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

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

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

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][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]

And yet….those teachers don’t all come here.

[/quote]

Of course not! Why would every teacher move to DC?! Not all teachers want to live here. Not all teachers want to work with large at-risk populations. There are also nuances of DCPS that won't appeal-- the district has a shorter summer break than many districts. Some people don't like the weather. Many people choose to stay close to family or where they went to college.

The idea that DCPS must be underpaying teachers because they don't receive applications from literally every teacher is insane. [/quote]

Most teachers don’t live in DC…
I didn’t say teachers are underpaid, the pay is average for DC. Police, firefighters, doctors, etc. make just as much and more. No one is creating a thread about their pay when they ask for raises, which they all do. The pay in NYC is also ‘high’ for teachers, it’s expensive!

The premise of this whole argument is ‘teachers are paid well, don’t ask for gifts.’
There are currently 80 open teacher positions in DCPS right now, all year there’s always around that number. 
Are there that many in any other sector of DC?

Obviously the pay is fine, no one can argue teachers aren’t paid well. It’s the way in which some people argue about it.

TEACHERS DESERVE THE CURRENT SALARY OR MORE. If you don’t want to give a gift no one cares, appreciation is free. But it’s clear OP doesn’t even do that.
[/quote]

OP is talking about the pressure often put on parents to support teachers financially. As a parent with kids in public school, I do feel pressured to give gifts to teachers multiple times a year, Stock the teacher's lounge with food, contribute to appreciation events, etc. it is a common refrain that teachers don't make very much money and must be in it for their love of teaching and kids.

But many teachers make more than I do (I make 85k/yr and have been in the same field for 20 years, and have a graduate degree). I definitely appreciate what they do and  am happy to write thank you notes and encourage my kids to do the same. I also put effort into making sure my kids show up to school prepared and well-behaved, and volunteer at the school when my work schedule allows. But it doesn't make sense for me to be spending money to support people who make about what I do, or more. It's weird to have that expectation and to lean on parents in the heavy handed way that PTA's sometimes do. I've never felt compelled to give a police officer or fire fighter a gift card or make sure they have free lunches and snacks. That's the difference.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics