Good teachers preserve civilization. Why are they so often treated so poorly?
I actually have some theories about that. First, long ago teachers were either church people, who weren't supposed to get rich, or women (Dame schools) who weren't supposed to make much money at all. Real men didn't go into teaching. Second, teachers are supposed to be willing to sacrifice because of the privilege of doing good work for society. Third, there's a sense that because you only work 185 or so days a year, you shouldn't get paid a full time salary. Fourth, teaching is supposed to be easy work for dummies (them as can, do; them as can't, ...) Fifth, there are a whole lot of them, so if you give them a raise it's a lot of money. Sixth, they're paid out of taxes, usually local taxes, and between voting against taxe increases and paying teachers fairly, well, there's no contest. (That latter, though, doesn't explain why private school teachers are paid even worse than public school teachers.)
Basically, though, I think it's the feeling that people who deal with kids aren't doing "real" work. Day care, nannies, teachers, all the same thing -- very low pay for the amount of work and the responsibility. Even family docs and pediatrics are among the worst paying medical specialties. |
