Why are your kids home-schooled? I think you hear a lot about teacher salaries (rather than any other profession) because they are paid by the public, so it's everyone's business how much they get paid, and they are by far the largest group of public employees, so you hear a lot more about teachers than, say, NASA workers. Saying that teacher pay is 'just giving teachers unions more money' is not exactly an unbiased take. As for teachers making an average wage for their education level - even if that's so, do you want an average person teaching your kids, or do you want an excellent person? barfo
My wife loved teaching and it was her calling no doubt about it. The superintendent that was 75 years old was making $150k a year and his home provided rent free. Teachers in that same district were not payed very well as compared to his contribution. Towards the end of her career class rooms were way to heavy and special need kids were thrown in with regular class’s and not every teacher was able to address their needs, which is to bad. Teachers should be able to make more than they do but it should be based on performance and tenure.
I wasnt looking for opinion pieces on my “narrative”, I was looking at factually what do teachers make, and what do other professions make, and what level of education is required, and what the average salary for that level of education is. Results tended to show that teachers were average to slightly above average. Education is what makes a country great? I mean this is maybe partially true, but theres a lot more that goes into a great country than simply education. No ones saying education and educators are unimportant, or don't deserve to be paid, but just the fact they’re “teachers” doesn't entitle them to simply just “make more money” in my opinion at least. There are a lot of jobs out there that are important for a society. Im not sure what me having not taught public school has to do with it. All jobs have stress, everyone think’s they’re under paid and under appreciated for the most part.
There’s a huge misconception that teachers work like 8-3 and have holidays off and summers etc so they get paid appropriately. When it’s more like 7-4, then work at home and/or weekends to finish off what isn’t done in the classroom. Never mind the sheer critically important work they do with children. Then add on the schooling, the desire we all have to attract top talent, etc. I don’t think anyone is advocating we pay public school teachers $200,000 a year. But I think it’s very reasonable to say they should get near $100,000, they deserve it and it would make college kids think twice about getting into that career vs being an accountant, sales rep, etc. Nothing wrong with those jobs at all, but teaching would be a viable option for many talented young people who just want to make a better living than $50k
My kids are home schooled because my wife and I dont want to depend on the school system to educate our children. We have the means for her to stay at home be responsible for their education and she has a college education and wants to do it. They’re our kids and our responsibility not the governments. is any take unbiased? Teachers unions are powerful though bias or not. Yeah excellent teachers would be great but also then demand higher standards for teachers. Make them all go get doctorates. Simply paying them more does not mean that the level of teaching will just go up in the process. It just means more people will want to do it.
Raising wages would also give us the chance to raise the bar for better teachers. I also don’t love the whole idea of ‘tenure’ and think there has to be a better way to evaluate performance of teachers. As much respect as i have for teachers, there are some out there that are flat out just riding it out to retirement.
I never said anything about their work hours, or how much they work. Though I probably should put that into consideration when talking about average salaries. Im not advocating paying them less, a lot of people in the middle struggle though, and many of them probably should make more, not just teachers.
You've chosen to homeschool....and you sort of are saying teachers are well paid ...we simply disagree. For a teacher in Nebraska the cost of living is a bit different from the teacher in New York City....The big picture is we need to attract talent to the profession and dump the idea that there are those who "do" and those who "teach"...….which happens...people who suck at their field of expertise can always teach because all in all....it's a thankless job. It's how we ended up where we are.....of all the teachers I had I'd say 3 of them were talented teachers. I'd like to see that change. You can let Louis Montero be your point guard on a budget but if you want to win it all you sign Damian Lillard…...choices....ways and means...I'd rather see us invest in our children's future than another missile or tank. I don't think tenure is helping the cause...too many tenured teachers tend to mail it in without teaching for the next contract.
Im saying that teachers are making enough to get by which the term used to begin with is a liveable wage. I dont think they get paid “well”, but I dont think that most of the middle and lower class get paid well. They get paid the minimum amount the overlords can get away with and it does suck, but its sucks for a vast majority of people. Id agree attracting people who want to teach and are talented teachers is a good thing, money can certainly be a part of that. Just in my opinion overall money is tight for a lot of people.
More like 7-5...even 6. Your right there is a misconception here. Teachers are often sitting at their desks hours after school working. They bring it home too...grading papers, making lesson plans, etc. There are many no school days when the teacher is there working. It is a lot of work, especially with class sizes going up.
Why don't you want to depend on the school system? I know you have the means and that is cool you can do that for your kids. I am curious what other reasons you have?
There is a saying, teachers don't go into teaching for the money. They do it because it is their passion. There are good arguments for teachers being paid more. But, there are other issues at hand too in the education system that need to be fixed. Every year the funding for our schools shrink. The numbers of teachers are dwindling because the money isnt there to pay them. They are laid off. There is no money for supplies and books. Teachers are paying out of pocket as well as parents now. With less students, class sizes are climbing. There are some teachers with 35- 40 kids in their class. Crowded classrooms make it harder to teacher, make it harder for students to learn. Students benefit from 1 on 1 time and don't get that in large classes. Many students are failing and dropping out because of this. School buildings are closing because funding is so bad. We can't hire enough staff to keep them open. Every year I see a school close. Our education system is falling apart because we aren't investing in our kids. They are the future.
Sound good, hey! But check it out, through out your own State. In most of the small towns though out the state, the schools teachers are the best paid of the residents. Well except perhaps the dentists. The retired teachers are even in better shape compared to the other retirees. Go to some of the small towns where things are so cheap, it has mostly retirees, but teachers don't retire there. Bandon it pretty popular though.
the manager of your local fast food franchise probably makes more than your kid's teacher. My son's classmate in a small town dropped out of school and went into his parents fast food biz.....makes 25 k more a year than my son who graduated with honors and works in his field handling medical insurance accounts. In all fairness that kid would have been a terrible, lazy teacher if he'd chosen that path.
Fast Food! Wow, there are none of those in Bandon. No burgerking, Mac D... Can you imagine running one of those? Hell, I never go to one. No I don't think the local school teachers in Bandon are looking up to that gang. Or in Coquille, Toledo....
This kid owns a Subway....no competition...place makes a fortune. I don't eat fast food but they get a lot of students and teacher's lunch money daily. I brown bagged my lunch when I was working....Americans buy food before they buy almost anything else...to the point where overeating has pretty much become exclusively an American disease...diabetes and heart failure is rare in Asian countries. Here you can literally eat yourself to death
A few things I guess. My experience in public schools was negative, teachers that didnt care, teachers that didnt make learning interesting, classrooms that were crowded. My wife was home schooled as were her siblings and she had good experiences with it and so did her brothers and sisters, so experience was part of it. The worst was actually when I left portland, I was in a bunch of TAG classes (I think thats what they called them back then), then when we moved to a smaller town, I got stuck in classes that I had basically graduated out of like 3-4 years prior to that, it’s just thats what they had. It was almost like torture to a (TorturedBlazerFan) person who needs challenged in order for things to remain interested. If we move someday I dont want to risk making them reset their education. Then there are other things. Im responsible for these kids, Im responsible for their actions, and people generally fall on that side of it. So in my opinion if Im responsible for all of what they do for the next 18ish years, then I want to teach them and know what Im putting in their minds so to speak. I absolutely understand that some people don't have that option, and that public schools work for others, Im not looking down my nose at them. Its just how we've decided to do it in our home. As long as kids are being educated and prepared for adult hood thats the important part. If our kids have or have special needs, and need professional help we will either explore hiring someone to help us, or private / public schools that have people trained to help them. Most parents want whats best for their kids, just many of us make different decisions on what will work best for their kids, and their families.
I understand this but to me...you do both...allowing your children to learn in the community they live in develops social skills homeschooling may not address...there's more to school than academics but at the same time you need to homeschool if you're a parent no matter if your children attend public or private school...I taught my son everyday at home and he went to public school....growing up on a dairy farm in rural Iowa, I loved school....if I wasn't in class discovering things I'd be on the farm mucking out stalls or weeding soybeans. I loved the library.....place I could shut off the world and learn without distractions. School introduced me to literature, theater and music in a way I wouldn't have experienced staying on the farm...no youtube when I was that age for tutoring
