6-Figure Salaries? To Many Teachers, a Matter of Course

NY Times ^ | 6/5/05 | FORD FESSENDEN and JOSH BARBANEL

[Jewelsetter]

Easy there buddy, it's just a joke. My sister is a teacher, I know how hard she works.

[Oberon]

So you are just going to have to pay them or lose them to industry.

Sorry...the illegal immigrants have all the fruit-picking jobs sewn up.

[CasearianDaoist]

Well 1) I was once a teacher, and 2) I am not your "buddy."

Take it easy yourself, Buster.

[oceanview]

industry? what industry? displaced engineering professionals are lining up to be math & science teachers, and industry doesn't need any liberal arts or history majors. unless by "industry", you mean starbucks.

[FreedomCalls]

Why do they not talk about management salaries in NYC.

The Administrator for the Dallas, Texas Independent School District makes $337,500.00 base salary before all the perks are added in.

[mysterio]

Many of the best science teachers are lost to industry. I'm sure it is ok with you that they are paid exorbitantly there, even though much of that money comes from taxpayers, too.

[mysterio]

Sure, spout your anti-teacher slogans. There is a wide gap between reality and the slogans you have been conditioned to regurgitate, however.

[oceanview]

not anymore, just the opposite is true now. the meltdown in the tech industry is driving those displaced workers to math and science teaching. trust me, I know many of them.

[oceanview]

come to long island, take my tax money and get yourself a BMW.

[mysterio]

And I know many brilliant scientists lured away by industry.

Still, it doesn't change the fact that these teachers earn their pay. Some teachers are probably as you characterize. Most aren't. My parents both teach, and they are wonderful.

[Oberon]

Sure, spout your anti-teacher slogans. There is a wide gap between reality and the slogans you have been conditioned to regurgitate, however.

Save it. I remember what the education majors were like at Virginia Tech. I know what the teachers I know are like now...one of them hires H&R Block to fill out her 1040EZ form every year, because she's intimidated by the form.

We home school, and we know why, and we don't regret it.

[mysterio]

So the teachers you know suck, and that means no teachers deserve a good salary? Great!

All of the teachers I know are great, therefore all teachers deserve a great salary.

[bannie]

HAHAHAHA!!! I want one of THO$E jobs!!! Heck, I just want to KNOW one of those teachers!!

I'll bet that the cost of living in those areas is unbelievable. Try getting a teacher to make $35,000/year in Scottsdale, AZ. The teacher would be living below poverty level.

...but I guess that might be a good thing?

:p

[oceanview]

I didn't characterize them as anything except overpaid. and by overpaid, what I mean is that the private sector tax base that pays them, can't support their compensation anymore - especially the pensions.

[cyborg]

Some of the salaries here are outrageous, especially in the hellhole of a school district I'm in. My mom pays both Uniondale (worth it) and Hempstead (don't get me started!) school taxes. I wonder what the government will do when they've bled the taxpayer dry?

[jackbill]

Many of the best science teachers are lost to industry. I'm sure it is ok with you that they are paid exorbitantly there, even though much of that money comes from taxpayers, too.

I was an design engineering manager of a Fortune 50 company, in the defense business. In 35 years, I am not aware of one former teacher that we hired. A couple of college professors, yes. Teachers, no. None. Zip. Nada.

[oceanview]

they will expand the real estate transfer tax - essentially, they will soon "co-own" our homes, because when we sell them, they get a piece of the action.

[Jewelsetter]

I will not make fun of ex-teachers.
I will not make fun of ex-teachers.
I will not make fun of ex-teachers.
I will not make fun of ex-teachers.
I will not make fun of ex-teachers.
I will not make fun of ex-teachers.
I will not make fun of ex-teachers.
I will not make fun of ex-teachers.

[Alberta's Child]

So you are just going to have to pay them or lose them to industry.

If that were the case, then paying six-figure salaries to teachers may not be a bad thing.

The reality, though, is that most teachers are thoroughly unfit to work in any kind of "industry" -- especially those whose only background is in education. Ironically, most people in "industry" couldn't work as teachers without first going through a cumbersome process of getting certified to "teach."

It's no secret that a college degree in education is a joke. A good teacher is someone who is a good teacher in spite of his or her education, not as a result of it.

[Proud2BeRight]

I looked at the top 100 teacher's salaries here in Illinois and find $133k-173k. Not too bad for 9 months work. The averages in many school districts here are in the $60s-80s. About 2/3 of my house tax bill is now grabbed for the local schools and one or the other is pleading for a tax referendum each election. Soon, the only people who will be able to afford to live here will be teachers.
And they cry about being subjected to the measurements of no child left behind.