FCPS teacher salaries--pathetic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked as an attorney for a Wall Street based firm. As a second career I became an elementary school teacher. For those who cite 35 hour work weeks you have no idea. I worked 7:30 to 6 weekdays and at least four hours on weekends. The pay for FCPS was/is pathetic and I made more as a first year associate in 1988 then I made as a teacher with a masters plus thirty in 2013. Society is fortunate that so many people are willing to give up money because they love working with, and teaching kids.

Many people think wall street bankers are overpaid. There are many jobs similar in pay to teachers.

[Anonymous]

[youtube]

Anonymous wrote:I worked as an attorney for a Wall Street based firm. As a second career I became an elementary school teacher. For those who cite 35 hour work weeks you have no idea. I worked 7:30 to 6 weekdays and at least four hours on weekends. The pay for FCPS was/is pathetic and I made more as a first year associate in 1988 then I made as a teacher with a masters plus thirty in 2013. Society is fortunate that so many people are willing to give up money because they love working with, and teaching kids.

Serious question. What would additional money do to teacher quality in the classroom. Why did you leave such a lucrative career in the first place?

[Anonymous]

I left a lucrative career for teaching also. Why? Because it was totally soulless. Teachers truly do make a difference. You can feel it every day. I prefer to feel alive than to feel dead because one day I will be DEAD. That said, I have to feed myself and live somewhere and drive to work to stay alive to do the job. I also have to put a child through college. I don't expect to be paid a ransom, but enough to live a middle class existence. I don't want to be able to pay my rent, utilities, student loan, car, car insurance, clothes, food, phone bill, etc.

Most teachers are children of the lower middle class. Their parents are not in a position to "subsidize" their jobs.

[Anonymous]

Serious question. What would additional money do to teacher quality in the classroom. Why did you leave such a lucrative career in the first place?

Can't say about quality. But it might restore some honor and dignity to teaching as a profession. You might actually get some people considering it as a career (who wouldn't have otherwise). If you're looking for short term fixes, stick with the standardized testing. Because it "looks" like it's working so the politicians can claim success.

[Anonymous]

Most teachers are children of the lower middle class. Their parents are not in a position to "subsidize" their jobs.

Could you source that? That does not describe the ones I know. Even the young ones I know. For the most part, I would say solid middle to upper middle class. I do know some from lower middle--and even from poor backgrounds. However, I also know some who come from near the top--I know one who I suspect is a one percenter.

[Anonymous]

Most teachers are children of the lower middle class. Their parents are not in a position to "subsidize" their jobs.

Not around here. The only people who can afford to be teachers are those from wealthy families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Most teachers are children of the lower middle class. Their parents are not in a position to "subsidize" their jobs.

Not around here. The only people who can afford to be teachers are those from wealthy families.

I'm definitely not from a wealthy family. In fact, I am a single parent who is a teacher. While I make enough to live off of, it certainly isn't the luxurious lifestyle. We don't go on vacations every year (maybe every other year for a few days at the beach). I may never be a home owner but I am still saving for it. I shop at Aldi's and ShopRite and buy clothes at Marshall's and TJ Maxx. Don't knock stores like those. I just bought my son UA shorts, Addidas shorts and a Hurley bathing suit at those stores for no more than $12 each. My ex sometimes pays child support so I really only count on my salary when budgeting. Teaching (esp in a Title 1 school where I work) is exhausting and rewarding at the same time. I complain about it sometimes (mostly due to the ridiculous time wasting meetings/SLOs and other BS that takes time away from the students) but I do love the kids. I was raised by a single mother and I would say we were middle class. Most of my colleagues fit the same description.

[Anonymous]

Most teachers are children of the lower middle class. Their parents are not in a position to "subsidize" their jobs.


Not around here. The only people who can afford to be teachers are those from wealthy families.

Exactly. The poster only knows teachers around here. There may be some very good ones from the lower middle class (in fact they may be excellent choices for some of the students we are gaining from those classes). However, they will not be able to afford to live here. Those teachers would be better for the lower end students and might actually be the ones to help close the "achievement gap". But they will not be coming here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Most teachers are children of the lower middle class. Their parents are not in a position to "subsidize" their jobs.

Not around here. The only people who can afford to be teachers are those from wealthy families.

I'm not sure from where you come up with this.

My DW and I are both teachers. Our families are far from wealthy. I don't know of any colleagues who come from what I would consider to be "wealthy" backgrounds.

[Anonymous]

From:

The relationship between family socioeconomic background and educational
occupational attainment decisions of students who become teachers has been influenced by
decisions from those in power in America for a long period of time. Teaching has traditionally
been the first step out of working class status—until recently—problem now is the change in
American job structure. Generational mobility generally does not move two places up in one
generation in regards to the working class and the lower middle class. However, it does for third
generation upper middles. This does have an impact with regard to the professional status of
those who become teachers. Gender and social class issues are another factor as to why teaching
has such an ambiguous status as a profession

[Anonymous]

^From:

http://www.usca.edu/essays/vol182006/robb%20revised.pdf

[Anonymous]

The relationship between family socioeconomic background and educational
occupational attainment decisions of students who become teachers has been influenced by
decisions from those in power in America for a long period of time. Teaching has traditionally
been the first step out of working class status—until recently—problem now is the change in
American job structure. Generational mobility generally does not move two places up in one
generation in regards to the working class and the lower middle class. However, it does for third
generation upper middles. This does have an impact with regard to the professional status of
those who become teachers. Gender and social class issues are another factor as to why teaching
has such an ambiguous status as a profession

This does not support your statement that "most teachers are from the lower middle class". It simply states that teaching is a step out of the lower middle class.

[Anonymous]

11:07 here.
Two teacher household. What do you want to know regarding our jobs, salary, benefits, etc.? I'll be honest and answer what I can.

[Anonymous]

I am the pp who had been an attorney and then became an elementary school teacher. There is no way that I could have made this move had I not saved a lot of money and invested wisely. I could never have afforded to live in the FCPS area where I do on my teacher's salary of $58,000 a year before deductions. The only reward from being an attorney was $ but as a teacher I connected with my kids and was so proud to see them grow as people and as learners. Good teachers should be paid at least double what they currently earn. They are inspiring the next generation. First year attorneys at major law firms who do nothing to help society earn at least $150k a year. First year teachers who foster a love of learning and create great citizens earn $47k in fcps. Society has messed up priorities.

[Anonymous]

Most teachers have Master's degrees these days. In fact, it is hard to complete for a position without a Master's degree. Here are some interesting statistics:

A March 26, 2014 report by the New America Foundation points out that as much as 40 percent of the $1 trillion in student debt outstanding was borrowed not for college, but to pay for grad school. And some 80% of of the debt incurred by students who finished their grad school programs in 2012 wasn’t for people going into medicine, law or business, but for less profitable professions, such as teaching. Indeed, the average graduate of a master’s in education degree finished with more than $50,000 in debt — $8,000 more than the debt of a typical MBA graduate. That’s a 66% increase in the debts of newly minted teachers since 2004. Another way to think about it is that the average newly minted teacher in 2012 has to pay $429 a month in student debt payments. Half owed more.

The report’s authors predict that these teachers and other indebted graduates won’t be able to earn enough money to afford to pay back their loans. That will leave taxpayers holding the bag, effectively subsidizing schools of education.

It seems that the taxpayers will pay for teachers one way or another.