Teachers need a raise!

The teaching profession is what happens when you allow unions and government to control your industry....

Teachers in my part are pretty well compensated. The principals in my town make about $130-$150kyr. Many of the teachers are pushing $100k. Of course, we won't talk about the lavish pension plans they get.

Teaching is hard. However, it isn't any more difficult than most professions which have much higher standards and performance requirements. Digging ditches is hard too and I surmise most ditch diggers don't make as much as teachers.

Teaching pay is low because 1) There are a lot of teachers 2) The barriers to entry are relatively low compared to other professions that require college degrees. It is a well known fact that teaching majors are not usually the sharpest knives in the drawer at Universities compared to other majors 3) The union negotiates for mediocre pay for all instead of allowing the super stars to make more. What you get is a bunch of mouth breathers making more than they should, but the super star teachers aren't compensated enough for their talent.

I try not to bash teachers because by in large, particularly, in urban areas, the teachers are also acting a social workers for the spawn of hoodrats. With that said, a big part of the problems teachers face is because of their liberal politics. They just can't connect the dots. For example, in LA when teachers were on strike they were complaining about classroom crowding, etc. However, these same mental midgets support sanctuary cities and open borders and can't see how that contributes to the resource constraints they are facing in the classroom.

originally posted by: Edumakated
The teaching profession is what happens when you allow unions and government to control your industry....

Teachers in my part are pretty well compensated. The principals in my town make about $130-$150kyr. Many of the teachers are pushing $100k. Of course, we won't talk about the lavish pension plans they get.

Teaching is hard. However, it isn't any more difficult than most professions which have much higher standards and performance requirements. Digging ditches is hard too and I surmise most ditch diggers don't make as much as teachers.

Teaching pay is low because 1) There are a lot of teachers 2) The barriers to entry are relatively low compared to other professions that require college degrees. It is a well known fact that teaching majors are not usually the sharpest knives in the drawer at Universities compared to other majors 3) The union negotiates for mediocre pay for all instead of allowing the super stars to make more. What you get is a bunch of mouth breathers making more than they should, but the super star teachers aren't compensated enough for their talent.

I try not to bash teachers because by in large, particularly, in urban areas, the teachers are also acting a social workers for the spawn of hoodrats. With that said, a big part of the problems teachers face is because of their liberal politics. They just can't connect the dots. For example, in LA when teachers were on strike they were complaining about classroom crowding, etc. However, these same mental midgets support sanctuary cities and open borders and can't see how that contributes to the resource constraints they are facing in the classroom.

Can I ask where you are that many teachers are pushing 100k? You don't have to be specific, just a general area. I've heard of principals pulling in 6 figures, but a teacher making that much is almost unheard of. I'm not starting an argument, I genuinely want to know, I'd love to get back into teaching and knowing where to make a similar salary to what I do now might push me in that direction.

a reply to: narrator

Well I prefer not to hear people bitch about their life choices.
Especially those that are compensated well.
Doubly so when they are represented by a union.

originally posted by: narrator

originally posted by: Edumakated
The teaching profession is what happens when you allow unions and government to control your industry....

Teachers in my part are pretty well compensated. The principals in my town make about $130-$150kyr. Many of the teachers are pushing $100k. Of course, we won't talk about the lavish pension plans they get.

Teaching is hard. However, it isn't any more difficult than most professions which have much higher standards and performance requirements. Digging ditches is hard too and I surmise most ditch diggers don't make as much as teachers.

Teaching pay is low because 1) There are a lot of teachers 2) The barriers to entry are relatively low compared to other professions that require college degrees. It is a well known fact that teaching majors are not usually the sharpest knives in the drawer at Universities compared to other majors 3) The union negotiates for mediocre pay for all instead of allowing the super stars to make more. What you get is a bunch of mouth breathers making more than they should, but the super star teachers aren't compensated enough for their talent.

I try not to bash teachers because by in large, particularly, in urban areas, the teachers are also acting a social workers for the spawn of hoodrats. With that said, a big part of the problems teachers face is because of their liberal politics. They just can't connect the dots. For example, in LA when teachers were on strike they were complaining about classroom crowding, etc. However, these same mental midgets support sanctuary cities and open borders and can't see how that contributes to the resource constraints they are facing in the classroom.

Can I ask where you are that many teachers are pushing 100k? You don't have to be specific, just a general area. I've heard of principals pulling in 6 figures, but a teacher making that much is almost unheard of. I'm not starting an argument, I genuinely want to know, I'd love to get back into teaching and knowing where to make a similar salary to what I do now might push me in that direction.

Suburb outside of Chicago. I just checked as the salaries are online, I'd say most seem to be making around $80k or so however, there were quite a few making over $100k. One is making $127k.

City of Chicago pays about $76k on average which apparently is the second highest in the nation.

a reply to: Edumakated

Chicago is damn expensive to live in.
The teachers here making $50k are probably living better than yours making $75.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Edumakated

Chicago is damn expensive to live in.
The teachers here making $50k are probably living better than yours making $75.

Probably. Chicago is not a cheap city by any means. It isn't anything like NYC or West Coast in terms of cost of living, but it is definitely more expensive than a typical middle america city. Cheaper neighborhoods in the city catering towards the working class that aren't considered gang war zones typically have housing costs around $300k-$400k for a small bungalow.

a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

I suppose i should have said about our dismal educational system is, Not my circus, not my monkeys.

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: narrator

originally posted by: Edumakated
The teaching profession is what happens when you allow unions and government to control your industry....

Teachers in my part are pretty well compensated. The principals in my town make about $130-$150kyr. Many of the teachers are pushing $100k. Of course, we won't talk about the lavish pension plans they get.

Teaching is hard. However, it isn't any more difficult than most professions which have much higher standards and performance requirements. Digging ditches is hard too and I surmise most ditch diggers don't make as much as teachers.

Teaching pay is low because 1) There are a lot of teachers 2) The barriers to entry are relatively low compared to other professions that require college degrees. It is a well known fact that teaching majors are not usually the sharpest knives in the drawer at Universities compared to other majors 3) The union negotiates for mediocre pay for all instead of allowing the super stars to make more. What you get is a bunch of mouth breathers making more than they should, but the super star teachers aren't compensated enough for their talent.

I try not to bash teachers because by in large, particularly, in urban areas, the teachers are also acting a social workers for the spawn of hoodrats. With that said, a big part of the problems teachers face is because of their liberal politics. They just can't connect the dots. For example, in LA when teachers were on strike they were complaining about classroom crowding, etc. However, these same mental midgets support sanctuary cities and open borders and can't see how that contributes to the resource constraints they are facing in the classroom.

Can I ask where you are that many teachers are pushing 100k? You don't have to be specific, just a general area. I've heard of principals pulling in 6 figures, but a teacher making that much is almost unheard of. I'm not starting an argument, I genuinely want to know, I'd love to get back into teaching and knowing where to make a similar salary to what I do now might push me in that direction.

Suburb outside of Chicago. I just checked as the salaries are online, I'd say most seem to be making around $80k or so however, there were quite a few making over $100k. One is making $127k.

City of Chicago pays about $76k on average which apparently is the second highest in the nation.

Thanks. I actually have a couple friends teaching in Chicago proper, each pull down about 75k per year. A bit below average for the city, but neither of them have masters degrees and they just started teaching a few years ago, having changed careers to do so.
Like you and bluntone said, Chicago is crazy expensive, they're having trouble finding a decent place to buy. I'd argue that renting makes more sense inside city limits, but to each their own.

originally posted by: narrator

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: narrator

originally posted by: Edumakated
The teaching profession is what happens when you allow unions and government to control your industry....

Teachers in my part are pretty well compensated. The principals in my town make about $130-$150kyr. Many of the teachers are pushing $100k. Of course, we won't talk about the lavish pension plans they get.

Teaching is hard. However, it isn't any more difficult than most professions which have much higher standards and performance requirements. Digging ditches is hard too and I surmise most ditch diggers don't make as much as teachers.

Teaching pay is low because 1) There are a lot of teachers 2) The barriers to entry are relatively low compared to other professions that require college degrees. It is a well known fact that teaching majors are not usually the sharpest knives in the drawer at Universities compared to other majors 3) The union negotiates for mediocre pay for all instead of allowing the super stars to make more. What you get is a bunch of mouth breathers making more than they should, but the super star teachers aren't compensated enough for their talent.

I try not to bash teachers because by in large, particularly, in urban areas, the teachers are also acting a social workers for the spawn of hoodrats. With that said, a big part of the problems teachers face is because of their liberal politics. They just can't connect the dots. For example, in LA when teachers were on strike they were complaining about classroom crowding, etc. However, these same mental midgets support sanctuary cities and open borders and can't see how that contributes to the resource constraints they are facing in the classroom.

Can I ask where you are that many teachers are pushing 100k? You don't have to be specific, just a general area. I've heard of principals pulling in 6 figures, but a teacher making that much is almost unheard of. I'm not starting an argument, I genuinely want to know, I'd love to get back into teaching and knowing where to make a similar salary to what I do now might push me in that direction.

Suburb outside of Chicago. I just checked as the salaries are online, I'd say most seem to be making around $80k or so however, there were quite a few making over $100k. One is making $127k.

City of Chicago pays about $76k on average which apparently is the second highest in the nation.

Thanks. I actually have a couple friends teaching in Chicago proper, each pull down about 75k per year. A bit below average for the city, but neither of them have masters degrees and they just started teaching a few years ago, having changed careers to do so.
Like you and bluntone said, Chicago is crazy expensive, they're having trouble finding a decent place to buy. I'd argue that renting makes more sense inside city limits, but to each their own.

Yeah, it is tough because Chicago has residency requirements so teachers, police, firemen must live within city limits. It is easier to rent than buy in Chicago right now as we have a glut of luxury apartments. You can most definitely rent a nicer apartment than what you could buy in many cases. $75k is good money though if you are single and not many expenses. I think people get too wrapped up in living large.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I had received a text only a few minutes before that from my wife telling me she made it to work safely in the snow and ice.

I asked this guy if he and his wife had made it to work safely today.
He of course replied that they didnt have to go to work today. I told him that my wife still had to go to work.
Then I asked him if they needed to make up the time like the rest of the working world and I still haven't gotten a response.

HA. Many can play at this game, so I'll swing low, seeing as how my husband has a fully paid snow day from work today. And what does your wifey get? No paid snow days? Maybe she should have got a better job that doesn't make people go in in rotten weather, eh? Poor job choice on her part, buddy, She can suck it, or get a better job with better perks, right?

Stupid wife, can't even get a job with decent perks. Should just stay home and be a housewife, it's hard to screw that up.

a reply to: rickymouse

I do not think that a school teacher with twenty years in and a good pension should make more than a construction worker.

Why not? What is your definition of a "construction worker"

a reply to: Bluntone22


Considering many of our school teachers are brain washing our students to become Hitler youth? Nah, no raises. Shut em down and get the Federal government out of our school systems. Put them under state control or better yet promote home schooling.

Here is what our schools are turning our children into.

]]]]

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: dfnj2015

$32k was the average starting salary.
$54 was the average salary.

That doesn't include insurance coverage which I know is excellent.
Again, this is local.

That's the issue. Starting pay is low, but the way the salary structure works, you get raises both every year (a 'step" raise), and also pay for every few credits above a B.A. degree. The top rung is for a B.A. + 135 hours plus a Master's degree. When you get there your salary is pretty good. My wife was a teacher and achieved this tier, and I was a librarian. We lived a very affluent middle class lifestyle.

The idea that teachers "only work 185 days a year" is misleading. My wife had "homework" every day. She probably worked on the order of 70 hours a week. She also worked unpaid days prior to school starting to ready her classroom and as for "summers off?" Summers are for summer school where you have to get those extra credit hours. This lasts for at least a decade. A 'fifth year" is required (which takes three years to do), and in our state a Masters is now required to advance, which is another few years of summer quarters. So basically the school year ended on a Friday and she was in class the next Monday. The summer quarter ended and she went back to setting up her classroom the next week.

So as usual, people's perception of a school teacher's "easy life" is based on ignorance. "Simple math" does not tell the whole story here. Personally I have no complaints. If you are willing to stick it out for the 15 or so years it takes to crawl yourself up the ladder, you can have a pretty decent lifestyle--if your spouse also works. It's an okay retirement (which you pay for in advance) and if you're lucky, you taught a few kids to read.

a reply to: schuyler

My opinion is not based in ignorance.
I have several family member that are teachers.
Family get togethers are eye openers.

My uncle is a retired school teacher. 3rd and 4th grade.
He said he spent about 2 days getting his room ready for school. After several years it got easier to prep everything.


And I'll give a damn about her homework when my kid stops getting two hours of homework a night.
That's after 2 hour of practice for whatever sport that's in season.

originally posted by: Nyiah

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I had received a text only a few minutes before that from my wife telling me she made it to work safely in the snow and ice.

I asked this guy if he and his wife had made it to work safely today.
He of course replied that they didnt have to go to work today. I told him that my wife still had to go to work.
Then I asked him if they needed to make up the time like the rest of the working world and I still haven't gotten a response.

HA. Many can play at this game, so I'll swing low, seeing as how my husband has a fully paid snow day from work today. And what does your wifey get? No paid snow days? Maybe she should have got a better job that doesn't make people go in in rotten weather, eh? Poor job choice on her part, buddy, She can suck it, or get a better job with better perks, right?

Stupid wife, can't even get a job with decent perks. Should just stay home and be a housewife, it's hard to screw that up.

My wife is actually a bank manager but whatever.
And if you bothered to read my posts you would have seen that I was not in any way criticizing teachers for their job benefits.
I was very clearly criticizing them bitching about their benefits.

I dont want to hear about cops, firemen or teachers bitching about the benefits of their career choice.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: schuyler

My opinion is not based in ignorance.
I have several family member that are teachers.
Family get togethers are eye openers.

My uncle is a retired school teacher. 3rd and 4th grade.
He said he spent about 2 days getting his room ready for school. After several years it got easier to prep everything.

And the rest of what I said? The homework every day? The extra credits required that take up those summers off? The relatively low pay for the first decade? You are skipping over the majority of what I said.

a reply to: Bluntone22

From what I hear from Teacher friends here in Texas, they have it pretty bad but I dont have the details.

Where I live in Texas, Teacher pay hasnt been an issue because every year there are fewer students in the public schools because people are going to homeschooling or a combo of homeschooling and private academies. So the public school every year fires some teachers to balance for the student load and with the money saved, they pay raises to the remaining teachers.

a reply to: schuyler

You think some regular jobs dont require apprenticeships and long hours of study and homework to get and keep certifications?

Again, I'm not ignorant of the situation.
I know several teachers.


Ask a nurse about their pay. Their hours, their homework.

Everyone thinks they have the worst job.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: schuyler

You think some regular jobs dont require apprenticeships and long hours of study and homework to get and keep certifications?

Again, I'm not ignorant of the situation.
I know several teachers.

You "know several teachers." And you talked to your uncle at family gatherings which were eye opening.

Wow.

Have you ever lived with a teacher 24/7 and actually witnessed what they go through? your answer is, "No, but I talked to a few teachers at parties, therefore I know EVERYTHING about what a teacher goes through."

No, you don't. And what I am saying is that the idea that teachers have an "easy life" with "all this time off" is complete BS. I NEVER SAID they don't have "good benefits." Yeah, they do. So do nurses and fire fighters. Traditionally the reason they have "good benefits" is to compensate for the low pay.

a reply to: schuyler

If you would read my original post you would see that I said...

"Look, teaching sucks. I'd kill the little turds.
It takes a certain mindset to handle the job."

Nowhere have I said they have an "easy life"

Every job sucks.
Teachers are not any different than some poor bastard running a machine in a factory.

I'm not saying they have it easy. I'm saying they dont have it any worse than every other working soul.