THINK back to elementary school for a moment: What was your third grade teacher's name? How about second grade? Undoubtedly, you can recall most if not all of your teachers from elementary school onward. These men and women played a large role in shaping our lives, and more and more frequently they are abandoning the education system in search of a more comfortably paying job. We need to start paying teachers a salary that reflects the impact they have on the future of our country: They deserve better.
The National Education Association reports that "the majority of the nation's 3 million teachers have at least a master's degree and an average of 15 years of experience."The Web site Salary.com reports that in 2003, the average bachelor's degree holder earned $43,000 annually, while the average master's degree is worth $53,000 per year.Sadly enough, a study done by the American Federation of Teachers reported that the national average teacher salary was $47,602 in 2005, an increase that did not keep pace with inflation that year.
This shows that teachers are being paid approximately the average wages as those in other equally educated fields. Frequently, this is not enough, especially considering the schools themselves are underfunded and teachers often reach into their own pockets to pursue school projects. The Nashua Teacher's Union cited in 2007 that 41 to 50 percent of their teachers held second jobs to cover their expenses. In contrast, Sports Illustrated reports that in 2007, the 50 best paid athletes made over $15 million. Our priorities are clearly out of order. The United Nations Human Development Programme issued a report saying the United States spends only 5.9 percent of its GDP on education. This ranks us 37th in the world, under or among most advanced nations.
Virginia is no exception, with 26 cities and counties paying average salaries less than $40,000 according to the Department of Education. We continue to pride ourselves on our average salary largely because school districts in Northern Virginia pay average salaries as high as $65,202, such as in Alexandria. While this is commendable, there is no reason to ignore the more impoverished and lesser populated areas. For example, Martinsville pays starting teachers less than $35,000 annually. Many argue that this is simply a reflection of variations in the cost of living. However, in some places it has become cost-efficient to simply commute or move to a nearby county to teach.
This mediocre pay is not enough to entice the brightest candidates into the field of education, nor is it enough to keep them there. Almost 50 percent of new teachers leave the field within five years. These are the same people who shape the lives of our children, and they should not be asked to sacrifice their own families' comfort. Teachers will probably never be overpaid so that people will be enticed into the field by a large salary; however, those that truly love to teach should not be deterred by such low wages. Raising teacher salaries is a quick and effective way to give the profession the respect and desire it deserves.
Some will argue that when you consider the number of weeks teachers work, their pay is very generous. This is a flawed way of looking at their situation. This assumes that teachers have the opportunity of making up extra money during school breaks so that they can work the same number of hours and receive the same amount of pay that other professionals do. However, it is fairly difficult to find high paying, professional jobs for a few summer months and winter break.
It is true that teachers are paid the average salary for similarly educated individuals. However, teachers hold a much higher importance in our society. They are responsible for educating future generations of Americans. They will ultimately help produce the engineers, doctors and lawyers who are paid so much higher. These are the men and women who help socialize us all; they prepare us for all the arduous tasks that loom in the future. We will spend countless hours reminiscing on past teachers, not to mention the unseen influence those few truly great teachers have had on our lives. Who has been more important in your life: your accountants and plumbers or your teachers?
I don't mean to say that other careers are unimportant. However, teaching is one of the most difficult careers one can pursue. The responsibility of the future is on the shoulders of our teachers, yet their pay is only average. It is not enough to hope that there are enough altruistic, intelligent, skilled teachers who are willing to sacrifice good pay in order to positively impact the lives of children. To recruit the best teachers we can have, it is necessary to begin paying them more.
Arin Smith's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at asmith@cavalierdaily.com.
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