The exclusionary licensing practices and being forced to pay bloated tuition costs in order to enter into a profession should not be encouraged anymore by tax victims.

PLUS most of you mouthers are forgetting the cost of the degrees in order to teach. ANYONE with the amount of college my wife has would easily be making 6 figures.
Now you will say well let them go do something else. But some people enjoy changing lives and trying to develop our youth into productive members of society.

JEFF BYRD

Where are all the math teachers ?

Base salary is different than total compensation

Benefit packages are generally higher than base salaries and are 2x greater than that of the private sector

But somehow everyone focuses on base pay or take home pay

Combine base pay , benefits , extraordinary job security , and less than average days worked and you have no one wanting to quit

Extortion ............the tax payer and students are the losers



Right on Anti

Ever been to West Virginia? I have lived there and spend a whole bunch time there and I know what most little towns look like. You really think these teachers are "well paid"? I doubt it. Teachers are the one profession that I have no problem seeing get a raise, they do more than most people ever will for the development of kids and prepare them for a good future.

I'm a public elementary school teacher in northern MN. I saw this post and expected the worst. It's interesting to hear all the different perspectives. For the most part, I agree with what has been said. Education is like most any profession, very difficult to put a blanket statement on education, teachers, salary, etc. and assume it's absolute truth. As has been said, the variability in salary, benefits, etc. is dependant on each individual school district, so it's hard to criticize teachers for being overpaid in one district when you can walk down the road to the next and see such dramatic differences in wage. I can speak for myself and say that when I graduated with my bachelors degree in 2009, my first teaching contract was under $30,000. My second contract the next year at a different district (where I currently am) was $31,000. Mind you, it cost me nearly $70,000 to get my bachelors degree before I signed my first contract. Since then, I've worked at this district for 8 years. I've gone back and gotten my masters degree (another $20,000 out of my pocket) and with that I currently make $54,000. My health benefits are fair, I contribute around $250/month to a 403b, and yes, the best benefit of all....I get 3 months of summer to myself.
There are PLENTY, in fact, most jobs that I could have gotten with a bachelors degree right out of college that would have paid better. I knew that going into it. From my perspective, I wanted a job that would be rewarding for me, impactful to others, and give me the opportunity to leave some sort of legacy when I'm gone. I wanted a job that wouldn't be too hard on my body so that I could enjoy some sort of life during retirement. I wanted a job that would mesh with a family so that I could spend time with them when this part of my life occurred.
I like my job. I've never felt that I'm overpaid for my job. I've never felt underpaid. If I did, it's my choice to find something else to do. If anybody feels that teachers are making away like bandits, I would encourage them to get into teaching. Or at the very least, spend some time helping out in a school experience what's going on. It's your tax dollars that are paying us, so come on into the classroom and see where your money is going. My door is always open to parents, community members, or anyone that wants to join us.

That is so far from the truth. Nobody with the college education required to become a teacher does or should be making 6 figures.How do i know, Ive got 2 undergrad degrees, 1 graduate degree, licenses and graduate certificates, work in a good field and very few make 6 figures.

So all of you people blindly defending every teacher across the country, I have a question for you. What are your opinions on the teachers sleeping with their students? Does every teacher burn the midnight oil as you claim? are the students in your districts all becoming top citizens contributing to society in good and wonderful ways? Are your teachers teaching students how to balance checkbooks, cook food, sew clothing together, build things out of wood, how is the math scores for your district? how is the outlook for future rocket scientists coming along? OR is it more likely that the few exceptional teachers are doing their job and not getting the credit they deserve because the UNION says all teachers should be treated equally regardless of their performance? Why is it that our schools have dropped from the top spot in the world and are quickly plummeting to the bottom? Throwing good money at a bad system does nothing but promote the bad system, that is what most of us are trying to say.

(disclaimer: I know that students can't be taught if they don't want to learn)

So all of you people blindly defending every teacher across the country, I have a question for you. What are your opinions on the teachers sleeping with their students? Does every teacher burn the midnight oil as you claim? are the students in your districts all becoming top citizens contributing to society in good and wonderful ways? Are your teachers teaching students how to balance checkbooks, cook food, sew clothing together, build things out of wood, how is the math scores for your district? how is the outlook for future rocket scientists coming along? OR is it more likely that the few exceptional teachers are doing their job and not getting the credit they deserve because the UNION says all teachers should be treated equally regardless of their performance? Why is it that our schools have dropped from the top spot in the world and are quickly plummeting to the bottom? Throwing good money at a bad system does nothing but promote the bad system, that is what most of us are trying to say.

(disclaimer: I know that students can't be taught if they don't want to learn)

I'll start by saying I'm an anti. I believe in a non-union work place were everyone can ask for what ever compensation they want and the employer can pay whatever compensation they want. That idea has worked for me and I have held a full time job since 23 June 1966. When I wanted more I either got it where I was or got more at a NEW JOB. If you are good at what you do you can get what you want in a union free workplace. Back in the day (30 years ago) when I was making $16 per hour and wanted $20 I changed jobs and could only get $18 to start, but $22 after six months. I changed jobs. I did not create a "union" where the very best workers' pay is averaged down by the very worst workers performance. As I've been saying for 50+ years, go get what you are worth. Same thing applies to teachers if you want $100,000 per year, go get it. Most teachers have a very good compensation package. My in-laws were both teachers & never made BIG BUCKS, but retired after 30 years service & more dollars income per year after retirement than before, after social security kicked in for them.

IMO, unions do not work. 1960's & 70's I surveyed for the state & all state works were unionized. Here is why it does not work. As a state employee we had state gas stations & people that pumped gas. Their job was gas pumper with no upward mobility. Pre-union they were paid what they were worth. Fast forward 20 years of being in a union and getting raises every year. The gas pumpers' pay was more than it was worth for someone to pump gas. The state closed the gas stations and gave us credit cards.

A job is only worth some many dollars. Forming a union and striking will not change what that job is worth. The union idea will never work long term. You don't need to believe me, just compare the number of union workers over the past 40 or 50 years. In 2013, the percentage of workers belonging to a union was 11.3%, compared to 20.1% in 1983. The rate for the private sector was 6.7%, and for the public sector 35.3%. The union membership rate—the percentage of wage and salary workers who are members of unions—was 10.7 percent in 2016, down 0.4 percentage point from 2015. In 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent

Unions are dying because they DO NOT WORK!

I'm a public elementary school teacher in northern MN. I saw this post and expected the worst. It's interesting to hear all the different perspectives. For the most part, I agree with what has been said. Education is like most any profession, very difficult to put a blanket statement on education, teachers, salary, etc. and assume it's absolute truth. As has been said, the variability in salary, benefits, etc. is dependant on each individual school district, so it's hard to criticize teachers for being overpaid in one district when you can walk down the road to the next and see such dramatic differences in wage. I can speak for myself and say that when I graduated with my bachelors degree in 2009, my first teaching contract was under $30,000. My second contract the next year at a different district (where I currently am) was $31,000. Mind you, it cost me nearly $70,000 to get my bachelors degree before I signed my first contract. Since then, I've worked at this district for 8 years. I've gone back and gotten my masters degree (another $20,000 out of my pocket) and with that I currently make $54,000. My health benefits are fair, I contribute around $250/month to a 403b, and yes, the best benefit of all....I get 3 months of summer to myself.
There are PLENTY, in fact, most jobs that I could have gotten with a bachelors degree right out of college that would have paid better. I knew that going into it. From my perspective, I wanted a job that would be rewarding for me, impactful to others, and give me the opportunity to leave some sort of legacy when I'm gone. I wanted a job that wouldn't be too hard on my body so that I could enjoy some sort of life during retirement. I wanted a job that would mesh with a family so that I could spend time with them when this part of my life occurred.
I like my job. I've never felt that I'm overpaid for my job. I've never felt underpaid. If I did, it's my choice to find something else to do. If anybody feels that teachers are makinging away like bandits, I would encourage them to get into teaching. Or at the very least, spend some time helping out in a school experience what's going on. It's your tax dollars that are paying us, so come on into the classroom and see where your money is going. My door is always open to parents, community members, or anyone that wants to join us.