Responding to a Comment

I was going to post this in the comment section of Kara's blog, The Caffeinated Ramblings of a Coffee Achiever, but it got long so I decided to post it here. Follow the link if you wish to read the original post and/or other comments.

Ken - I am sure that your numbers all come from highly reliable sources that discuss the "required" teacher hours. But I have to ask - do you know any teachers personally? Have you ever noticed how much time they really spend on the job?

Yes, I am required to be at school 180 days out of the year, from 8:30 - 3:30. Take out my lunch break and you would think that I work only 1,170 hours a year. However, if you take into account that I usually get there at 7:30 and don't leave until 5:30 (often because of meetings/programs/etc. that are scheduled before or after hours) you see that I am actually working 10 hour days. Technically, I don't have to do this, but anyone who has ever worked in a classroom will know that the better prepared you are, the smoother things will go. The smoother I can make things, the better the education I am providing for your children.

You must also realize that during the school year, I spend my Saturdays grading, recording, and planning - effectively making my work week 6 days long. Calculated out, I actually "work" more like 250 days a year. So for my 2,500 hours of work I get paid $37,000/year. (I'm a new teacher, but I live in CA, so I get paid more than comparable teachers in other states.) This breaks down to $14.80 an hour. Using your numbers that would be like getting paid $31,000/year at a "regular" job. How many people do you know who would be willing to work for that? Check out this site by the US Dept. of Labor to see what people ARE willing to work for.

I am not complaining - as I said before, it makes my life easier to work those extra hours. I don't usually sit around comparing how much money I have to how much money other people have. (Although it does un-nerve me to realize just how much more they make in the entertainment industry compared to ANY WORTHWILE JOB.) It just really rubs me the wrong way to hear people talking about how well paid I am for the number of hours I work. I don't really care about the money. As long as I can make enough to pay off my mortgage each month and provide the bare necessities for my family, I am happy. I teach because it is my calling, my purpose in life. I just wish that people outside my field didn't look at us as lazy. There is nothing easy about being a GOOD teacher.

Ken - I am sure that reality is somewhere between your numbers and mine. I know that teachers, especially those upper-middle class neighborhoods like mine, are not suffering. However, given the importance of this job, I still don't think it is anywhere near adequately compensated. What we are doing in our classrooms is nothing short of saving the world, one child at a time. That is just my own humble opinion, however! :)

PS - I would love to discuss Ken's other point regarding teacher competency and testing, but that is another ramble for another time.