The cost of education -- and overpaid teachers

[Cole Parker]

Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do -- babysit!

We can get that for less than minimum wage.

That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and planning -- that equals 6-1/2 hours).

So each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585 a day.

However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET'S SEE....

That's $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we should pay them more, at least minimum wage ($7.75). Just to be fair, and to make the math easier, let’s round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6-1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.

Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here!

There sure is!

The average teacher's salary (nationwide) is $50,000.

$50,000/180 days = $277.77 per day / 30 students = $9.25 / 6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student.

We’re currently paying our teachers less than even a very inexpensive baby-sitter would get, and they even EDUCATE our kids!)

WHAT A DEAL!!!! WHAT A TRAVESTY!!!!

[Chris James]

Bravo, Cole...isn't that the truth.

We pay lawyers $300-$500 an hour to safeguard our legal rights. We pay plumbers $150 an hour to plunge the toilet. Don't get me started on doctors and surgeons. But we pay teachers crap to mentor and educate our children, the future of our nation. Any fool can see the problem here...so why don't we do something about it? To me it says our society doesn't give a damn about kids.

[EleCivil]

The average teacher's salary (nationwide) is $50,000.

Haha.

The idea of an average teacher getting 50k is hillarious to me. Like...under my current (cushy, socialist, nation-destroying) union contract, you can get 50k...if you work in the same district for 30 years AND have a Doctorate. With a Masters you top out at about 48 after 30 years, and with a Bachelors you top out around 45. But that's for your 30th consecutive in-district year. Your AVERAGE teacher doesn't teach for more than five years before burning out and leaving the profession (often citing a lack of money and lack of professional respect/dignity as a reason), and even the ones that stick usually change districts at least once or twice, re-setting their pay scale. The ones that actually want to get paid become administrators, or...well, I've known some who left teaching to become Taco Bell managers, baristas, restaurant servers, etc. I know a brilliant history teacher who quit to work at a sporting goods store - he couldn't support his family by educating America's youth, but he can support his family by ringing up athletic supporters.

And I should note that I'm in a pretty decently paying school. My former school was non-union (charter), so teachers just never get raises. If you keep working there, it's 28k/year until you retire. Even if you've got a Masters. Even if you've got a Doctorate. Didn't make it easy to recruit and retain talent.

[Cole Parker]

You must be teaching in the South if they max out at $48K. Come to California. Yeah, you'd start over, but you've only got a year seniority where you are. That's nothing. And with a master's degree, the licensing probably wouldn't be an issue. Teaching salaries here are much higher than where you are.

And of course CA kids are much brighter, too.

C

[EleCivil]

You must be teaching in the South if they max out at $48K. Come to California. Yeah, you'd start over, but you've only got a year seniority where you are. That's nothing. And with a master's degree, the licensing probably wouldn't be an issue. Teaching salaries here are much higher than where you are.

And of course CA kids are much brighter, too.

C

Cali has enough good teachers. Haha.

[Cole Parker]

We don't have nearly enough! Especially in the inner cities, where you like to ply your craft. Really. You'd be welcomed with open arms.

C

[Guest Dabeagle]

Cole just wants you all to himself lol

[Lugnutz]

Can you blame him?

[Guest Dabeagle]

Can you blame him?

No, not really.

[Cole Parker]

I can but try.

C