"Teacher's hefty salaries are driving up taxes and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit! We can get that for minimum wage. That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they works, not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 am to 3:00 pm with 45 minutes off for lunch and plan -- that equals 6.5 hours). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach a day... maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations. LET'S SEE... That's $585 x 180 = 105,300 per year (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).If you're anything like me, you got really frustrated while reading the beginning of this quote.However, it couldn't have ended better! So why have I chosen this career that pays so very little? Because it truly makes me happy! There is nothing like a child's hug or smile to improve your day!
"What about those special education teacher and the ones with Master's degree? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.25), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 x 6.5 hours x 30 children x 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here!
"There sure is! The average teacher's salary (nationwide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77 per day/30 students = $9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student -- a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids! WHAT A DEAL!!! Heaven forbid we take into account highly qualified teachers or NCLB!"
- Stolen from my Aunt Kim who stole it from a friend. :)
I work as a teacher's assistant at Upland Terrace Elementary in a developmental kindergarten classroom. I really really love it! Everyday is different. My students are in different moods and dispositions. However, they are still adorable!!! Sometimes they say "I hate you Miss Aubrey" when I won't allow them to do something. Then two minutes later I feel little arms around my waist and see two big eyes looking lovingly up at me! Even today I was helping a student put on their hat and coat and he all of the sudden gave me a hug. Not common for that one. My whole day is full of laughter and funny comments! Then there are moments... emphasis on the word "moments"... when their worlds seem to be falling apart and I get to comfort them and coach them through these new feelings their still learning to cope with.
I had a hard childhood. I was bullied, friendless, and struggling to keep up with the curriculum. My teachers kept me going. They loved me even when no one else did. So THAT is why I want to be a teacher, to help children find hope in a seemingly hopeless world.
So,
from one teacher to another,
or more importantly,
from a student to my teacher.
Thank you.
1 comment:
I think I shared this earlier with you, but I figured it's worth writing again because I used to want to teach as well. And I think my reasons are similar. In elementary school I was completely friendless and truly DID get beat up quite a lot. And while I can't say there were a lot of great teachers who helped me out, I CAN say how much I really appreciated the ones that DID. They definitely made an impression on me- if for no other reason that they're kind care stood out as such a wild contrast to the rest of the people I interacted with at school. And I can even carry that on to High School. I really hated High School, largely BECAUSE there were a lot of jerk teachers there. But those who WEREN'T jerks really stood out and inspired and taught me things and I'm forever appreciative of that. If you go into this profession with those things in mind, you really CAN make a difference!
Post a Comment