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If we're just talking about salary, then teachers make almost exactly the median for their education level in my state (Arizona). To be clear: I think teachers

by blhack 8y ago

If we're just talking about salary, then teachers make almost exactly the median for their education level in my state (Arizona). To be clear: I think teachers should probably make more, but I don't know enough about it to make a strong opinion. I just wanted to look at data. According to [1], teachers in Tempe, AZ (a suburb of Phoenix where I live), teachers make $51,841/year of income. First, we have to convert this to a monthly income (teachers work 9 months per year, not 12[2]). 51841/9 = 5760. $5,760/mo. (If I'm being honest, I was surprised the wage was this high. That seems like a pretty good wage, actually!) Converted to a 12-month salary (which is generally what is meant by "salary") 12 * 5760 = $69,120 According to [3], the median income for a bachelor's degree holder in the state of Arizona is $62,697. Again, I'm not saying that teachers shouldn't ask for more money. They have really important jobs. I just find the idea of teachers being underpaid to be inaccurate. Just for fun (I know a lot of you live in the bay) according to [4] this would be like living in Oakland making $110k, or living in SF making $140k. In LA this would be about $109k. In IA (Des Moines), it's about exactly the same. $66k. [1]:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/03/13/top-phoenix-school-districts-teacher-pay/70177874/ https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/03/1... [2]:While some teachers certainly do things like summer school, off-season training, etc. as far as I can tell, the salary figures are for the 9 required months per year. [3]:https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Location=Phoenix-AZ/Salary/by_Degree https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Location=Phoenix-AZ/Sal... [4]:http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/ http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

loganwedwards 8y ago
While I am not in education, a large portion of my family is. My outside looking in perspective would tend to agree with all of your arguments, but a few counterpoints, I'd like to raise (based on my anecdotal evidence): 1. Teachers do not work 8 hour days. 10-12 hour days can be the norm, especially if extra hours outside of school are needed for student aid or mandatory administrative needs. 2. Teachers do have some administrative burden during the summer months, so technically, some work is done. I live in South Carolina where many public education teachers make sub $50k.

by blhack 8y ago

loganwedwards 8y ago

While I am not in education, a large portion of my family is. My outside looking in perspective would tend to agree with all of your arguments, but a few counterpoints, I'd like to raise (based on my anecdotal evidence): 1. Teachers do not work 8 hour days. 10-12 hour days can be the norm, especially if extra hours outside of school are needed for student aid or mandatory administrative needs. 2. Teachers do have some administrative burden during the summer months, so technically, some work is done. I live in South Carolina where many public education teachers make sub $50k.