Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!
Posted by pixie on 6/17/09

I agree that teaching can be very desirable and pleasant IF
you are fortunate enough to land a job in a nice, well-run
school in a decent school system. (I think even in that case,
I would spend most of my summers/holiday breaks working, but
that would become less as I had more experience.) I know
teachers with a few years experience, whose pay has gone up,
whose wives are stay-at-home moms. I hear teachers, whose
spouses also are teachers, talking about what cruises they are
going on this summer and the three-week trip to Europe they
are taking. I hope these teachers appreciate how fortunate
they are.
On the other side are the job seekers, who are spending years
seeking that dream job, and the many who have taken jobs in
crappy schools, out of desperation for a job, and are now
being nonrenewed or struggling to survive, crying every day
and trying not to have a nervous breakdown. Literally.


On 6/17/09, Elena wrote:
> First of all, not all areas of the country have unions.
> Many of the states in the south are "right to work states"
> in which there is no collective bargaining. Where I teach,
> there is no such thing as tenure. Everyone is on annual
> contract. To me anyway, an average salary of $50,000 is not
> great. You cannot afford to buy a home, send children to
> college, or travel internationally on such a salary.
>
> I do agree about the bachelors in education part. The
> universities let students squander their money to get
> degrees in a field where there are no openings. In nursing
> they control how many students are admitted in order not to
> flood the market.
>
> In many ways, teaching is very desirable. To be honest, I
> really became a teacher because of the long vacations and
> holidays. I hated the business world because of the skimpy
> two-week vacations. I was lucky that once I got into
> teaching, I enjoyed it.
>
>
>
>
> On 6/17/09, job-seeker wrote:
>> Hi. I'm throwing this out for discussion......
>>
>> Years ago, teachers were considered underpaid, overworked,
>> generally a lousy profession. But this seems to be a thing
>> of the past.
>>
>> Since teachers have been unionized, they have a pretty
>> good situation. Benefits, pension, tenure, union lawyers,
>> paid training, long vacations...As for salaries, in my
>> state (new hampshire....a rural state) the average salary
>> is $50,000.
>>
>> To become a teacher, you only need a bachelors in
>> education. This is why the job market is flooded with
>> teachers and it is no longer easy to find teaching
>> positions.
>>
>> Getting a teachers contract in a public school is VERY
>> desirable, not what it used to be! Any thoughts?

Posts on this thread, including this one

• "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/17/09, by job-seeker.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/17/09, by Elena.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/17/09, by pixie.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/17/09, by Marina.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/17/09, by WEK.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/17/09, by SpecEd Teacher.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/17/09, by Mark.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/17/09, by Mark.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/18/09, by job seeker.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/18/09, by NC teacher.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/18/09, by mark.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/19/09, by Marina.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/19/09, by NC teacher.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/19/09, by kate.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/19/09, by mark.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/20/09, by julia.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 6/20/09, by Catsister.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/01/09, by mel.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/14/09, by teaching in PA.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/14/09, by Compared to what?.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/14/09, by mark.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/14/09, by anon.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/14/09, by sped.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/15/09, by PA Teacher.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/16/09, by sped.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/20/09, by maybe I'm bitter.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/20/09, by deal with it.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/21/09, by Sympathetic.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/21/09, by deal with it.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/21/09, by sped.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/21/09, by maybe I'm bitter.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/21/09, by sped.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/22/09, by No one gets a "contract" here.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/22/09, by Pa Teacher.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/22/09, by Joe.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/22/09, by let me clarify.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/22/09, by Not as easy in ALL states.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/22/09, by Elena.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/22/09, by let me clarify once again.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/22/09, by Oh New York.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/23/09, by Joe.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/23/09, by Clarification.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/23/09, by Elena.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/23/09, by don't like tests.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/23/09, by NBCTer.
• Re: "the myth of underpaid teachers" no longer true!, 7/23/09, by Clarification.