Reply to Unpopular opinion: DCPS teachers are super well paid!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just read this in David Graeber's "Bullshit Jobs" that may explain some of the vibes here.

he's talking in this section about how capitalism has created this "principle of inverse relation of compensation and social benefit" --- basically, the larger the social benefit and contribution of your job, the less money you are allowed to demand. Very twisted, IMO.

"teachers perform a vitally necessary function, yet have the temerity to demand middle-class lifestyles. They are the objects of a special ire, I suspect, by those trapped in soul-desroying low- and middle-level bullshit jobs."[/quote]

Is this surprising, given that many of those soul-destroying jobs are lower paid than teaching, and also do not come with two months off during the summer and other breaks throughout the year?  And then to hear teachers making $130k say that's not enough and act like they're working harder than anyone else?[/quote]

I don’t know a single teacher making anywhere remotely near $130K (or even over $100K). Can we stop using the extreme top of a pay scale that most people NEVER see as an “average” salary? It’s disingenuous.[/quote]

This thread dis not about teachers "anywhere." It's about teachers in DCPS, who make more than teachers elsewhere. It's very frustrating that teachers from other jurisdictions keep coming into the thread and getting mad and saying "but I am not well paid!" Yes, well, we aren't talking about you. As a profession, teachers absolutely ARE underpaid. Teachers in red states often make what are essentially poverty wages because of underinvestment in education. It's a real problem.

But teachers in DCPS are among the highest paid in the country. And yes, some of that pay is due to bonuses for being "highly effective" and that's not guaranteed, but some teachers absolutely avail themselves of it and yes there are teachers who meet the requirement.

ECE teachers in DCPS are particularly well paid. If you have a master degree in early childhood education, you can make over 100k within 10 years of teaching. That's amazing. Go talk to preschool and kindergarten teachers in other areas and ask how that sounds to them. DCPS has invested heavily in its ECE programs and that shows up in an incredibly strong ECE offering throughout the system, even at schools that really struggle with the upper grades, and some phenomenally good ECE instruction. This is not a criticism, it's actually evidence of what can happen if you are willing to financially reward top performers.

Anyway, this thread is not about the average teaching salary. It's not even about the average teaching salary in DCPS, because averaging everyone's salaries across the whole system would be incredibly misleading, given how much pay can vary depending on credentials, impact, and tenure. The thread is about the fact (and it is a fact) that DCPS actually pays teachers pretty well. That doesn't mean teaching in DCPS is easy, that the district is well run, or even that DCPS teachers don't deserve more in an absolute sense based on the vital service they perform.[/quote]

Let me tell you that ECE teachers making 100K is the BARE minimum they deserve for the jobs they do.  Yes, they are making significantly more than other ECE teachers in other places.  That fact just says how little we value caretakers and women who work with children.  Working in ECE takes as much or more talent, work and knowledge as it does to teach Calculus.  I guarantee that if you took pretty much any CEO with some "big job", they'd run away crying from how hard teaching ECE is.  Imo, ECE teachers should start at 100K everywhere.  It should be the federally mandated pay across the country.  Same with those who teach special ed.[/quote]

For an experienced, effective ECE teacher? Yes, I agree. For someone fresh out of school with little practical experience -- no. I don't think ECE teacher salaries should start at 100k.

I appreciate that DCPS puts so much emphasis on the masters credential for ECE teachers, because this is one situation where I think the masters degree is genuinely meaningful. ECE is a broadly misunderstood and underestimated area, and that degree ensures that teachers in the system understand brain development for 3-6 year olds, which is essential for doing that job well and effectively.

I know a teacher currently working as an aide in an ECE classroom in DCPS. She complains mightily about making an aide salary (which are quite low) because she does not have her masters credential. But I've been with her in the classroom and what she does involves a lot of misguided methods because she doesn't understand the kids she's teaching. She uses disciplinary methods intended for middle school children, and doesn't know how to respond to emotional immaturity (which is common in ECE classrooms, for what should be obvious reasons). She's not an effective teacher even though she's currently teamed with a veteran teacher who IS effective and does have the experience and credentials to do the job.

In a field like teaching where the barriers to entry are very low, it should not be surprising that many teachers start out at 60k. That's a low salary generally but it is NOT that low for a first job out of college. Yes, even in the DMV. And yes, a lot of people with that salary are going to live with roommates or at home with parents (guess what, I lived with roommates until I got married because DC is expensive). But if you stick it out and learn how to actually do your job well, and if you get additional training that will make you more effective, you can make more.

I'm sorry but, it just doesn't seem fundamentally unfair in the way many of you are saying. If we were talking about teachers in places like Alabama who are severely underpaid and where education is hanging on by a thread in some places, I'd fully agree with you. But I just do not think teachers in DC are underpaid. It's an industry with a lower salary ceiling but it has some great benefits (including a pension that can eventually be worth millions). I think it's a pretty good deal. I'd encourage my own kid to become a teacher in DCPS if she was so inclined -- I could see her being interested in teaching ECE, actually, and this would be a great place to do that.[/quote]

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