Comparing the Earning Potential: Teacher vs. Businessman
Imagine that you are going to college to become a teacher while your friend is going through to get a business degree. You are both going to college, paying for college, and spending the same amount of time at college as every other bachelor degree-seeking student. However, once you both enter the workforce, the teacher is often disrespected, underappreciated, and underpaid, while your friend, the businessman, is greatly appreciated, making $30,000 more than you, and considered a professional. Treating teachers with respect and adjusting the teacher pay scale would make the education system better as a whole. Low pay makes the profession unappealing, funding is not spent wisely within the schools, and qualified educators are leaving the profession because of the low pay.
The Skills of an Outstanding Teacher: Pay and Professionalism
Low pay within the school system makes the teaching profession unappealing. Since the recession, due to the stock market crash of 2008, the government has taken more out-of-school funding than there was before the recession; now, the average teacher salary is four percent lower than what it was before the recession (Mantel). Teachers in recent months have gone on strikes in order to raise their pay, but politicians did not do anything to ease the pain. Many teachers, K-12, have a house payment, student loans, lots of bills, a family to support, and the cost of everyday living. In any other profession, with a college degree, these needs could be easily met, but with a teacher’s income, it is not feasible. The World Development Report of 2018 suggests that candidates for teaching that are highly capable are less likely to join the profession because it lacks the title of professionalism (Teacher Skills and Motivation). Low pay is a direct attack on professionalism.
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The higher a salary is, the more professional one is considered to be. A teacher that can barely support their family, let alone themselves, is not considered a professional. According to the World Development Report of 2018, “In Finland, teaching is a coveted profession, largely because teachers receive great respect, are well-trained, are reasonably paid, and have the autonomy to implement teaching standards” (Teacher Skills and Motivation). Not paying teachers enough to live on is, in a sense, disrespectful. The only similarity the United States has to Finland teachers is the fact that they are well-trained. Today teachers do not get much say as to what they get paid, whether or not they are respected, or have the freedom how to implement teaching standards.
Financial Mismanagement: Where School Funding Really Goes
Besides low pay, the money that is allocated to a school district is not used efficiently. The school boards and superintendents of America are spending school funding carelessly. Jennifer Cross, a third-grade teacher in Kansas, has to put in a request for all of the supplies needed in her classroom for the entire year. They are not big items, just simple ones such as reward certificates, dry-erase markers, tape, construction paper, individual clocks, and record books. However, the school only provided her with two packages of construction paper, two boxes of expo markers, a plan book, and a grade book. Anything else that she believes is necessary, she will have to buy on her own or request from PTO (Cross). This is hurting not only the teacher but also the students. It is the school’s job to provide for the classroom, and the teacher is there to earn a living for themselves and their family; that is the purpose of a job. So, if the school has funding, where is it all going?
To wasteful causes that could be solved in a different manner? Kansas Governor, Sam Brownback, cut the state education budget and used a Kansas High School’s purchase of a $48,000 grand piano as an example of waste (Mantel). There are many different, cheaper solutions to this issue if, indeed, a new piano is necessary. There could have been fundraisers, donations from alumni and the community, or cutbacks in other areas of the music department to buy a piano that did not cost as much. This waste could be put into teachers’ pay and used to show teachers that they are valued and appreciated. If the schools were to spend money wisely, they would be able to offer the teachers a salary that would do more than just get them by and provide classrooms with the essential materials.
The Exodus of Qualified Educators Due to Low Pay
The low pay and careless spending within schools are forcing qualified educators out of education. The educators that are qualified are being forcibly and voluntarily removed. After the recession, states pulled money away from education to counteract the revenues lost instead of raising taxes. The national average teacher salary, currently $60,483, is four percent lower than what it was before the recession, while private-sector employees earn about 6.3% more in average weekly earnings than before the recession (Mantel). This is very disappointing for anyone working within the education system. It strips them of the dignity and pride they have in their career. Being paid significantly less than someone who attended college as long as or less than you did is frustrating. Irene Vasquez, a math teacher of twenty-three years, states, “I’ve had to downsize my home so I could still afford to teach…” (Lloyd). On top of this, she has had to get part-time jobs to help support her children, who are in college.
For a teacher in the United States, this is now typical. Paying a qualified, college-educated person barely enough to get by is a slap in the face to educators that are truly passionate about their job. Schools are hiring candidates that are not as experienced just so they pay less for a teacher to be in a classroom. It is not relevant whether or not the teacher has more qualifications than the next; it only matters that one will accept being paid less than the other. Many teachers do not feel like a professional because states do not give them support and respect (Teacher Skills and Motivation). The lack of pay and respect is forcing good teachers out of education; they are moving on to seek jobs and careers that will support them and their families. States need to provide funding to schools so teachers can purchase supplies necessary to teach and districts can pay teachers a respectable salary that they can live off of without having to have second jobs. Their college education and qualifications should be sufficient proof that they deserve better pay.
Reimagining the Education System: Respect and Fair Compensation
In order for the education system to improve, states must treat the teachers with respect and adjust their pay. The teaching profession is currently unappealing due to low pay, careless spending within the schools, and disrespect for devoted teachers. In order to rid America’s education system of low salaries and unqualified teachers, states must invest in their schools, and schools must start spending money wisely. Money should go into the necessities such as higher salaries for teachers and funding to keep resources and supplies current. Without quality teachers, the education system will continue to weaken. So, states should start to treat teachers as if they are important by raising teachers’ salaries. It will attract candidates that are better qualified for the profession or keep them in the profession. Teaching will begin to become competitive again and benefit both teachers and students, bringing about better education for America’s future.
Works Cited
- Cross, Jennifer. Phone Interview. 22 Oct. 2018.
- Lloyd, John P. ‘Teachers’ Strikes.’ The Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History, edited by Aaron Brenner et al., Routledge, 1st edition, 2009. Credo Reference, https://emporia state.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ sharpestrikes/. Accessed 20 Oct. 2018.
- Mantel, Barbara. ‘Education Funding.’ CQ Researcher, 31 Aug. 2018, pp. 705-28, library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2018083100. Accessed on 20 Oct. 2018.
- ‘Teacher skills and motivation both matter (though many education systems act like they don’t).’ World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education’s Promise, edited by World Bank Group, 1st edition, 2018. Credo Reference, https://emporiastate.idm.oclc.org/ login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/wbworld/ teacher_skills_and_motivation. Accessed on 24 Oct. 2018.
Why Did Lennie Kill Curley’s Wife? Understanding Human Rights Violations
Historical Context and Its Significance
Historical questions to ask yourself while you are reading: What is going on during the time period of your book? This novel takes place during the time period of the Great Depression in the 1930s. How does that element affect the plot, setting, and characters of your book? The depression caused jobs to be insufficient, and many people made a living by working. This is what George and Lennie did when they went to work at the ranch; they moved according to where they could receive food, shelter, and money. In this time period, healthy white men were the only people that were treated equally and with respect. Women, other races, and handicapped people were treated as if they were inferior to them. This caused the characters that were part of one of these categories to be distanced and turned away, as well as have their rights violated, which affected both the plot and the characters significantly. Why did the author use this time period? The author used this time period in order to make the storyline seem more lifelike and relatable so the events would come together and make more sense.
Introduction to Human Rights Issues
After you have finished reading, use your graphic organizer to answer these eight questions. What is the human rights issue in my novel? There are multiple human rights in my novel, for example, equality, rights for the disabled, women’s rights, rights of African Americans, and the right of being able to get a job without giving priority to white males.
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Where does this issue first come up in my novel? The human rights issues come to place during the first chapter when George tells the story about getting kicked out of Weed because Lennie didn’t understand right from wrong, so he was misunderstood and accused of attempting rape when in reality he just wanted to touch this girl’s dress because it seemed pretty to him. Instead of being given a voice and a fair trial, a mob formed to capture Lennie. This was an example of how they treated people like Lennie, who just needed help. He was just being misunderstood and treated wrongly because of his mental handicap, which is a human rights issue. Where in my novel does this issue become most important? When Lennie accidentally kills Curly’s Wife and is put down.
If Lennie had been properly cared for and Curly’s wife had understood the mental illness, it could have all been avoided. Curly’s Wife is lonely because, as a woman talking to other men is considered promiscuous, so trying to take advantage of Lennie’s mental handicap, she makes him interact with her, which puts her in a dangerous situation since she doesn’t know how to handle Lennie when he becomes frightened and confused. None of the men except George knew why Lennie killed her, and because of this, they all believed he did it on purpose. George knows it was an accident because Lennie has never wanted to hurt anyone, but he still kills Lennie because he feels responsible for him. Lennie did not have a chance for a fair trial, and even if he did, the authorities would have locked him in a cage because they believed he was crazy and a threat to society; this is all because during the time period if a person wasn’t normal, they were discriminated against or treated as a threat. How is this issue resolved in my novel?
The issue isn’t resolved. The resolution is killing Lennie, and even then, people don’t understand. ‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys’ is what Carlson says, which is where the book ends. This shows that they were still prejudiced and ignorant of the issues on human rights that took place. In my novel, who suffers due to the human rights issue? Lennie, Candy, Curley’s wife. And Crooks suffer due to the human rights issue. What does the wording in my quotations imply? The wording and quotations in my book imply that the people speaking have not been properly educated and that it was in the past. When this issue becomes most important, what happens? When the Human Rights issues become most important, it shows that if Curly’s wife, Crooks, Candy, and Lennie had been treated equally and gotten proper care, Curly’s wife wouldn’t have been treated like trouble which led to her being killed, and Lennie would have been cared for correctly instead of becoming a threat to others. He was unable to do the right thing, and Curly’s wife didn’t understand that, so he hurt her because he just wanted her to calm down and understand. Lennie is shot because of all this by George, who thinks it is the best thing for him. How is this issue resolved in my novel? The issue is resolved when George kills Lennie because he believes it is better than being locked up or tortured by Curly, who doesn’t understand what Lennie did was an accident.
