By Samantha Caracoza, Staff Reporter
The annual income for a school teacher in the United States of $61,730 is now no longer sufficient. Teachers have been underpaid for many decades and their salaries have only more rapidly decreased since 2018.
Oklahoma staged a walk out in 2017 to gain a pay raise for public school teachers, but things still haven’t changed. We are in 2020, and many teachers believe they should be getting paid what they deserve.
“The amount of work that goes into teaching is not AT ALL proportional to the amount of compensation that we receive,” long term substitute teacher Rachelle Chavez said. “We do not get paid for the multiple hours spent planning/grading on nights and weekends and it discourages a lot of people from working in the field of Education.”
Teachers go to university for a minimum of four years. They receive a salary for the time they are within the classroom teaching. However, the hours spent grading to help students goes unnoticed. School districts don’t pay teachers enough taking into consideration the fact they spend their own personal time and money to help students succeed and grow.
A teacher's income isn’t much. Many teachers have second jobs just to make ends meet, and let’s not forget about student loan debt. Teachers are also getting underpaid when teaching summer school. They take weeks out of their vacation to help students in part because of the need for the extra money.
“I love teaching,” Oklahoma teacher Hope Brown said. “But we are not paid for the work that we do.”
Studies display that the more teachers are paid for their hard work, the longer they are likely to stay in the profession. As a result, students get higher grades, helping students be prepare for the life they want.
Teachers aren’t asking for billions of dollars. They simply need to be paid for all the hard work they do only to be unappreciated. Teachers are a big part of our society. They contend with different human children whilst suffering to elevate their own because they are underpaid.
“I plan on retiring at 62 in seven years!” AP Government teacher Steven Singley said. “Maybe sooner if this covid doesn’t go away.”
Many teachers plan on retiring between the ages of 62-70 however would be inclined to educate longer if paid accordingly.
Teachers when deciding to fight for what’s theirs are mistreated. The lack of respect and low salary is what makes teacher’s leave the profession.
Teachers have been getting underpaid for decades. It is about time to start getting paid for what they deserve.
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