Okay, I have to throw the BS flag on this one.
--- Nicholas Burlakoff <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Certified Teachers in Yonkers NY, with an MA and three years of experience
> earn $85,000. In Scarsdale, NY the median salary for teachers is $95,000.
> This is for an average of 180 days work per year, with excellent benefits
> and pension.
A) No teacher works just 180 days per year. Most are taking classes over the
summer to get recertification points, moving their classrooms or packing them
up and unpacking them again because of maintenance work, and getting into the
classrooms early because there just isn't enough time in the week before the
kids start to get everything done. Teachers take work home with them. When I
student taught, I graded papers and did lesson plans at least 2 hours a night.
My cooperating teacher who had taught for 30 years was often up until 11pm
doing work. If I did that at my government contractor job, I could start to
demand major comp time and overtime.
B) Excellent benefits - sure, but they can't really use them. Try taking a
2-week vacation in the middle of the school year. You might have the leave time
but your class will be a wreck when you come back because good subs are hard to
find - not to mention all that extra time you'll spend planning for 2 weeks of
a sub and then playing catch up once you return. Sick time? Good luck. If there
aren't subs to cover you, which is a problem in most places, you pretty much
have to come in. Heck, I was lucky to get a bathroom break when I taught. I
spent most of my student teaching with a horrid cold, no voice and raw throat.
My grandmother died while I was teaching and I was told if I really had to take
off, they couldn't stop me but I was strongly encouraged not to.
As for pensions, maybe. They aren't as good as they used to be.
>Most teachers are married, and if their spouse is also an
> educator the income reaches the 5% highest in income for the US. There are
> also a number of profs who receive over $2,000,000 per year (mostly surgery
> MD's). The point, salaries for teachers and profs depend on location not
> profession. The sheer number of teachers who earn substantially more than
> most sports players is also overwhelming.
Show me the numbers Nick. According to the AP in December 2002: The average
major league baseball salary rose to nearly $2.3 million this year, a 7.3
percent increase that was the smallest since 1998.
I know school districts that are fighting for a 2% cost of living increase and
haven't gotten them in a few years. Show me one teacher - not a surgery, MD -
who is making $2.3 million. I guy I dated in college was a teacher in
Shenandoah Co., VA and made about $20k/year with 5 years of experience. His
father, a preacher at a small church in Rome, NY made more than he did.
Starting salaries where I am - Alexandria, VA are in the mid-high 30s,
depending on education level. Average rent for a decent one-bedroom apartment
is $1000/month. Fixed-rent apartments are for salaries of about $35K and below
so teachers are just shy of getting into a $700/month fixed-rent apartment.
Given that $35K/year amounts to about $2200 a month net, spending half of that
on rent makes things really tight.
A quick look on most public school web sites will quickly dispell the myth of
highly-paid teachers.
Deb
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