Why so many teachers need a second job to make ends meet
Teachers have it easy, right? They get summers off, go home in the middle of the afternoon when students leave campus, and are paid well. Actually, for most teachers, those are all myths, especially the last one.
Many teachers are paid so poorly, in fact, that they have to take second jobs to pay their bills. A study released earlier this year found that in 2015, the weekly wages of public school teachers in the United States were 17 percent lower than comparable college-educated professionals — and those most hurt were veteran teachers and male teachers.
This is a post about what teachers face when it comes to making an adequate living. It was written by Nínive Calegari, a former classroom teacher who is the founder of The Teacher Salary Project, a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to raise awareness about the effects on the country of underpaying and under-valuing teachers. She is also co-founder of 826 Valencia/National, a nonprofit organization that provides support to seven writing and tutoring centers around the country.
Calegari recently co-authored a brief entitled “Improving Teacher Pay to Ensure Good Teachers For All Students” with Ellen Sherratt and Hannah Kraus. She is the co-author (along with Daniel Moulthrop and Dave Eggers) of “Teachers Have it Easy,” and she is the co-producer (along with Dave Eggers, Vanessa Roth, and Brian McGinn) of the film “American Teacher.”
By Nínive Calegari
Kory O’Rourke teaches English at a public high school in San Francisco. She has 125 students spread over 5 classes. She starts her days at 6 a.m. and works without stopping — not for a lunch date, not for Internet shopping. She works at full speed, all day and then grades and preps at night. This week, she’s teaching her classes, helping her students turn in missing work, Why so many teachers need a second job to make ends meet - The Washington Post: