I'm about to graduate with a Sceince Education degree. My concentration is in physics and I speak spanish well. As a Navy veteran and father to five children, I'm told that I'm a very attractive candidate in the public school system and that my career is all but assured. But I am very atypical of today's new teachers.

In my area of the country, new teacher salary starts at twenty-eight thousand dollars a year (or ten month period). Like most of the country, we have a difficult time permanently filling science and math teaching positions in public schools. Some systems use incentive programs that either add a percentage (usually eight percent) increase to the state's pay. More school systems use a sign-on bonus in the range of $2000to attract new teachers. Often new teachers will come into our state from other states, accept the positions, collect the bonuses and immediately turn in their resignation after teaching for one year.

A new initiative is underway that aims to pay teachers more in oreder to attract new and very qualified teachers. A pilot program is paying new science and math teachers forty-two thousand dollars per year with some minimum term agreement - eighteen months, I believe. Not all counties are part of the new pilot program. Many in the education field are holding their breaths, hoping that a new recruitment process will attract and keep excellent teachers in these two needy fields. Most are skeptical that it will work and set a new precedent.

The program was personally described to me by the president of our state's university system during a recent visit to my university's campus. Some in our audience received the news as little more than polictical overtures and others felt that it could be the beginning of something new: teachers getting paid what they deserve. The basis for the new pay schedule was determined by offering a salary that would be comparable not to other teachers, but relative to what such professionals in the science and math fields would earn in the private sector. The idea is that if we offer our best scientific and mathematical candidates sums that can compete with the private sector, new recruits won't have to choose between doing something they would love and enjoy (teaching) and earning a salary that will allow them to provide comfortably for their families.

The idea/change/innovation that makes this post germane to the topic is wide-ranging and socially upheaving. The teacher's union is huge and active. I'm neither a member nor supporter of the union - I know nothing about it. I've heard bits that the union will not go for such a new change because of the old blood in the system. Arguably so, a veteran history teacher with twenty years of experience would still earn less than a new science teacher under the above mentioned pilot program. Jealousy in the ranks is bound to flare. I'm not sure what to expect, I just want to teach.

What kind of program do you think would attract new teachers and help retain them?

 

 

 

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I personally think that teachers should be reviewed yearly by both the school board and the students. At my high school there are teachers who you can have for an entire year and not learn a single thing. If teachers were reviewed teachers as a whole would strive to be better educators. Nothing is ever that simple.

Also, my brother attends a school which has one of the highest average professor saleries in the nation. He has had good professors, but he has also had NIGHTMARES... Teachers like that should not be allowed to be, uh, teachers... You shouldn't pay $40000/year to go to a school just for the name but get a lousy education.

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If teachers were reviewed there would be a lot of teachers that would lose their jobs. The state of Florida is short a couple hundred teachers and they are hiring anyone. Now there is a program that lets people get their teaching degree after 1 year of night school which includes 3 nights a week. They also hire people based off of their background. If someone worked at a restaurant and as really good at math they could become a math teacher or tutor or something like that. The problem I think is that teachers don't earn much money and that is what people want. They do a lot to teach kids and they are the future. I think if they were paid more that would help find more teachers and then that review process could be put into place.

 

 

 

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At my highschool teachers are evaulate 3 times a year for their first 5 years then once every three years after that. this is a safety thing for the school to prevent teachers from not teaching the students anything.

To keep teachers the school system first needs to stop enforcing such idiotic ideals and averages.(yes i do mean the no child left behind act). at my highschool they had a teacher "leave because of family reasons", which was completely false. They actually forced him to resign because he refused to make his class fit the bell curve. His class was not easy by any means but the class average was a 98%. I know this was the reason both because i'm still in contact with the teacher and i've overheard enough when waiting in the principals office.

Another things is to pay teachers what their worth. the first year teachers shouldn't be paid much because (especially if they haven't taught anywhere before) because of their inexperience. After the first year the pay should improve significantly with time. the teachers also need to have a good health plan and help with saving for their future retirement. You're in florida so i'd also add help with housing, and moving expenses to any teacher willing to stay(i don't know) 5 years?.

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I was reading an article in the Japan times yesterday about this issue. Teachers are few and far between, people that would be great teachers want to study and do other things. People who do a teachers degree as an add on to their studies end up teaching and not being happy about it - thats what I think

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Well the problem definatly isn't money in the United States, the government spends over 10k a year on one studay yearly. Meanwhile a private school can reach better results with 7k and slightly larger classes with more interactivity and better grades. Unfortunally parents still have to pay taxes for public education so therefore private education won't really start kicking till those taxes are taken out and the money follows the student. They do have a voucher idea in the US that has been kicking up. Some government money goes to a studen if he decides to go to a charter school, the kid gets better education and the public school benefits because it gets the rest of the money the government didn't transfer and has one fewer student. Privatization of education may finally save the United States system, because charter/private schools can use the less money then public schools for higher teacher salaries(increasing competition increses competance) with better education.

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I guess it shows where our priorities in the United States lie. We don't even pay our teachers enough money to stick around as our children lose out more and more despite proclaimed "no child left behind" programs, even as we spend money on fighter jets and a war that is inflating our national deficit. Did you know making a SINGLE fighter jet can cost over ONE BILLION DOLLARS?

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