The roaring debate over the wages of education employees has been going on for years now. There is a deluge of perspective that points out how the salaries of education employees are negligible. This has given rise to many protests across different countries. Speaking of which, one such protest erupted in Southwest Florida, as reported by wink news.com, with the demand for higher wages.
Kevin Daly, President of the Teacher Association of Lee County who was leading the protest started, “When you look at the rate of pay for teachers and support staff in Florida, it’s 45th in the nation in teacher pay and 47th in educational support pay.” He further added, “Certainly, a move toward the national average would be helpful.”
This isn’t the first time that teachers and non-teaching staff have come together to demand higher pay. Now, the pertinent question that may arise is what are the challenges that come with the pay disparity? Let’s explore those challenges one at a time.
The challenges that propel pay disparity among education employees
A recent report presented by Payscale highlights elaborate that teachers at all levels report consistently low rates of pay. This is due to several challenges that plague this profession.
- The gap between investment and remuneration
It takes a lot of qualifications to become an education employee, and pursuing higher education is definitely an expensive investment. “While the requirements may differ, the aspirants are primarily required to finish a bachelor’s degree,” suggests Barry Haines, an expert on dissertation help. They may also be required to pursue a teacher preparation program, which sometimes requires a master’s degree. And before anybody is allowed to experience a classroom set up, they have to obtain a state-approved teaching certification. This further requires the aspirants to spend time as an unpaid student teacher. At the very at least, teachers have to finish four years of postsecondary education. In many cases, a master’s degree is either an informal or official requirement.
A pertinent solution to this issue could be the programs and scholarships to partially fund or repay the loans for the teacher’s education.
Gender pay disparity
The sphere of education is heavily female dominated, specifically when it comes to dealing with younger students. Be it kindergarten or elementary school levels; women employees are ruling the roost. This invariably gives rise to a pay disparity. The parity in payscale between male and female teaching or non-teaching staff doesn’t occur until high school.
So, it’s worth putting a question whether the low-paid and high-value professions like teaching are stuck in a loop. Women are taught the value of giving back to the world, instead of serving their bottom lines and interests. They choose their career accordingly, which ultimately leads to a female-dominated occupation that continues to pay relatively low wages.
5 reasons why teachers are asking for higher pay
So, we’ve gained a sufficient understanding of the challenges that lead to the pay disparity among the education employees. Now it’s time to throw light on another side to this ongoing debate, why should teachers be given higher wages.
1. They take their work home
In most other fields, employees don’t have to take their work home. Teachers, on the contrary, have to take the work home. “They have to invest considerable time in coming up with lesson plans that will be engaging and beneficial for the students,” states Jessica Munro, a teacher and an expert on thesis help online.They also have to invest time on grading their students’ tests, assignments, and quizzes. Because most of their time in school is spent in the classroom, they have to take their work home. If you consider the average teacher’s salary and the hours they invest at work, they could possibly make more money being an hourly wage employee.
2. Their duties extend beyond teaching
Teachers do a lot more than just teaching students how to read, write, and do math problems or provide help with homework. They teach students how to be a good citizen and a human being. They guide students to be a good adult by encouraging them to persevere when things don’t go as expected. They also help students learn about what is right or wrong. They impart the sense of right or wrong in students by encouraging them not to cheat during a test, as cheating disregards the learning process.
3. They create an impact on young minds
Teachers play a pivotal role in students’ lives on a regular basis. The job comes with a job description. This is one great reason why teachers should not be underpaid. Every teacher makes a huge impact on every individual and must be acknowledged for it.
4. They prioritise education
Education and literacy are the pillars that propel the growth of a nation. By underpaying our teachers, we are not prioritising education. Teachers are the mainstay of our education system. If we didn’t have good teachers to teach the children, then our education system would be in shambles. Our students would not know how to write or read. There would be no civilisation without teachers. This is why our teachers should be valued, and so should our education system.
5. A world devoid of teachers will be ruled by anarchy
The debate over teachers being underpaid is old now. And the fact is that if one wants to have a job that undervalued and underpaid them. Many teachers are forced to pursue other interests on the sidelines. If we don’t have people who are pursuing careers in teaching, then it will eventually lead to a shortage of teaching staff and we won’t have enough teachers to educate our students.
In conclusion,
Education employees are voicing to create awareness regarding the issue of pay disparity for a long time. It is important to take substantial measures to deal with the situation. After all, the nurturers of our future generation owe that much.
