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Salaries for educators isn't great, there were strikes right up until the pandemic started. Pay hasn't increased since then; whatever the money is being spent o

Salaries for educators isn't great, there were strikes right up until the pandemic started. Pay hasn't increased since then; whatever the money is being spent on it's not teachers. My first thought was maybe "mohr teachers" but I believe there's a shortage, they can't hire more math or science teachers here in western MA. It has me wondering where this money is actually being spent! https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/3605240-teachers-salaries-have-increased-just-29-since-1996-report/ https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/36...

aylmao 3y ago
> I believe there's a shortage, they can't hire more math or science teachers here in western MA. This is probably a symptom of, amongst other things, unsatisfactory salaries over generational time-periods; people might simply don't grow up wishing to be a teacher. I think this cultural phenomenon struck me when I watched Breaking Bad, where Walter being a high-school teacher is often presented as proof that he "failed", something undesirable and to be ashamed of. I'm from outside the USA and over here being a teacher is considered a pretty good gig— if you're in a private school because you can earn good money. If you're in a public school because you get access to state benefits; better free health-care, retirement benefits, etc, with the largest (albeit a pretty controversial one too) union in Latin America [1] standing by you. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindicato_Nacional_de_Trabajadores_de_la_Educaci%C3%B3n https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindicato_Nacional_de_Trabajad...
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  My perspective as an American with school teachers in my family: Being a teacher is a coveted job in America, it offers a lot of flexibility and fulfillment. Salaries are low because there's a surplus of young people who want to teach. Getting a teaching position at a nice school is very competitive, but bad schools always need new teachers because the unruly kids chase new teachers away (the root cause of schools being bad is usually bad parenting.) It is common for newly minted teachers to take jobs at bad schools in the hopes of getting enough experience to later get a job at a good school, but most wash out before they get that far. Others try to get in "the back way" by working as substitute teachers for many years to accumulate experience and get a good teaching job; the poor and irregular pay for substitute teachers makes this possibly an even worse strategy, but a lot of people still try it because these jobs are desired.

aylmao 3y ago

> I believe there's a shortage, they can't hire more math or science teachers here in western MA. This is probably a symptom of, amongst other things, unsatisfactory salaries over generational time-periods; people might simply don't grow up wishing to be a teacher. I think this cultural phenomenon struck me when I watched Breaking Bad, where Walter being a high-school teacher is often presented as proof that he "failed", something undesirable and to be ashamed of. I'm from outside the USA and over here being a teacher is considered a pretty good gig— if you're in a private school because you can earn good money. If you're in a public school because you get access to state benefits; better free health-care, retirement benefits, etc, with the largest (albeit a pretty controversial one too) union in Latin America [1] standing by you. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindicato_Nacional_de_Trabajadores_de_la_Educaci%C3%B3n https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindicato_Nacional_de_Trabajad...

mcpackieh 3y ago
My perspective as an American with school teachers in my family: Being a teacher is a coveted job in America, it offers a lot of flexibility and fulfillment. Salaries are low because there's a surplus of young people who want to teach. Getting a teaching position at a nice school is very competitive, but bad schools always need new teachers because the unruly kids chase new teachers away (the root cause of schools being bad is usually bad parenting.) It is common for newly minted teachers to take jobs at bad schools in the hopes of getting enough experience to later get a job at a good school, but most wash out before they get that far. Others try to get in "the back way" by working as substitute teachers for many years to accumulate experience and get a good teaching job; the poor and irregular pay for substitute teachers makes this possibly an even worse strategy, but a lot of people still try it because these jobs are desired.