It's official it's a CRIME!!

Well, it's official...I signed my teaching contract for next year. I'm truly more than a sub now.
I read a book not too long ago saying that teachers should stop complaining about their pay. I'm not sure what the guy who wrote that was thinking.

I have to say that going into my first year of "real" teaching (horror the thought that the ten plus years that I have taught preschool or home schooled should count as "real" teaching) has gotten me thinking a lot about what I will be paid. And I must say...teachers salaries are a crime!

This is not my opinion based on what I am being paid. I'm okay with it. But let us stop for just a moment to ponder the reality of the life of a teacher. Teachers are professionals. They come with a minimum of a four year degree. On top of that they have to have some 30-50 college units to be certified. Every year, depending on the state, they must continue their education with more units. They must also must be background checked and given clearance to work in the school environment.

They are then let loose, some with vast amounts of experience, training, and guidance, and some with absolutely none, to raise up the next generation of doctors, lawyers, and politicians... to name but a few. In many cases they have complete freedom to interpret state "standards" and create grades based on what knowledge and imput they have. There is a TREMENDOUS amount of responsibility and trust bestowed on teachers everywhere.

It is true, teacher salaries are fairly within the middle class range. This is a fact that I do not debate. I won't even begin the arguement of how much teacher's spend of their own money to make their classrooms workable environments. What I will argue is that I think a teacher's job is on level in responsibility and trust, with education levels and investment, with that of a great many professions where the respect is greater and the pay is more commensurate to the job performed.

I don't say this because I am a teacher looking for a raise. After choosing to teach for the past nine years for free, what I am making now seems like a fortune to me. But as a parent, with the knowledge equal to that of an imbedded reporter, I think my kids teachers deserve better.

It's definitely something to think about.