3 ms·

> I lay most of the blame on the schools. I'm a high school teacher, and I've been in this world for a long time. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the issue

by japhyr 8y ago

> I lay most of the blame on the schools. I'm a high school teacher, and I've been in this world for a long time. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the issue of pay yet. The median pay for teachers in the US is around $50k. Starting salaries are under $40k. Max pay is around $70-$90k, but it takes 10-15 years to get there, and in many states the max pay isn't this high. If you're a good high school CS teacher, you can basically walk out the door and get a job that will double your salary. How many of you have been in a field where your pay absolutely does not depend on the quality of your work? I am leaving the classroom after this year, to focus more on technical work. It feels entirely different to be heading into work where the better my performance is, the more I'll get paid. I've been teaching for 24 years, so I'm not leaving just for pay reasons. But I don't think we can look at solutions to better HS CS education without addressing the issue of teacher pay. If I were graduating college today with the skills I had 20 years ago, I'm not sure I'd go into the classroom.

rhexs 8y ago
Do a majority of public high school teachers still enjoy pensions, three month breaks a year, and legendary job security, or is that going away as well?
- japhyr 8y ago
  - Pensions are going away as states find they're unsustainable. My state (Alaska) has moved into a defined-contribution model, which I believe is like most jobs that offer any retirement benefits. - Yes, 2-3 month breaks are pretty sweet. - "Legendary job security." I believe this is going away. I have tenure, and my district still offers it. That's a good thing, I believe, because it allows good teachers to stand up for good educational practices. I am definitely able to support students and new teachers better because I am not in fear of losing my job. I know some states have moved away from tenure; I'm not sure how many. Are these enough to keep good CS teachers in education? I don't think so. If you're a good software developer, I believe you can manage a career where you take some time between jobs. You can build toward a much earlier retirement than you can as a teacher. You can live a wealthier lifestyle along the way. Neither career is a rosy field of happiness. But my point is that if you're a good high school CS teacher, you can probably find a much more appealing work situation outside of education. If we want good CS teachers available for high school students, we should probably look at this pretty carefully.

by japhyr 8y ago

rhexs 8y ago

Do a majority of public high school teachers still enjoy pensions, three month breaks a year, and legendary job security, or is that going away as well?

japhyr 8y ago
- Pensions are going away as states find they're unsustainable. My state (Alaska) has moved into a defined-contribution model, which I believe is like most jobs that offer any retirement benefits. - Yes, 2-3 month breaks are pretty sweet. - "Legendary job security." I believe this is going away. I have tenure, and my district still offers it. That's a good thing, I believe, because it allows good teachers to stand up for good educational practices. I am definitely able to support students and new teachers better because I am not in fear of losing my job. I know some states have moved away from tenure; I'm not sure how many. Are these enough to keep good CS teachers in education? I don't think so. If you're a good software developer, I believe you can manage a career where you take some time between jobs. You can build toward a much earlier retirement than you can as a teacher. You can live a wealthier lifestyle along the way. Neither career is a rosy field of happiness. But my point is that if you're a good high school CS teacher, you can probably find a much more appealing work situation outside of education. If we want good CS teachers available for high school students, we should probably look at this pretty carefully.