Penniless Educators

Teachers in Arizona earn on an average $39,230 a year; that is $6,000

below the national teachers salary average of $45,486. By comparison,
garbage men earn $47,218 annually. Why are teachers, many of whom hold
masters degrees in their fields, who teach and directly impact the next
generation, paid so much less than the men who empty your garbage bins?
Paying teachers, at the very minimum, at least the national average would
positively impact the millions of children in schools around Arizona by
attracting and keeping better teachers.
Some people believe that teachers should not be paid much. After all,
someone should not become a teacher for riches, but because they aspire to
teach and help the next generation to achieve their goals. It can also be
safely assumed that allocating funds to pay teachers, would raise taxes.
These two points are often enough to convince people that paying teachers
less is better for all parties. But it would be foolish to neglect the negative
impact of having low pay for teachers as effects of this ripples across the
next generation who will be our nations problems solvers, doctors, future
government leaders, and scientists.
It should also be noted that paying employees more, as with efficiency
wages, compels them to be more productive and loyal to their jobs.
Productive teachers mean better taught students. According to the
Association of American Educators, over twenty percent of teachers work at
least one other job. These multi profession teachers are unable to focus
enough of their time and energy into education, and it is the students who
suffer from it. Everyone has had a teacher or two who complain endlessly
about how little they get paid. Spanish teacher Charles Jones once joked
Yeah, I might quit and become a pastor for the money! Unfortunately, Mr.
Jones, like so many other teachers, had to quit because he needed to
financially support his family. Today, as they receive more and more pay cuts,
even many of the more experienced teachers have been forced to either quit
their professions or rely on financial support from their spouses. If teaching in
Arizona even paid just the national average, educators could be more
productive and loyal to their profession.
Teachers directly impact the next generation by passing on their
knowledge and expertise, and because many teachers spend more time with
those children than many of their parents, it is nonsensical that parents
would, according to BabyCenter, pay between $11,666 and $18,773 on
childcare and then only take the lowest bidders among teachers. As John F.
Kennedy said, Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope
for the Future. It is the moral obligation and imperative of any society to do what it
can to improve the futures of its children, and part of that includes raising teachers
salaries.
Works Cited

"How Much You'll Spend on Childcare | BabyCenter." BabyCenter. Web. 6 Dec.

2015.

"Salary: Teacher." Glassdoor. Web. 6 Dec. 2015.

"John F. Kennedy Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 6 Dec. 2015