Teachers' Salaries in Public Education - Essay Example

Argumentative Essay: Teachers’ Salary Increase Introduction What can education bring an individual? The answer to this could be both very simple and very deep at the same time. Education brings one a paying job, or a means of survival, or a career. While education takes up most of the childhood and teenage years, it benefits the whole adult life of a person. While education could really, and actually, happen anywhere, formal education within school settings is what really provides an individual with ammunition later on in life. One cannot disregard the significance of education in life. In fact, in today’s world, an individual is disregarded if without education. Education is not only there to increase one’s knowledge, but also to shape one’s character. It develops the rational aspect of a human being. Now, when one talks about education, one cannot help but think about teachers. This is because education is a teacher-driven industry. Without teachers, education will not be possible (Vedder 17-8). The important status of the teaching profession is the main reason why teachers’ salary should be increased. A higher salary for teachers would mean that existing teachers would feel more inspired as they go about their daily teaching routine (Mishel and Roy 69). It could also mean that the teaching industry will be more able to attract the best and the brightest minds (Cunningham and Sperry 38). It will also mean that more potential teachers will be inclined to give the career more consideration, which could decrease teaching shortage (Vedder 7). More Inspiration for Teachers Work is all about motivation. While many people will say that a career is based on what one wants to do, at the end of the day, one would hope that what one wants to do is also something that would put food on the table, roof over the heads, and clothes on the back. In addition, it is not asking too much to include a reliable car to make lives easier, along with extra funds to indulge into leisure moments occasionally. It is true that several teachers are able to afford all these things without problems, but one cannot really claim that these things are acquired without many problems (Mishel and Roy 71-2). The teaching profession should be able to offer such a salary that could at least ensure noble teachers that they could provide education to individuals without enduring a profession that will make them sacrifice some of their personal needs and wants. It is a well-accepted fact that motivated workers are more productive in their jobs. While this is not to say that money is the only source of motivation, removing the barrier of money issues would certainly help a lot in alleviating the situation of people involved in such “thankless” jobs (Mishel and Roy 75-6). Attracting the Best and the Brightest Minds Everyone has heard a story somewhere of a teacher who has left the profession to enter the corporate world, and the biggest reason stated has always been better paychecks. This is especially true among highly effective and intelligent teachers in the industry. It is understandable that people who have a big potential to really make it big in the better-paying corporate world would be enticed to switch professions. This is coupled by the additional attraction that corporate jobs could be less stressful, where one does not have to take the work back home. If teachers feel that their efforts are being recognized in the paychecks, there would be lesser chances of job switch. Furthermore, it could lessen, if not remove, the connotation that teaching is a thankless career. To do so could attract more brilliant students into the teaching industry (Cunningham and Sperry 38-9). This is not to say, though, that only average people are attracted to get into teaching. However, one cannot disregard the possibility that many highly effective and brilliant individuals who want to get into teaching would settle for better-paying jobs instead, even though they want to teach (Cunningham and Sperry 42). Inclination to Give the Career More Consideration This is very similar to what has been stated above. Teaching being considered a thankless career, one will not be surprised that a big percentage of individuals will not consider teaching as a lifetime career. Even teachers, as mentioned earlier, switch jobs largely due to paycheck issues. While it is neither wrong nor unusual to switch jobs, having teachers, who are considered builders of the future on the nation, switch jobs could be detrimental to the education system (Vedder 9). How can one expect to have highly specialized and brilliant professionals in different careers if there are no, or limited, highly effective and brilliant teachers to mold them? Teaching profession has a tough competition from among the several new types of jobs today, and a raise in salary would not only inspire and attract brilliant and highly qualified individuals to consider teaching as a viable lifelong career, but would also give the career a more credible and modern appeal (Vedder 11-12). Teachers are Already Paid According to the Amount of Work They Do Opponents of the teachers’ salary increase claim that teachers are already receiving the amount of salary that is fair for the amount of work that they do. First, some even go as far as justifying that teachers do not really work for eight stressful hours, because teachers do not really do straight lectures for the whole duration of classroom time (Adam and Melly 315). However, such argument does not take into consideration the amount of preparation time that teachers spend in doing lesson plans or even doing follow ups for their students’ progress. Several teachers are very much involved in the personal lives of their students, especially if it affects their progress in school. Second, there are also claims that a degree in education is not as hard as other degrees, such as engineering physics (Adam and Melly 321). While this is most probably true, no one can still deny the fact that the individuals who are able to take up engineering or physics reached their places because of teachers. Simply put, no teachers, then no engineers. Third, there are claims that raising teachers’ salary cannot guarantee a higher quality of education for students (Adam and Melly 324). While this is largely true, raising teachers’ salary can definitely attract highly equipped individuals in the teaching profession and reduce attrition rates from among experienced teachers. Conclusion With all these stated, it can said that it is about time that teachers receive a salary that will make them stick to their jobs. It is about time that the profession is not tagged as a thankless job. It is hard to comprehend how such a noble profession receives a meager compensation. Trainers who work in large conglomerates, whose job is to train employees, receive higher paycheck that teachers who provide fundamental education to individuals (Vedder 14). Before one tries to judge if teachers are well compensated, or worse, overpaid, one should look first at how important the profession is for the society and the nation. Definitely, a career that develops and helps shape a person’s skill and character deserves more than being just a thankless job. While education is a lifelong experience, and one does not only learn inside the classroom, one cannot apply for a job and merely say that education will be acquired as life goes on, or that education was merely acquired from practical, outside-classroom experiences. Works Cited Adam, E N, and Naphcha Melly. "Teachers' Salaries in Public Education: between Myth and Fact." International Journal of Educational Management. 21.4 (2007): 315-328. Print. Cunningham, William G, and J B. Sperry. "The Underpaid Educator." American School Board Journal. 188.4 (2001): 38-42. Print. Mishel, L, and J Roy. "The Compensation Question: Are Public School Teachers Underpaid?" Education Next. 12.4 (2012): 69-78. Print. Vedder, R. "Are Teachers Underpaid? A Question of Value: Comparable Worth." Education Next. 3.3 (2003): 7-19. Print. Read More