Does the U.S. Value Our Teachers

Does the U.S. Value Our Teachers?

          We face multiple problems in our education system today. The world depends on the students of today, because they are the future and the world's next leaders. However, without the proper training or learning, how can the students become successful? How can America allow teachers to quit? In the article of, "The High Cost of Low Teacher salaries" by Dave Egger and Ninive Clements Calegri, they stated that, "Nationwide, 46 percent of teachers quit before their fifth year." If you think about it, have you ever had a teacher bring up something about their salary? Many students have most likely had at least one teacher say something about their pay. We shouldn't blame them because teachers do more than what they get paid to do. This means that they work overtime but don't get paid for those extra hours they put in grading, reading papers, etc. We need to get more teachers teaching and lower the percentage of teachers quitting by raising teachers salaries. 

          The majority of students that pursue careers in college don't pursue teaching. Lets face it, we all know that nobody wants to become a teacher due to the low paying salary. "The average starting salary is $39,000; the average ending salary... is $67,000" (Egger, Calegri). To many people that doesn't look appealing for the amount of time and work that needs to be put in. However "McKinsely polled 900 top-tier American college students and found that 68 percent would consider teaching if salaries started at $65,000 and rose to a minimum of $150,000"(Egger, Calegri). That is our solution! In order to get our teachers to stop quitting and get more students to become teachers, is by raising the salary! It is really simple! In my opinion, 68 percent is a lot of students, and with the teacher to student ratio being low, this is the perfect solution to our problem. This is a great investment in our teachers, given the fact that the students of today are the world's next leaders.