Term Paper

Teachers are a driving force in every community. Despite their title, instructor, coach, trainer, professor, facilitator, mentor, or even parent, they impart knowledge upon students of any age. Nevertheless, sharing knowledge with individuals on any topic is not necessarily an easy task. In fact, teachers endure years of schooling and practice to hone their skills. In the end, the model instruction provided by teachers supports and promotes the viability of the future in every vocation. Therefore, paying teachers’ salaries comparable to that of high paid professionals gives educators the monetary reward they deserve and assists in sustaining teaching as a worthwhile occupation.

One reason a teacher’s salary should be comparable to high paid professionals is because practically no person would have a pinnacle career absent the help of their teachers. The knowledge that engineers, lawyers, and doctors use is based on a strong foundation created and built by teachers. Undoubtedly, teachers transform students into high achieving professionals. Other than imparting their knowledge, teachers also guide students in the means and ways of applying, sharing, obtaining knowledge. In essence, the basic reading, writing, mathematics, and research skills a young student learns manifests into the logical reasoning, critical thinking, problem solving, and inference skills, for example, that are later used by physicians, entrepreneurs, chemists, political leaders, engineers, attorneys, etc. In other words, “teachers help them recognize the underline concepts that are broader than particular problems or examples” (Educator 201). Being a teacher is not just a profession but a process of guiding another human being through their journey of life. Although less structured as learning the basics, teachers also teach communication skills, self-advocacy, social responsibility, appropriate expressiveness, professionalism, and confidence are taught at an early age. Teaching is one of the most demanding careers as it stresses the highest level of passion, dedication, patience, and consideration. Consequently, regarding compensation, salaries must adequately compensate teachers for the role they play in the life of every student they encounter.

Moreover, without building a strong foundation, the economic well-being, leadership, and industrial world would be in jeopardy, yet it is teachers who establish a framework for talent discovery by educating students to develop their best skills. Besides, they also help students discover their potential by pushing them towards more significant achievements. For instance, a talented student whose skill goes unobserved, undeveloped, and unnurtured will not reach his fullest potential in that area, but when a teacher recognizes, improves, and even enhances that skill, the student and society benefit. Interestingly, even those students who do not complete high school or finish college are still shaped by their contact with an educator (Allegretto and Mishel 1). All in all, with such influence in the lives of successful persons, teachers deserve salaries that are comparable to that of the high paid professionals they create.

Furthermore, the time and effort teachers put into educating students surpasses regular business hours. Most tasks such as responding to emails, tutoring, creating lessons, attending professional development, and taking courses are not a part of the school day and often need attention after hours. “Beyond the regular school day, teachers dedicate their time to ensuring that students gain and retain good standing” (Ramzan, Perveen, and Gujjar 2). They also spend much time studying and preparing the best ways to deliver instruction and to provide students with model pedagogy that uses the curriculum to its best end. Moreover, it is important to note that different students have varying levels of reception. As a result, teachers continuously work to help students overcome various obstacles during their learning process. However, “there is usually no compensations for the extra work teachers do to ensure that individual groups of students succeed” (Cohen 1). Thus, increasing teacher’s salaries to that of high paid professionals is only just and fair.

Additionally, teachers typically receive more education than any other profession. Physicians attend medical school for four years, attorneys attend school for three years, and engineers spend two years earning a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), with full-time status. In addition, many teachers attend two years of graduate school to obtain their Master’s degree (which may be a requirement to maintain employment), another five years to earn their doctorate degree, and they are frequently required to take six to 12 graduate credits (as many as four course) every 10 years, to maintain their teaching certification (Maryland State Department of Education MSDE). All the while, much of the tuition for the courses teachers enroll comes out of their own pockets by way of student loans or Time-of-Service Contract (for so however many courses the school district pays for, the teacher must remain employed in that school district or repay the tuition cost if they leave) (Bousted 98). Therefore, in order to compensate teachers for the monies and time they spend attending school, they should be paid higher salaries.

Lastly, some critiques argue that teachers already receive fair compensation for their jobs because they work nine to 10 months a year with summers and holidays off and have job security that others do not. Nevertheless, teachers rarely work a 40-hour work week, so having the summers and holidays off only balances out the hours they spend working above and beyond the during the school year. Moreover, many teachers work odd jobs during the summer months to make up for the monies they are lacking in their teaching salary. As well, although teachers may have some job security, they are just as vulnerable to the toils of the economy and the local and State governments as any other private or public worker. Subsequently, teachers are not given just compensation for their profession, even though they work nine to 10 months a year with summers and holidays off, and statistical data does not support teachers having more job security than other professions.

In conclusion, teachers are a necessity, and as a result of the value of work they do, their salaries should be comparable to those of high paid professionals. Ironically, the number of years spent during training is often used as the measure for how much a person should be paid for their job; however, “there is no other job where a person is required to perform so many roles as that of a teacher” (Cohen 1). In too many instances, their work goes unrewarded, yet they continue with their charge out of passion and compassion for the world and the people living in it. It is their dedication that motivates them to attend to their students every day despite the poor remuneration. Undoubtedly, since teachers are the creators of all professionals, their salaries at least should be comparable to that of other well-paid professions.

References

Allegretto, Sylvia, and Mishel, Lawrence. The teacher pay gap is wider than ever. Economic policy institute. (2016). < http://www.epi.org/files/pdf/110964.pdf > Accessed 14 Nov. 2020.

Bousted, Mary. Teachers’ salaries compared to other professions have deteriorated, and it’s driving the recruitment crisis. (2016). Online < https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/teachers-salaries-compared-other-professions-have-deteriorated-and > Accessed 18 Nov. 2020.