The below analysis has been visible all over social networks in support of teachers the past few weeks. It is an attempt to show how teachers are underpaid. I will add that I support teachers and many of my family members are teachers, but in the instance of being fair, I will show you why the below numbers are completely off base.
Read the entire thing before you judge me....
Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put thing in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit! We can get that for minimum wage. That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That ...would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to.............................. 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations. LET'S SEE.... That's $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here! There sure is!
The average teacher's salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!!
Heaven forbid we take into account highly qualified teachers...
This is an absurd exaggeration if you give it any thought (most people don’t). No one suggests that teachers be paid minimum wage. They are very important in terms of the future of the country and they hold master’s degrees meaning they should be paid more than the average worker. Also, to suggest teachers are the only workers that work outside of work is ridiculous. Additionally, teachers aren’t babysitters. They come to work in order to shape the minds of children, so to analyze a teacher’s salary in accordance with how many students they have in class is ridiculous. It would be like saying a business man should be paid based on how many people they interact with during the day. Below please find some rational numbers to consider when entering into a debate as to whether teachers are underpaid or overpaid.
Teachers:
Private Sector Worker: Work 7 hours & 15 minutes a day (9am-5pm minus 45 minutes for lunch)
Teachers: Work 182 days a year (According to their contract)
Private Sector Worker: Work 250 days a year (260 weekdays a year minus 10 holidays)
Teachers: Work 940 hours & 20 minutes a year
Private Sector Worker: Work 1,812 hours & 30 minutes a year
Teachers: Average salary $50,000
Private Sector Worker: Average salary $42,432
Teachers: Average annual public worker benefits $40,785
Private Sector Worker: Average annual private worker benefits $9,882
Teachers: Receive 10-15 sick & personal days a year (can roll them over and receive money for them when they retire). Also, it is EXTREMELY hard to fire a teacher once they have tenure. Furthermore, teachers can work during the summer if they would like supplemental income.
Let's analyze the numbers further:
If teachers worked 250 days a year (182 as a teacher and 68 as a private sector worker) their salary would be $61,542 (that is about 45% higher than the average private sector worker while receiving benefits that are 413% higher than the average private sector worker). Teacher salary and benefits would total $50,013 more than private sector workers. That seems more than fair. Claims that teachers are underpaid hold no water once you analyze the numbers in a reasonable way. Teachers don't have to take their summers off, but they usually chose to because they are making enough money in 9-10 months of work to live comfortably.
Let's analyze the numbers further:
If teachers worked 250 days a year (182 as a teacher and 68 as a private sector worker) their salary would be $61,542 (that is about 45% higher than the average private sector worker while receiving benefits that are 413% higher than the average private sector worker). Teacher salary and benefits would total $50,013 more than private sector workers. That seems more than fair. Claims that teachers are underpaid hold no water once you analyze the numbers in a reasonable way. Teachers don't have to take their summers off, but they usually chose to because they are making enough money in 9-10 months of work to live comfortably.
No comments:
Post a Comment