Labor Day Assignment: Educating the Uninformed
It’s Labor Day weekend, the schools have been in session about a week, and the disgruntled voices of a minority drone on. Their screeching refrain, often in letters to the editor and talk show call-ins, is familiar:
- Teachers only work half a year.
- Teachers are overpaid.
- Local school districts and their taxpayers shouldn’t have to hold the burden of teacher salaries.
Often, those who complain the most are those who were average or below-average students who blame teachers, not themselves, for their mediocrity. Although most claim to be strong free-market capitalists, they believe teachers should not have much higher wages and benefits than they do, a philosophy bordering on socialism.
Let’s look at each of the claims.
First, the work year. Public school teachers generally work a 180-day school year. Each day is about six hours. That leads the uninformed to believe teachers only work half a year. But, let’s do the math. There are 365 days in a year. Subtract two days a week, which the average worker does not work, and that leaves 261 days. Next, remove 10 days of vacation; some get as many as 20 days a year, but 10 days is the usual vacation time. That leaves 251 days. Next, there are state and federal holidays, bracketed by New Year’s Day and Christmas. Generally, most businesses accept the 10 federal holidays. That leaves 241 days.
Now, the critics may claim that teachers still work 61 days less than the average worker. But let’s look at the hours. Most public school teachers may be in class only six hours a day, but they have to be at work before classes, most stay after classes to assist in extracurricular activities and then, at home in evenings and weekends, grade papers, read current information about teaching practices and their own academic specialties, and prepare lesson plans for five to seven classes. With schools shoving more students into each class, teachers don’t have the option of working less—they still have to grade papers, talk with individual students andf their parents about performance.
Public school teachers are paid about 19 percent less than professionals with similar education and experience. Some, especially in the sciences and math, may be paid less than half of what others with their backgrounds are paid.
Public school teachers are paid about 19 percent less than professionals with similar education and experience. Some, especially in the sciences and math, may be paid less than half of what others with their backgrounds are paid.
Most teachers don’t spend the summers lying around beach houses. Summer is when most develop lesson plans for the coming academic year, attend professional conferences, and take additional college classes to keep their certification and improve their knowledge of teaching methods and their own academic disciplines.Now, let’s look at those “overpriced” teachers. The average wage of a teacher—who must have at least a college degree, and additional coursework, often a graduate degree—is about $63,000, according to the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). While this may seem generous to an overburdened taxpayer earning only $35,000 a year, it is not a wage that is comparable to those with similar education and work experience. The non-partisan Economic Policy Institute says public school teachers are paid about 19 percent less than professionals with similar education and experience. Some, especially in the sciences and math, may be paid less than half of what others with their backgrounds are paid.
Finally, taxpayers do have a valid point about the burden on local school districts. Most school funding comes from local taxpayers. When the federal stimulus funds were eliminated, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett chose not to replace it. Corbett also cut about $500 million that was not federal stimulus Teachers Not Overpaid: