January 2, 2019
By Sarah Liu
Question: Teachers, who needs ‘em?
Answer: We do.
As students, our teachers can be our greatest influences, imparting lessons relevant both in and out of the classroom. They are crucial to our growth and development.
American public schools need to raise teachers’ wages, or we will face a national education crisis.
The annual average pay for an entry-level teaching job is around $36,000, which is lower than the median American income. The Economic Policy Institute found that teachers earn 18.7% less than other college graduates working full-time and are receiving wages that place them on the cusp of the poverty line. In order to support their families, teachers are forced to take extra jobs; in fact, teachers are 30% more likely to seek a second job compared to Americans who do not work in education.
Public school educators receive unreasonably low pay, but numerous reports have found that their wages are stagnating, and will continue to do so without policy change. Possibly as a result, students are less likely to choose education as their professional field.
“If we want to attract, retain and motivate the best and the brightest, we need to raise the starting salaries of teachers to be competitive with other professions. Otherwise, we’re not going to raise the standard of teaching and invite a broader spectrum into the field,” Bob Willoughby, Associate Director of Research with the New Jersey Education Association, said.
Low teachers’ wages aren’t just causing problems for teachers, but also for the future of education as a whole. Already, fewer college graduates want to become teachers. Public education has an outstanding legacy in America; for centuries it has enabled children of all socioeconomic classes to become successful. If public education standards fall due to a shortage of teachers, it will impede the ability of all students to have access to high-quality education, especially those in poorer districts.
If America doesn’t begin paying public school teachers livable wages, teachers will leave the industry without suitable people to replace them. Without teachers, America will face an imminent crisis of being unable to provide adequate and accessible education to members of future generations.
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