4 ms·

The United States has a very poor attitude when it comes to education. Teachers are "paid too much", "work too little", etc... Yet without a strong foundation r

The United States has a very poor attitude when it comes to education. Teachers are "paid too much", "work too little", etc... Yet without a strong foundation rooted in education we will see more or more individuals receiving sub-par experiences in school. The counter-argument to this is that trade schools and apprenticeships are producing more hands-on training than the traditional educational model that the U.S. delivers. You start seeing speciality "schools" crop up with a focus on the "career" rather than an "education" (which I relate to being a broad / generalized introduction to topics / concepts and how they can be used). Is there a perfect solution? Couldn't tell you; I'm the wrong person to ask (ex-teacher now working as a Linux SysAdmin). But there IS a problem and one we need to address as a nation if we want to remain competitive across all fields on a global scale.

setra 11y ago
Average teacher pay is around 42 thousand a year. Average household income is 52 thousand a year (the median is also close). So without working summers they make almost as much as most families. http://www.payscale.com/research/US/All_K-12_Teachers/Salary http://www.payscale.com/research/US/All_K-12_Teachers/Salary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United...
- AstroJetson 11y ago
  What does the working summers part of it have to do with how much they make? If you dug around you will find that most schools close the second week of June and the teachers are back the first or second week of August. So about 6-8 weeks. I guess they could get paid less and get summer jobs as migrant fruit and vegetable pickers, or maybe lifeguard at the country club pool. Is that what you are suggesting? Teachers shouldn't be average. Teachers are taking one of your most valuable possessions, your children, and teaching them skills like math, science, reading, etc. Why should they make less than you do? I'm sure you had some amazing teachers that motivated you to become the superstar you are today. Let's go back and replace them with "average teachers". Now lets run you through the school system again. Are you still a superstar or are you now some person at a min wage job? Teachers make a difference and we should acknowledge that and pay them accordingly. People keep saying they want to make America Great, why not start with the resource that can do that, people with a great education. A super solid 12 year education to get everyone on a firm foundation and able to really make a difference. Sorry if it sounds like a rant, but I see other countries make huge strides in education to improve their residents lives and I see the US cut ours down to create more workers that can only function in a minimum wage job.
  - setra 11y ago
    The point is a SINGLE person is making almost as much of a family by not working all year. In addition the United states spends a lot of money on schools: http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/apr/21/jeb-bush/does-united-states-spend-more-student-most-countri/ http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/apr/21/jeb... Next white students in the united states are doing better than most of Europe. Note that the United states does poorly on the international PISA tests. But if you break it down by race you will notice that the education is working very well for white students: http://isteve.blogspot.com/2013/12/overall-pisa-rankings-include-america.html http://isteve.blogspot.com/2013/12/overall-pisa-rankings-inc...

setra 11y ago

Average teacher pay is around 42 thousand a year. Average household income is 52 thousand a year (the median is also close). So without working summers they make almost as much as most families. http://www.payscale.com/research/US/All_K-12_Teachers/Salary http://www.payscale.com/research/US/All_K-12_Teachers/Salary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United...

AstroJetson 11y ago
What does the working summers part of it have to do with how much they make? If you dug around you will find that most schools close the second week of June and the teachers are back the first or second week of August. So about 6-8 weeks. I guess they could get paid less and get summer jobs as migrant fruit and vegetable pickers, or maybe lifeguard at the country club pool. Is that what you are suggesting? Teachers shouldn't be average. Teachers are taking one of your most valuable possessions, your children, and teaching them skills like math, science, reading, etc. Why should they make less than you do? I'm sure you had some amazing teachers that motivated you to become the superstar you are today. Let's go back and replace them with "average teachers". Now lets run you through the school system again. Are you still a superstar or are you now some person at a min wage job? Teachers make a difference and we should acknowledge that and pay them accordingly. People keep saying they want to make America Great, why not start with the resource that can do that, people with a great education. A super solid 12 year education to get everyone on a firm foundation and able to really make a difference. Sorry if it sounds like a rant, but I see other countries make huge strides in education to improve their residents lives and I see the US cut ours down to create more workers that can only function in a minimum wage job.
- setra 11y ago
  The point is a SINGLE person is making almost as much of a family by not working all year. In addition the United states spends a lot of money on schools: http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/apr/21/jeb-bush/does-united-states-spend-more-student-most-countri/ http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/apr/21/jeb... Next white students in the united states are doing better than most of Europe. Note that the United states does poorly on the international PISA tests. But if you break it down by race you will notice that the education is working very well for white students: http://isteve.blogspot.com/2013/12/overall-pisa-rankings-include-america.html http://isteve.blogspot.com/2013/12/overall-pisa-rankings-inc...