Another interesting sidelight is that, in some states
numbers, eligible beginning teachers with families also
qualify for "free or reduced-price lunches." Try to
sell a kid on going into teaching where the privilege
and high honor of shaping tomorrow's youth is coupled
with the obvious and legally available evidence of the
"vow of poverty." Also convince the same kid that
teaching is a good deal when the cost of a business
degree (or any other, for that matter) is the same as a
degree in teaching but the income potential in business
is virtually open while teachers have a year-round
commitment in many districts that precludes even time
for additional and supplemental jobs that might add to
income if such jobs were possible.
Herb Dempsey
dempsy@ix.netcom.com
-----Original Message-----
While the national average may be $37,000 there are
incredible
discrepancies from state to state and district to
district. In the states
where the pay is higher such as the northeast and the
midwest there are no
shortages of teachers, male or female, and in fact as my
student teachers
are currently finding, teaching positions in certain
areas are very
difficult to acquire for either males or females.
However, in some states,
states not surprisingly with lower pay, teachers are
hard to find. While
technically teachers' work year is nine months most
teachers work during
that time off, either paid or unpaid planning
curriculum, taking courses
(many of which they pay for out of their own pocket).
In some districts
the top of the pay scale is in the upper $30's. How
many doctors, lawyers,
engineers, accountants would be happy to know that they
would work thirty
years to max out at $38,000? anyone who thinks a
teacher's job is an
easier, hasn't been around a group of thirty thirteen
or fourteen year
olds recently.
Randy
RTGINGRICH@prodigy.net