teachers should be paid $100,000?

chadtm80 · #1 Postby **chadtm80** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 1:48 pm

Education Commissioner Jim Horne says Florida needs to find 160,000 new teachers in the next ten years and be willing to pay its best up to $100,000 a year to stay in the classroom.

ABSOLUTLEY....

M2 · #2 Postby M2 » Sat Feb 08, 2003 1:56 pm

YES of course. We need educated people to make a decent living rather than scraping the bowl and using their OWN personal money to run the classrooms. Why should it be that only athletes (many who just squeaked by in school anyway & can't write a decent sentence) make outrageous salaries. What does that say about the values of education and what's important in society. Give the teachers what they've been due for many, many years - a nice payraise. And cap the athlete's salaries.

M2

chadtm80 · #3 Postby **chadtm80** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 2:01 pm

Totaly agree with you.

However, i realy dont care what those whinning babie athletes get. its not coming out of my pocket... But i am willing to pay teachers more

M2 · #4 Postby M2 » Sat Feb 08, 2003 2:11 pm

That's right Chad, teachers have a huge, huge responsibility to train & educate our kids to keep society moving ahead. Other countries like China stive to educate their kids and we cannot fall behind in this regard, or all the technology experts, scientists, engineers, etc. will be hired from OUT of our country, not within and this has started already. We need to get it together here in the education realm or our companies will be run by foreign nationals.

M2

#5 Postby **streetsoldier** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 2:16 pm

Strange it is that we can spend millions on salaries to chumps that get arrested for all manner of criminal activity, just because they can get a ball through a hoop or run one across a field, yet the very people we entrust our children to live on such meager sums that often they have second jobs to "make it"?

Of course, along with this should be an automatic caveat that they must demonstrate their expertise (the ONLY thing Hillary and I are in agreement with), and an additional provision that they be alllowed to actually TEACH, free from administrative/PC oversight (Hillary and I disagree here...LOL); to be able to actually fail those children who do not meet standards, reward those who do, etc...and not be sent into classes for which they are unqualified, just to fill a seat and "babysit".

Been there....had to do that.

M2 · #6 Postby M2 » Sat Feb 08, 2003 2:47 pm

I agree with you Bill that the whole educational system needs to be overhauled altogether. Teachers should teach and not have to deal with all the petty bureaucratic dung that they are forced to add into their 'teaching' responsibilities. Leave that to those who were trained as
'administrators'. Sometimes teachers leave the actual classroom to become administrators since the pay is higher, but again that's removing the emphasis from teaching which should be the primary mission. Teachers have a very, very important task to enlighten and push the students to excel at THINKING - using their brains - and we should return to that principle again.

M2

#7 Postby **wx247** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 4:04 pm

I originally planned to be a teacher here in the Show-Me State, but the main factor in determining to change careers was the fact that I would have to have that second job that Street soldier mentions.I don't want to spend 4 years in college just so I can work 8-3 and then go work evenings flipping burgers.

Garrett :multi:

#8 Postby **streetsoldier** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 7:45 pm

Even on the collegiate level, the money crunch is present; FI, just yesterday, I received a phone call (after absently running a search engine to locate her) from my old Art Department Chair...a lovely, somewhat shy (read: easily "flustered"...we had a lot of fun with her, and she with us "way back when"! :wink:

) lady with incredible artistic ability. What is she doing?

She left the art world soon after I graduated, went back to college to earn a Ph.D in education, and is now the president of XQZ Community College near XBQ..and hasn't painted a single piece in 22 years! :cry:

Tenured professors barely make a decent middle-class level salary; even within administration, there are few perks and onerous responsibilities that, perforce, "go with the job".

Now, add the salary malaise to any necessary profession...police/sheriff, firemen, EMT, Emergency Management...and contrast that with the unbelievably inflated sums demanded by Hollywood, sports figures, promoters, etc.

Does anyone else see a clear case for reevaluating our priorities? :?:

petal*pusher · #9 Postby **petal*pusher** » Sun Feb 09, 2003 3:43 pm

Let me see....$100,000!

There are many many teachers who are absolutely worth this....and more....but, unfortunately, there's also some not worth their present salaries.

Today's society has great expectations of sending kids to school to learn EVERYTHING pertaining to what one needs in life.........many parents seem to be absent from their childs' everyday needs. Too many arrive cold and hungry, dirty and sick, "drugged up"....either with perscription or illegal stuff, pregnant, or with absolutely no self-expectations!

Often, when new ideas are tried on our school systems, it is NOT with the support of instructors (who are in the classroom daily), or parents (some don't even care to know), or the kids themselves. Nowdays, too much help is available......some really do need extra attention.....but it often becomes a "crutch" for those who are capable but not expected to perform. In order to reach each student, the level of instruction must be taught to the least-capable student.......how sad for the rest.......p :cry:

#10 Postby **streetsoldier** » Sun Feb 09, 2003 5:42 pm

The thing about all this is that the present education system is NOT about "education", but filling the WORKFORCE...to this end, kids are being tracked as early as 2nd grade (?).

A true "liberal arts" general education should be at the forefront of the massive restructuring of the system as absolutely needed now...thanks again to Hillary (Brave New World) Clinton for her "Goals 2000" initiative.

petal*pusher · #11 Postby **petal*pusher** » Sun Feb 09, 2003 9:21 pm

absolutely right, Streetsoldier!

What young kid in 2nd or 3rd grade has ALREADY decided EXACTLY what he wants to do! I'm seeing much more "guidance" in certain directions being put on youngsters who flippantly mention their intrest in a particular job-area.

We just finished Sophomore Tours at school. 10th graders choose 3 of the classes here at the vocational center to visit......we found out some had been sent to classes they did not want to go to....but were signed up by their school councelors! At the start of each new school year, we always take a count of how many had actually visited our class the previous year; out of about 50 kids, there are only 3 or 4 who took a look at our program!

Somehow, somewhere, somebody has to realize that these youngsters need to learn how to read, write, and do math! I cannot think of a single job that wouldn't need at least one of these!

Heck....I'm still tryin' to figure out what I want to be when I grow up!!........p :wink:

#12 Postby **streetsoldier** » Sun Feb 09, 2003 9:31 pm

petal*pusher,

What frosts my cookies is the fact that my son is a "born" actor, and desperately desires tutelage in the performing arts...but the district throws all the $$$ into math-science labs, athletics and constant PC upgrades...leaving those who have interests in music, art, or performing out to dry.

And I found out about "workforce tracking" Coppertop in middle-school, when he asked for a performing-arts curriculum...the counselor called me at home and asked ME to "get (him) on board"??

You don't want to hear my response... :grrr:

Rob-TheStormChaser · #13 Postby **Rob-TheStormChaser** » Mon Feb 10, 2003 6:12 am

I'm a little biased here. I agree that they should be paid for the hard work and time they spend in the field of what they preach...however, they only work 180 days out of the year, have limited classroom times and they are mostly overpaid for the actual time they dedicate to just teaching itself. I know education is needed and we need to make sure our kids have this afforded to them, but at what cost? We pay plenty of taxes here and always you see the 'school code' on the forms...so they get enough. Some struggle to get by, but they manage. I just remembered when I was in school things were more simple....lunches even cost only .40 cents. Most teachers in my area are paid pretty high on the scale compared to other locales...into the $50,000 range.

#14 Postby **streetsoldier** » Mon Feb 10, 2003 11:03 am

Teachers here get paid less than cops, and that alone is pitiful... :cry:

isobar · #15 Postby **isobar** » Mon Feb 10, 2003 12:41 pm

You all have very valid points, but we'll never see salaries anywhere near that range for public servants as teachers, police, etc. as long as their funded entirely from tax dollars. In all honesty, a 6-figure income for teachers who have the summers off is not realistic.

The sure-fire way for any public official to get elected is to take a "no new tax" pledge.

We recently moved from FL, and down there you almost HAVE to send your kids to private school. Who's casting the votes? The older generation who doesn't want to pay more taxes for education. "It was good enough for my kids, it's good enough for them now." They want health care issues addressed. (Generally speaking, of course; there are some who geniunely care about this generation's education and are willing and able to pay for it.)

The biggest key lies in the parents' responsibilities. They've gotta find time to be involved with their kids and let them know that their education means everything.

#16 Postby **streetsoldier** » Mon Feb 10, 2003 1:13 pm

Those "summers off" usually are spent in taking upgrade, or post-grad classes to either (a) get the latest educational developments, or (b) earn a higher degree which would allow career advancement.

Note that these classes, seminars and "roundtable" symposiums come out of the teacher's pocket, folks...

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT. And what thanks did I get for being conscientious enough to stay current (chime in, teachers...)? Certainly no pay raise; just distrust from the administration (such people hide behind their Ph.Ds as though possession "validated" their reason to exist, and don't encourage potential rivals), and "babysitting privileges" from the parents who never come to school for conferences, PTA, etc., except when their kid's called in for disciplinary action, and only then because they smell "money" by possible lawsuit. :grrr:

isobar · #17 Postby **isobar** » Mon Feb 10, 2003 2:56 pm

Teaching is one of the many thankless and underpaid jobs in our society. Day-care workers ... well, don't get me started.

When my husband, Jim, got out of college with his ED degree and taught Social Studies in a FL middle school, he had the startling realization that kids have no respect for authority figures. One day, a snotty 11 year old told him to F*** off, so he marched the kid to the principal's office. Later, the kid's parents came in and said to Jim, "I heard you grabbed my son by the arm!" Well, guess where these kids get their behavior patterns and lack of responsibility.

It was the beginning of the end of his teaching career. He would've been a great teacher. When I met him in '84, he was selling used cars, where he took less abuse - if you can believe that. But it paid a whole lot more. :roll:

teachers should be paid $100,000?

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teachers should be paid $100,000?

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