Would raising the minimum wage of teachers to $40k per year save the public school system?

Heck I’m a teacher and I would see a significant raise if that were to happen, and I still say no. Raising the starting salary of teachers to $40k would certainly raise morale, but salary alone is not the issue. The best teachers were never motivated by salary in the first place.

I would also be concerned about where the money would be coming from. Public schools are already paid for primarily through taxes, so any significant increase in salary is likely to be offset by an increase in sales or property taxes. In essence, we’d be paying for our own raises.

I thoroughly disagree with the earilier response that schools should save money by cutting athletic and music programs. The extracurricular programs give the school ties to the community in addition to the wonderous academic and social benefits they give to students. Study after study shows a direct correlation between students who are active in school organizations and high grades/test scores.

So what would help the public school system? At the moment, a significant revision of No Child Left Behind (aka the Elementary and Secondary Education Act). Public schools are currently under tremendous pressure to make sure our test scores meet the well-intentioned but unreasonable demands of NCLB. I spend more time preparing my students to do well on a standardized test than I do attending to their needs and teaching them how to read and write. Significant revisions of NCLB would greatly increase morale of teachers, students, parents, and administrators.

If you are interested in getting involved and doing what you can to revise NCLB and help public schools, visit the NEA’s section on NCLB at http://www.nea.org/esea/index.html The NEA is taking a proactive stand and negotiating solutions to the problems public schools face. Stand with teachers across the nation and let your legislators know that you believe “A child is more than a test score.”

Amen to everything these other people have said. I’ve been teaching 20+ years and I still don’t make $40k a year. I don’t teach for the money, I teach because I truly care about kids. More money would be a blessing, but doing a job I love with kids I love is a bigger blessing for me and that’s true for most teachers.

The only thing that’s going to save public schools is a complete overhaul on the testing/assessment that is required by the government. Legislatures who are making all these decisions have no idea what they are doing to the millions of students in public education – or to the teachers who are trying to teach them.

Good teachers are leaving every day. They can’t take the stress, the pressure, that is on us every single day to make sure our students pass the required state tests. It comes from the federal and state government, from the local administration, from parents, and from ourselves. We can’t teach kids the joy of learning – the joy has been sucked right out of learning. All we can teach is how to be prepared for the big end-of-the-year tests that are becoming mandatory before the kids can go to the next grade level. Imagine the stress the kids themselves are under!

Just think about it – you are a 10 year old who has to pass math and reading test at the end of the school year, or you don’t go on to the next grade! Even the honor students feel the pressure – just think what it’s like for those students who have struggled throughout the year to face those tests!

There are lots of changes that need to be made to save our public school systems. Money is a big issue, testing is another, but there are lots of other aspects that need to be looked at to make things better for everyone involved, students, teachers, and parents.

Everyone here has some great points. One thing I find very sad is that a teacher cannot even afford to raise a family by herself. Heck, many cannot even support themselves, yet alone a family. We are professionals, educated, and have to take a test to prove we are competent. It takes us several years of working, just to pay back the money to cover the cost of our education. What other profession requires a 4 year degree, certification exam, and makes less than $30,000/ year? Also, in the education world, you do not have much opportunity for advancement. You start at about $28,000 and ten yrs. later, you only make $35,000. There are many people out there who would love to teach, but just financially can’t. More than 50% leave the profession after there first couple of years do to finacial issues or teacher burnout. If they want us to stay around, give us a reason to. You want good caring qualified teachers, then treat us like the professionals we are!

You know my professor always said, “Why is it that other professions frame and display their certificates and diploma, but teachers shove them in a file cabinet?” Good Question!

I highly doubt it. Those who are good at teaching enter the field because they enjoy working with children and helping others. On the surface it sounds great!! People who would be an asset to our educational system may be more apt to pursue a career in the field of education. Sounds like a great idea, right?

Although I would be all for raising the starting salary (I have 7 years of teaching experience, and I’m still not even close to $40 K), I think simply raising the starting pay may actually do more harm than good. Teaching would then become a more viable option for those who are not really dedicated to children or education. Think about it–who wouldn’t want a good salary, good (supposedly) health insurance, regular raises, nice retirement packages, occasional long weekends, spring break, summers off? Would we then see an increase in the number of teachers who are more dedicated to the benefits than to their jobs? We already have a lot of dead weight in the system–teachers who are too burned out to do a good job but stick it out for the benefits (usually retirement).

If you want to improve the public school systems, you need to look at states and districts who are doing well. They do exist!! What needs to change is the way we address education. Think about it. Most schools still run on an agrarian calendar, and a high percentage of teachers still use teaching methods meant for the industrial era. Schools no longer need to train students to fit the industrial mold by sitting in classes and simply following teachers’ directions. If you ask businesses what’s lacking in young workers today, you’ll find that schools are not teaching students the communication, inquiry and trouble-shooting skills that they need because many teachers have not updated their style to meet these needs. What’s more, teachers who do try to implement these more progressive teaching styles are pressured not to because parents (and the public at large) complain about these styles. They go back to the, “If it was good enough for me…” line of reasoning. Others are too embarrassed to admit that they can no longer help their children with their homework because they weren’t trained in the same way.

Educators also need to be the ones who make the laws about what’s best for schools. We need to keep the government from handing down all of these unfunded mandates. NCLB has done very little to improve education in most places. In many others, it has compromised the quality of education because teachers have had to go back to “teaching to the test.” What’s more, districts have had to redistribute funds to pay for all these tests, which limit’s the money available to purchase up-to-date resources and keep class sizes small. And what do we gain from these tests? Not a whole lot. In our district, teachers can predict, with 95% (often higher) accuracy, how each student will score on standardized tests. We have done so year after year, and we don’t make these predictions based on tests. In the real world of work, we rarely prove our knowledge and skills by taking tests.

I could go on and on…

It wouldn’t hurt. It might even help to make teachers 12 month employees. Teachers complain a lot about the pay, but they’re paid for 10 months of work. Raise it up to standard pay, and have them work 12 months. And in 2 months that students aren’t there. Have them develop plans of action and take courses to prepare for the following 10 months. That might effect things.

No, I think having parents who actually parent their children would help the public school system. No amount of money will teach children respect, manners, responsibility, etc. if they have no reinforcement at home. Teachers cannot be reponsible for the failure of public schools.

No, it some systems it would actually cause schools to close. The real problem with schools today is with the teachers that have been there for 30 years that refuse to change, make to much money, and are almost completely safe from being fired. They are usually administrators for a department so they don’t teach much either. Schools need to get back to basics and just start teaching and stop spending all their money on sports, music, and other extra activities. Kids need these things, but let them get it some where else.