Teachers over the years have been quitting their jobs at an alarming rate. From February 2020 to May 2022, more than 300,000 teachers left, according to delvinpeck.com (https://www.devlinpeck.com/content/teacher-burnout-statistics#:~:text=More%20than%20300%2C000%20public%20school,February%202020%20and%20May%202022&text=According%20to%20data%20from%20the,from%20February%202020%2DMay%202022.). Teachers are feeling undervalued, underpaid, and mistreated with both student behavior and the immense workload they are being given.
I stand with teachers and believe they should be getting paid more for their duties.
Teaching is one of the most important jobs in the world. Someone is needed to provide children with an education. Without someone being willing to spread knowledge to the youth, we as a nation are in a seriously bad situation. Good Good Good News ranked English and literature teachers as the second most meaningful job in America during 2023, with kindergarten teachers ranked 12th and middle school teachers 50th (https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/meaningful-work ). However, many teachers suffer from mental health issues due to the workplace and pressure. According to Healthline, In the 2021 State of the U.S. Teacher Survey, as many as 50% of teachers reported burnout, while 27% said they were experiencing symptoms of depression.
Further, teaching is more complicated than it seems. People try to simplify teaching but the workload they receive is massive, while also having to deal with students’ behavior. Along with their workload and workplace issues, they have to inspire creativity and curiosity in their students – all while barely living above the lower class. Teaching is one of the most important jobs in the world but they get treated as minimum wage jobs.
Lastly, rent, taxes, gas, and other important expenses have been increasing in price. In the 1900s, a teacher’s salary after taxes would be more than enough to survive. But now, with everything gradually becoming more expensive, the need for a pay raise is crucial. Taxes and expenses combined are becoming too expensive to not implement a pay raise for jobs everywhere.
A con to increasing teacher salaries is the expense. With a pay increase across the board, the education department will require more funding from the government and the budget will have to be drastically increased, which will lead to less funding in other areas of the government.
Teachers should be rewarded for their years of importance to this nation. We wouldn’t be as advanced as we are now if it wasn’t for teachers being willing to spread knowledge to the youth. Based on the current prices in the economy and the value of teaching, teachers’ salaries should be about $22-$30 per hour. This will vary depending on each state’s minimum wage and what said teacher is teaching, but they should be making enough money to be living comfortably after taxes and bills.
Statistics on the graph from;
- https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2019/01/18/how-much-do-texas-teachers-get-paid-depends-on-where-the-classroom-is/#:~:text=The%20average%20state%20salary%20was,from%20the%20Texas%20Education%20Agency.
- https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/average-teacher-salary-and-statistics/#:~:text=In%202020%2D2021%2C%20elementary%20and,to%20%2461%2C600%20at%20public%20schools.
- https://www.teachersoftomorrow.org/blog/insights/texas-teacher-salary/#:~:text=If%20you’re%20considering%20becoming,starting%20salary%20for%20new%20teachers.
- https://www.publichealthonline.org/social-work-salaries/
- https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/social-worker-msw-salary/houston-tx
