Re: Re: Re: Teacher's salaries
 

I think what you are reacting to is more about the issue of teacher tenure rather than a teacher's salary. I personally support tenure because I don't believe that teachers should be fired for being "unpopular" or for teaching unpopular topics or views but there is a lot of concern about whether teacher tenure insulates people who aren't doing their job from getting fired.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Teacher's salaries
 

As a 17 year old kid (or younger) I didn't have any power.

And that's another BIG problem, is that with the unions, there's not much that can be done, especially to the "well-tenured" teachers, unless they do something illegal. The only teacher that I knew that was let go had called a black student the n-word in class.

:) thank you valkyrie

Right. Most teachers are studying up on the latest concepts in fiber optics to teach to those whipper snapper 7 year olds.

-Rudey

I'm not looking for something that's not in your post, I was commenting on what you did say. And yes, I know plenty of stupid teachers, I'm sure there are some stupid lawyers out there too that you know. Education does not equal intelligence.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Teacher's salaries
 

Even when they do something illegal, they are not let go. They are moved to desk jobs somewhere because the union can do that - unless it's incredibly heinous. And let's not all forget their pensions either.

-Rudey

whatever Rudey... it might not apply to kddani's old school, but every teacher I knew did attend lots of workshops and things to learn new teaching techniques and ideas. And I know this because my mom worked in the school district I attended and she'd be at those same workshops.

I'm really sorry you didn't enjoy your teachers or appreciate all the crap they did for you, but I do.

You underestimate the skills that good teachers have. No, it is not as complex as being a nuclear physicist. I never said it was, and I have no personal knowledge of the salaries of those who work in that field.

And it's not "someone" who told me that my state is suffering from a lack of teachers. All over the state, open slots are being filled with lateral entry teachers, who have college degrees but no training in education. These teachers then work in the schools while simultaneously taking a limited number of classes in methodology to be granted a teaching certificate. Not to mention that many programs like music, art, family and consumer sciences, foreign language, and vocational education are being scaled down or dropped altogether because there are not enough appropriately trained teachers to fill those positions. Education, both at the elementary and secondary level, is one of the fields with the highest demand for employees right now.

Hey I didn't say anything. I said those teachers are learning about fiber optics and I hear next year a couple of them are doing all they can to learn about string theory. There are also some really brilliant 3rd grade teachers who are learning about the Black-Scholles model because they have a nack for financial math.

-Rudey

What are the skills since I underestimate them?

And since someone didn't tell you, do you actually have proof that your state is understaffed on teachers and is hiring incredibly untrained ones? Or is this just hearsay? And how does it compare with other fields? Perhaps law firms are hiring untrained lawyers.

-Rudey

...not amused :)

They're not required to buy a house, but it's assumed that if they rent, property taxes will be passed on to the renter by the landlord. If you're renting in a district w/ lower taxes, your rent will be lower. The percentage of people, period, who rent in the area is very small.

The thing is that they are pushing binding arbitration which could result in increased taxes for the residents of the school district. If they're not residents, they don't really give a rat's rump if taxes go sky high.

I just wanted to interject a quick comment re teacher unions. I think everyone is over-estimating their power.

In the county where both of my parents were teachers, the teacher's union was little more than a company union. It didn't really do much for the teachers, if anything at all. I know several teachers who were terminated even though they were part of the teacher's union.

Sure, it's probably not like that everywhere, but it just surprises me to hear about teacher's unions having such "power." (of course, it's also surprising to hear about teaching salaries higher than $50,000.)

Also, how can these teachers strike? I thought it was illegal for teachers to strike.

Finding random statistics on the Internet is not my strong point. But I will direct you to this website, about North Carolina education, which specifically states:

"Our state is experiencing an unprecedented demand for additional public-school teachers. In fact, over the next ten years North Carolina public schools will need over 100,000 new teachers. This year alone, we expect to hire more than 12,500 teachers."

and

"While traditional teaching programs of colleges and universities in and beyond our state continue to help fill many new positions, these institutions cannot completely satisfy our urgent and growing demand for new teaching professionals. As a result, we need to look beyond the traditional sources."

Teach4NC


So make of that what you will. I personally know several people who have procured teaching positions recently through the lateral entry program as well.

I did not state that these untrained teachers were village idiots, as they do have collegiate degrees. But teaching methodology is not something that is innate... it requires training and practice, which these alternatively-liscensed teachers will not have until AFTER they have already been placed in the classroom. Unless you can demonstrate that law firms are hiring lawyers who did not go to law school, then it's obviously not the same.

Edited to add: Regarding the salary discussion in this thread, this website, which is a part of the NC Department of Public Instruction, states that the beginning salary for a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree is $25, 420. After 30 years of experience, this amount increases to $45,680, or $51,160 if the teacher becomes National Board certified. Additionally, it is $27,970 for first-year teachers with master's degrees, $50,250 for 30+ experience, and $56,280 for NB certified.

Sorry to double-post, but here is the link for NC Teach, if anyone is interested.

NC Teach