Who should be paid more money?

[AMoore]

Wellardmac wrote:

I disagree that teachers should get paid more. I know that starting salaries are low, but that's not a reflection of the pay of experienced teachers. I don't have current figures, but a couple of years ago the wife of a colleague was seeking to move from industry into teaching and her assessment was that a science teacher in this area with 10 years of experience would be earning as much as a Ph.D in industry when prorated for school vacations. Personally, I think that's already a pretty good deal already.

To be honest hearing reports like that when I know that the quality of teachers and curriculum standards are low annoys me no end. Honestly, I'd love to have my current level of salary and all of the vacation time of a teacher - that's a pretty good deal and no reason for complaint.

I was leaving the gym last week and heard two teachers whining in the parking lot about their workload for marking and I wanted to tell them to get a life and join the real world. Sorry, but I have little patience. I know of several people who have left industry after getting burned out and gone into teaching and their reports are that it's an easy life compared to the workload and stress level that we in the productive world deal with on a daily basis.

The Phd (IN INDUSTRY?) you refer to must be grossly underpaid, or fresh out of school. Moreover, when was the last time a Phd, who was not a teacher, had to perform on stage for 6-7 hours and do paperwork for another 2 hours per day?

I taught middle school for twelve years. Now I am an attorney working 10-12 hours a day defending multimillion dollar legal malpractice claims. I can go to the bathroom and get a cup of coffee whenever I like. My stress level has decreased considerably since leaving the teaching profession. Fortunately, my salary has increased.