Not you per se, but this post is in response to the 2006 editorial by Prescott Carlson at Imperfect Parent. I left this comment on the post, but I wanted to post it here because I think it deserves its own post.

I’m a teacher and although this article is 2 years old, I had to respond. Your attitude pisses me off. Why do teachers complain about our low salaries? Because we are undervalued in every way possible. We are not even considered a profession and yet we need just as much (if not more) schooling than lawyers. We need a BA/BS, a MS, and then additional credit to maintain our licenses. I am at work every morning by 7. I teach 170 students (5 classes). I grade papers and plan lessons every night (because good teachers know that reusing lessons year to year does not always work), I call parents every day, offer tutoring sessions several times a week without pay, designed and maintained my school website (without extra pay), go to professional development, and deal with the personal problems of 170 students. I fight parents who think I assign too much homework, and then those who believe I assign too little. I read and reread books to stay current with material, spend, out-of-pocket, almost $1200 a year, and get cursed out by 15 year olds on a daily basis. What is your day like?

I get vacations but can’t afford to go anywhere because my salary stinks. I’m living paycheck to paycheck. I work a second job to help make ends meet. My hubby and I make over 90,000 a year and he makes more than 55000 of that. Am I a teacher for the money? No. Do I believe that I should be paid more? For what I deal with, hell yes. You compare me to a police officer and a firefighter- I have a Master’s Degree. I have to have one.

And merit-based pay? BS. You are a parent. How about I pay you based on how successful your child is? That would be fairer seeing as your child is with me for 50 minutes a day and with you a hell of a lot more. And despite my abilities as a teacher, nothing I do matters if parents are not reinforcing it at home. How many parents check to see if their children have done homework? How many have them turn off the TV so that they can read?

Teachers are blamed for everything wrong with children today, but we don’t get the credit for the good things. We are told that we whine and moan and groan and yet we have more than enough reason. It’s no wonder students don’t have any respect for their teachers; their parents don’t think we are worthy of respect.

Your article is very telling and I am so disappointed that you can’t understand just how much teachers deal with. In your eyes, we are glorified babysitters with comfortable jobs. Let’s trade places for a day.

Tags: Education, Teaching