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 Teacher Pay? 
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So i know this is a complicated question in a since because their isnt just one answer for it, but how can we get teachers pay raised? Obviously with the economy being in the state that it is right now it would be virtually impossible, but it will come back up and by then I just wonder what some of you thoughts are on how we can work on this issue. I ask this because i feel that some of the great candidates for the teaching profession pass it up for higher paying job opportunities.

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Brandon Knox


Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:16 am
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This is an issue that I simply cannot answer. However, in my own mind, I would like to say that I could do something in the future to help get the pay raised (ha, yea right)...but it does bother me in SO many ways. I know teachers get summers off and longer holiday breaks and all, but our job is also MUCH harder than a majority of other higher-paying jobs. With our jobs come many risks that we have to be willing to take, and anything we say or do could greatly affect a child's life. Also, it has always bothered me that people we educate (doctors, lawyers, etc.) get paid so much and we don't...I mean, who was it that educated them and taught them what they needed to know in the first place?!

All in all, I think this is an ongoing issue that may never end...I would absolutely love for a miracle to happen and people to start realizing that teachers really DO deserve higher pay...but that may be in the really far future :(


Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:03 pm
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There are ways to advance your pay as a teacher. I talked to my master teacher during my internship, and he told me a few things that could be done to increase pay. One way is to have a masters degree. I know that getting a masters is difficult and expensive, but a lot of schools offer masters classes online or at night for people like us who would most likely be working to pay off those massive student loan debts from our undergraduate degree. Another way is to get national board certification. My master teacher got his national board certification and he said it helped his pay. However, it does depend on the school district and how much they can afford to pay you. Even if a teacher does have all these credentials, then it doesn't absolutely guarentee a big raise, but you might get a little bump in your salary. Also, some schools do bonuses for their staff, but again, it depends on the district and how much money they have to shell out to us hard working deserving teachers. In a perfect world, teachers would get paid a fantastic salary and we would live the way we deserve to live.

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Jessey Pace


Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:48 pm
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Brandon, thanks for bringing up this issue. I'll share what limited information I have. Teacher's in public education fall under what is known as the "Taxpayer Paradox." In other words, taxpayers want the services but do not want to pay for them. In addition, the situation is exacerbated due to the decreased priority of education. Therefore, once the priority of education increases on the national stage, there may be a small chance the rise in priority will be reflected in a rise of teacher's salaries. But, realistically it is incredibly doubtful.

However, all hope is not lost. If enough individuals backed the Teacher's Association (Lobby Group) it could potentially become as influential as prominent lobby groups like AARP and NOW. Hence, a rise in salary.

But check this out. The average salary for starting teachers in N.C. is approximately 30,000. Now, deduct 15-20% for taxes and they are net-ing a maximum of 24,000 a year. That is just above the poverty level. Scary....

Suffice it to say, a lot of lobbying would be required to impact a sufficient increase in salary.

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Elliot Tyler Westbrook


Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:09 pm
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Erin I like the point you made about us being the beginning of so many people's success, yet we get very little respect. I also really think the issue is what Elliot said, they want all the bells and whistles, but only want to pay for the bare minimum. It's a crazy paradox that we say we value education in America, but if we look critically at what our society values, we see that it values famous entertainers, large corporations, and everything that brings us intstant gratification and pleasure and what is easily attained. We say we value hard work, but the bottom line is that we value success by any means necessary. In order for teacher pay to be raised we have to recieve the respect we deserve as professionals. Something the government could do right away is to decrease the amount of income tax a teacher has to pay. But like everyone else has said it's a very complicated issue and it sadly all comes down to greed.

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Kayla Danielle Keidel


Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:51 pm
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As a soon-to-be certified teacher, I would definitely prefer to have a higher pay of say at least $40,000 or more per year in North Carolina. There are states up north that pay teachers even in the $60,000 or $80,000 range, but the cost of living is much higher in those states and the result is still teachers being just above the poverty line. I have come across many opponents to teachers being payed more because they had some very poor experiences with public school education. I also happen to be one of them where my teachers literally worked just enough to get their tenure and then did little to nothing for the students as far as educating them after that. So I personally believe that if we are to get a higher paycheck such as doctors and lawyers do, then there needs to be a lot more accountability for teachers and stiffer penalties for those teachers that do not teach the students just as doctors can face malpractice suits for not doing their job correctly.

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Do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize? Run in such a way as to win the prize.


Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:35 pm
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I completely agree with what Joshua said about accountability, but I also think there needs to be improvement in the way teachers are held accountable. Test scores are helpful, but they should not be the only method of accountability. I think there should be personal accountability from the principal of each school and that should be taken into account as well as random observations at various points in the school year or any other more personal methods.

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Kayla Danielle Keidel


Wed Apr 22, 2009 8:04 pm
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There is really only way to increase pay and have job security... do your job well and make sure the right people know you are doing it well. In the music profession it is easy to get our accomplishments recognized. A trick we learn is that after a competition for our bands, it is good to get the principal to display the trophies or awards in the office or in the hall for the "students" to see. But really it is also being seen by the school board and superintendent and most importantly the principal. So when it is time for budgets or raises the principal will think "hey, the band just won those awards, maybe I should help them (or the band director) out." If you do well and it is reflected in the students then the dough will roll in.... kinda.

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Drew O'Keefe


Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:18 pm
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