject matter (just remember back to some of the college professors you've had).  I especially resent when these folks are hired at the same salary as new certified teachers.
    Would you place your trust in a lawyer, nurse, or doctor who started practicing after completing a summer crash course in the profession?  Therefore, would you want your child in the classroom of someone who had a quick summer training program in teaching?
    Yes, we need to draw more people to teaching, but lets not lower the standards for certification.  Or lets adjust pay and requirement/duties to match training/ability.

     Let's raise teacher pay to draw more people into the profession.  Let's pay for college coursework so that teachers continue their training.  And while we're at it, let pay for the application fees of teachers who come to districts with shortages.
(Thanks to Ann Constance for some of the substance in this "ranting".)
 
 

Grrr.

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