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Essay on Teacher’s Paychecks Should Reflect their Importance

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Teacher’s Paychecks Should Reflect their Importance

The public education system in the United States is a very important institution for our nation's youth. In most states, children are required by law to attend public school, unless they are home-schooled, until the age of sixteen. At the age of sixteen, students are entitled, though certainly not encouraged, to leave the public school system if they wish. Public school teachers are asked to account for and educate all of these students, and teachers are professionals who are constantly in demand. In fact, the demand is so great that in several cities semi-qualified professionals who lack the proper credentials are being asked to teach. One possible explanation for this phenomenon …show more content…

Finally, teachers are also critiqued because they are often only required to work nine months of the year, but many teachers use their summers to teach summer school, attend classes, or design lesson plans for the upcoming school-year.

Most people would agree that teachers are educated professionals much like attorneys and physicians. However, many of these same people think it is not necessary for teachers' wages to be quite as substantial as the wages of doctors and lawyers because teachers are not asked to attend quite as much school. Teachers may not need to be as highly educated as physicians or attorneys, but they do have to complete a fair amount of education in order to earn and maintain a teaching license. Most teaching programs in colleges and universities are difficult to complete in less than five years. Much like physicians and attorneys, public school teachers are required to take an exam in order to receive the necessary license to practice their profession. Teachers must also continue to attend classes in order to maintain their certifications. More important, there are several careers that require less formal education than teaching, and these careers tend to pay more substantial salaries than public school teachers earn. I noticed this major salary inconsistency when I compared my salary at my old job with the salary of a public school teacher.

In 1999, I finished my

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