Lauborough 1

Gracie Lauborough
Mr. Rogers
Government 3
10 October 2016
Put Teachers First
Did you know teachers only make around $58,000 a year while other similar careers
make almost double! Teaching is a very important career they shape our future generations, but
they are still payed a very insufficient amount. Each state determines how to fund its own
educational system. Most states use taxes- generally sales taxes and income taxes- for the state
portion of educational costs. The state pays the largest share of education expenses, with local
funding a close second. Educational spending varies from state to state (Kato). So it is possible
for teachers salaries to be increased, with higher sales taxes or income taxes. I believe all
teachers should have a starting salary of at least $60,000 because professions with similar
training and responsibilities have higher salaries, paying teachers more could attract higher
quality candidates, and more teachers will want to keep their job with a higher salary.
Teachers have very similar training and responsibilities as nurses, public accounting
professionals, and computer programmers but for some reason get paid much less. A study done
by the National Association of Colleges and Employers did a study revealing these similar
professions have starting salaries of around $13,000 more than teachers make! Another important
study by them said, A report from NEA Research, which is based on US census data, finds that
annual pay for teachers has fallen sharply over the past 60 years in relation to the annual pay of
other workers with college degrees. Throughout the nation the average earnings of workers with
at least four years of college are now over 50 percent higher than the average earnings of a

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teacher (Myths and Facts About Educator Pay). I find it so surprising and unfair these teachers
have so many responsibilities but get paid so little. These teachers are looking over your children
all day responsible for what happens to them and teaching them everything they need to know,
shouldnt they be paid a higher salary? At the moment, the average teachers pay is on par with
that of a toll taker or bartender. Teachers make 14 percent less than professionals in other
occupations that require similar levels of education. In real terms, teachers salaries have
declined for 30 years. The average starting salary is $39,000; the average ending salary after
25 years in the profession is $67,000. This prices teachers out of home ownership in 32
metropolitan areas, and makes raising a family on one salary near impossible (Eggers). To
become a teacher you need to go through several years of college, strenuous training, and many
tests. To become a bartender your only requirement is to be 21. Why would someone who makes
drinks make the same amount of money as someone being in charge of your child's and
education? Teachers really shape our economy, if everyone had a bad teachers everyone would
be so uneducated. How would we have doctors, dentists, surgeons, and many other people our
health depends on if we had no one to teach them.
If teachers starting salaries were increased it could attract more high quality candidates.
You always hear of these impacted nursing programs, business programs, marketing and so many
more, but what do they have in common? Money. All these careers have much higher salaries
than teachers. If we increased the teacher salary many more people would be interested, creating
a more competitive environment. With this competitive environment we will find smarter, more
capable teachers. Also increasing pay will encourage teachers to stay. One Los Angeles study
found that having a teacher from the 25 percent most effective group of teachers for four years in
a row would be enough to eliminate the black-white achievement gap(Kristof). Even with the

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little pay teachers earn, many need to go out and buy their own supplies for the class. In order to
improve teacher recruitment, a popular intervention for urban school districts is raising teacher
salaries to improve the school districts attractiveness within the local labor market. Research has
shown that large-scale changes in compensation can encourage people to enter the teaching
workforce (Hough). A big reason for choosing a work field is the salary, yes you should love
what you do but no one wants a job that makes no money. If teacher salaries were increased
hopefully many others will consider teaching as a career, giving us better candidates.
If teacher starting salary is raised more teachers will keep their job. Low salaries
encourage teachers to quit and every time a teacher quits district money is used trying to find a
replacement. It seems equally obvious that poor pay, along with lack of respect and job
insecurity, also motivates current teachers to leave. And by the way, that churn costs districts
money money that could be going to teacher salaries (Lesserman). If more teachers kept
their jobs we would have so much more money for teacher salaries! Most teachers pay for their
own graduate school and ongoing professional training, and over 92 percent buy supplies for
their students out of their own pockets. But over the past few years, weve seen over 60 percent
of teachers working second jobs, dining with their children at food banks, and even selling their
blood to make ends meet. Examples of such financial stress and strain can be found in every state
in the country; quality teachers are walking away from the profession, and salaries are part of the
reason they leave (Calegari). If all teachers had enough money to support their families without
needing a second job they would enjoy their career much more. Even if you love your job so
much you will get extra jobs to survive, you really shouldn't have to. There is no need to go to
college for several years and earn a degree in teaching just to make enough money you can't even
support yourself.

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There is also few cons to raising teacher pay. The main problem is where the money
would come from. Public Impacts Opportunity Culture team ran the numbers to determine how
much more schools could pay teacherswithin budgetjust by putting excellent teachers in
charge of more students learning. We found that schools could free funds to pay excellent
teachers in teaching roles up to 40 percent more and teacher-leaders up to about 130 percent
more, within current budgets and without increasing class sizes. In some variations, schools can
pay all teachers more, while further rewarding the best (Hassel). According to Public Impacts
Opportunity Culture team we can pay teachers more! We just need to start spending less on other
funds, technology being the biggest culprit. Is it really important to always have the latest
technology, when not long ago this new technology was not even possible. Technology can also
be a big distraction to students, so let's limit our technological resources and increase our teacher
salary! Another reason all teachers starting salaries should not be increased is based on teacher
performance. Principals should observe teachers, and should do it frequently. And if they dont
have time to do it themselves then they should hire someone devoted to teacher evaluations (this
persons salary would pay for itself many times over if they successfully identified the best and
worst teachers and compensated them accordingly). They should drop in on classes
unannounced, observe teachers in the hallways, talk to students and parents, etc(Smith). Many
teachers out rank others so there is no reason for them to all make the same amount of money,
but all teachers deserve to make more money their pay scale is very insufficient right now. If
some teachers deserve to make more they may always have a raise.
Teaching is a very high trained profession that deserves to get paid a high amount. I
believe all teachers should have a starting salary of at least $60,000 because professions with
similar training and responsibilities have higher salaries, paying teachers more could attract

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higher quality candidates, and more teachers will keep their job with a higher salary. Teachers
create our leaders and the services we rely on everyday, from doctors to inventors and all the way
to the man who picks up your garbage every week. We need teachers to help make our everyday
lives simpler.

Works Cited
"Myths and Facts about Educator Pay." Rss. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
Kristof, Nicholas. "Pay Teachers More." The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
Leserman March 05, 2014, Amy. "Why Don't Teachers Get Paid More?" Future Is Now. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
Hassel, Bryan, and Emily Hassel. "How to Pay Teachers Dramatically More, Within Budget Education Next." RSS. N.p., 27 July 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

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Eggers, Dave. "The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 30 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Hough, Heather J. "Salary Incentives and Teacher Quality." (2012): n. pag. Stanford Cepa. 12
Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2016
Kato, Sharleen L. "Schools and Safety." Teaching. Tinley Park, IL: Goodheart-Willcox, 2010. N.
pag. Print.
Smith, James. "Higher Teacher Salary Won't Improve Education." Thousandaire. BlueHost, n.d.
Web. 25 Oct. 2016. <http://www.thousandaire.com/higher-teacher-salaries-wont-improveeducation/>.
Calegari, Nnive. "Why Teachers Salaries Should Be Doubled Now." Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Oct. 2016