Why Do Teachers Get Paid?

Even teachers’ pay in some states is linked to performance of their students. According to the Washington Post, the state of Florida instituted a policy that individual teacher’s raises and performance starting in 2007 will be tied directly to student’s scores on standardized tests. This pay for performance concept has generally been accepted by the new Obama administration and may make its way into more common usage across the United States.

It does not allow bargaining and does not focus on attract top teachers. There are three different types of pay in a school. There are teachers, the administration section and then the executives. Teacher get paid based on the area of expertise and if they accept to work for an area of poverty which is a school that gets aid from the government therefore more funds. Florida State has added an incentive for teachers who have more 12th graders graduate, this incentive is about $10,000. Although the compensation philosophy for teacher is not bad, it could be altered. “One certain area compensates their teachers starting at $39,000. “Teachers are compensated for 10 months out of the year not to mention that every time the students are out of school so are the teachers. They also argue that the current system does little to motivate and reward effective teaching” (Golhaber, DeArmond, & Deburgomaster, 2011, pg.

For some students, even though they can get high scores in exam, but that’s all they can do. They just memorize the solution and don’t try to understand and absorb the real knowledge behind the exam, for these kinds of students we can’t say that their teachers do well. Comparing with this, some students have really penetrating understanding to the knowledge, their know how to use them even though it can’t reflect on their exam scores sometimes, but their teachers still deserve higher paid. There is no doubt that we can’t tolerate keeping low-performing teachers in classrooms because it hurts everyone, but the method used to evaluate teacher performance should be sophisticated enough to consider all factors that can affect a child’s success in classroom before they can be used to as a standard to punish or award teachers. Chicago strike also evokes a debate toward salary problem. Chicago teachers have the highest average salary of any city at $76,000 a year before benefits, compared with the median household income in Chicago is $46,000 (BBC News: para 4). So many people couldn’t understand that teachers rejected a 16 percent salary increase when most occupations are not getting and raises and many people are under unemployment. There are two reasons that CTU still raise salary debate even though teachers already get enough paid. Firstly, CTU considered the law aspect. According to Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, it is illegal for teachers to strike on all

The average grade for students paying for their education with their own personal income was significantly higher than those students relying on financial aid. Six students are passing with an A average while paying for their education or 67% of the possible 9 students and the remaining 3 are passing with a B average or 33%, while 3 students we’re passing with an A average making up 27% of all students using financial aid and 5 students are passing with a B average and are responsible for 45% of those using financial aid. Two of the remaining 3 are passing with a C average or 18%, and the remaining student 10% is currently failing. The numbers clearly show that the grade average is higher for those paying for their education out of pocket.

It is essential to encourage school districts to collaborate with teachers and their unions when developing or implementing pay for performance programs. This can be achieved by incorporating these pay systems into sustainable human resource management strategies to improve teacher effectiveness. Compensating teachers via performance based system should be tied to the performance of the preK-12 students and not on the age, seniority or degree of the teacher. Another key aspect is to strengthen professional development of the preK-12 teachers through mentoring opportunities and evaluation of teachers. This will ensure that more highly qualified teachers are hired and retained at the various prek-12 school in U.S. The state laws that do not align educator performance based on student outcomes and compensation policies should be

One of the main issues with merit pay for teachers is found in the manner in which it is measured. Most of the new performances pay laws and union contracts measure “effectiveness,” at least in part, by looking at the students’ test scores from one year to the next. One test score cannot paint a full picture of a student's accomplishment. Teachers unions have historically opposed merit pay, arguing that test scores are not an accurate measure of student achievement (Turner, 2010, para 15). Most teachers will report that a test will only show part of the picture. Standardized tests do not reflect life lessons, effective citizen traits, or character building traits that were taught that year. All of these traits thrive in an effective teacher’s curriculum.

In today’s society one of the most important factors in selecting a career field is rate of pay. No matter whether the profession maybe, the dollar figure must be within a range that allows the employee to maintain a substantial lifestyle. The debate of teacher pay scales has raged on for years. Many argue that the current pay scale for teachers is a scale which rewards teachers merely for seniority. They argue that the current pay scale overlooks those educators which demonstrate exceptional performance. Teacher merit pay systems have been the most popular suggestions made to remedy the problems seen with the current pay scale. Although the current pay scale may not be completely effective, the idea of

A crucial flaw with Common Core is the use of Common Core test scores from students to evaluate teachers. Evaluating teachers in this way encourages teachers to only teach what is on the tests, and urge students to do well, which causes a moderate increase in student stress levels coupled with drastic increase in teacher stress levels. Another negative result of Common Core evaluation is teachers with lower performing classes will have a disadvantage, and students could sabotage teachers they dislike by purposefully flunking the tests. As teacher salary and employment is partially based on test results, in addition to teachers having little control over what students are in their class, it causes decent teachers to not get the salary they deserve, or teachers lacking skill to earn more than they deserve, or continue teaching when dismissal is appropriate.

Many people wonder if teachers should or should not get paid more than they do. A lot of people believe that teachers should get paid more, but there are some that do not. Parents that want their kids to have a good education want teachers to get paid more. For example, P.V Derkachev said, “… teacher pay influences the quality of education.” (Derkachev 574). Teachers that get payed more would be more likely to perform better at their job and not mind the extra time that they have to do stuff outside of work to get everything done. Matt Barnum said, “Higher salaries --- even small bonuses ---- can and do keep some teachers in the classroom, and likely improve outcomes for their students.” (Barnum). The student is going to get taught better if teachers get paid more because the teacher will want to teach at the best of her ability which will help the student.

Remember that one teacher that you loved, that made you want to go to class everyday just because of their pure enthusiasm for teaching, odds are that teacher is paid at least 100 times less than your favorite basketball player. Nowadays, kids dream about becoming a professional basketball and football players, hoping they can become a millionaire doing what they do during recess and gym class. Kids see posters and advertisements glorifying these guys broadcasters talk about on the sports channel. Many hope to be them, but not many hope to become the heroes that affect them and that they see everyday; their teachers. The reason for this is pay. I come from a family of teachers, and have seen the effort that teachers put into helping their students reach their full potential. Additionally, I have also experience first hand the economic stress that teachers’ low paying salary puts on the teachers and their families. Professional athletics live a luxurious life, bouncing balls and making goals, while teachers work overtime struggling to pay the bills.

The stress for high test scores has been put on teachers so heavily that teachers have started cheating, reporting false scores and or giving their students answers to the tests. “In the year 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia there were 11 teachers convicted of racketeering” (Armstrong), because they cheated on the standardized tests. These instructors were told that if their class failed to meet a certain requirement on the test they would be punished by having their pay decreased. If the teacher’s classes met or exceeded the requirement then the teachers would be given a raise as a reward for teaching the students the information on the test. The teachers are so worried about their salary that they are willing to cheat on a test. There can be reasonable doubt that the students they gave answers to truly retained or learned any of the information taught to

The low pay for our educators is causing many negative effects. New York Times shows that the low income is causing sixty-two percent of teachers to have a second job outside of their teaching jobs. Just to have enough money to support their families and make ends meet. Most everyone decides to college to prevent having these struggles with money, and to avoid having to work multiple jobs, when they get older; however, not when it comes to living off of only a teacher’s income, the struggles to have enough money are interminable. This low pay is also causing most teachers to retire, and find new jobs. New York Times states, “every year 20 percent of teachers in urban districts quit. Nationwide, 46 percent of teachers quit before their fifth year. The turnover costs the

Having just completed writing my paper, I was able to see where my strengths and weaknesses are. Having to write a paper on an argument, I struggled trying to come up with what to write about. Making a valid argument in academic writing is different than that of just making an argument. In a person’s academic argument, the writer should not only show his/her own beliefs, but they need to also show there opposing views. While this may seem easy, it can prove to be difficult because as a writer, they are not allowed to attack a person or group, or the essay can become invalid to the readers. Deciding to stick with writing my topics on teachers, I decided to write an essay on how they are underpaid. This topic not only explores why teachers are underpaid, but it also shows how teachers are viewed.

With beginning teachers usually earning entirely less than other college graduates, the profession is at loss of top-notch, quality people who tend to find jobs seeking more money. Almost 50 percent leave the profession within 5 years, lured by higher pay and prestige elsewhere in the booming U.S. economy (World, 1999, par. 7). Starting teachers average a $25,735 salary in the United States compared to an engineer earning $56,820 or a physical therapist earning $56,600 (Engineer, 2000, par.1). And what signal does it send out about the value of good teachers and a good education when a 45-year-old teacher with a master’s degree earns $45,000 a year and a 25-year-old out of law school often starts at $80,000, considering a six year education for a master’s degree and a seven year education for a law degree (Greenhouse, 2002, par. 4)? A teacher is also given no compensation for the long hours spent basically in overtime work. The teacher’s day does not end when they leave school because if lesson plans, grading, or planning is not completed, it will have to be finished on their own time. Accountants, paralegals, and engineers all are compensated and get paid overtime for work that does not get completed in a regular day or if they want to stay and

Public school teachers around the United States are not earning fair pay. When compared with other fields such as computer science, engineering, or the medical field, teachers earn among the lowest pay grade of all jobs. The thought of living on a low-income frightens many potentially amazing and well qualified students from pursuing a degree in education. Teacher pay is beginning to affect students education as well; therefore, causing children to not obtain the education they deserve. Teachers should be receiving more money because valuable teachers are walking away and superior education begins with quality teachers.