Why Teachers Are Paid So Little In The U.S.

Seeing my 63-year old Civics teacher working at Walmart after school hours and weekends always hurts my heart.

Education simply isn't a priority, that is why they're paid so little.

As a parent I agree 100%. Teachers are grossly underpaid and the expectations are unreal.

I'm a teacher who makes $32,500 a year with a master's degree and 10 years of experience. I will be leaving the profession that I love after this school year because I cannot afford to live on that low of a salary anymore.

The short of it: You pay for what you value. Apparently, education doesn't rank high on the priority list.

Politicians have no incentives to have educated voters.

As a father of 10-year old, I sincerely appreciate and respect what the teachers are doing to my kid: just look the smile on my daughter’s face when she comes home every day

I was a teacher for 3 years and my salary was around 27K. That's what they paid starting out. I taught HS Math and subed whenever needed during my planning period. I was expected to be at sporting events/games as much as I was able, have lunch duty one week a month and do carline morning and afternoon one week per month, and have help/tutoring class once a week for one hour. So most days I was working from 7am to 4:30 nonstop. All that in addition to checking tests and HW at home in the evenings and weekends, and having to stay even later due to a meeting or making sure I had my planning done for the week when many teachers fell sick and was expected to be subbing everyday.

No wonder why Walter White from Breaking Bad got into drug making business.

I'm a teacher, and although we knew this before, this pandemic really showed how little the US values teachers. Economically and as individuals

When I first started as a teaching assistant, I came to the school early to plan and stayed later planning and getting things together. Since I worked by the hour, I figured I put my time in for the hours I worked. Then the secretary told me that I only put in the school hours even though I invested at least 3 extra hours a day to get things together for the students. And that's not including stuff I did at home. Plus I had a second job. And that second job was getting higher raises than my TA job. So I had HS kids and people coming off the street working at my second job getting almost as much as my TA job which I got a degree and experience for.

I'm a teacher in Germany and I'm always shocked by how little my colleagues in the US earn... I'm paid really well and teachers in Germany are also treated well in other regards (paying less taxes, better health-insurance and most teachers are state-servants so we can't be fired unless we do something really bad)... However, we also have a shortage in teachers over here...

I brought up this topic to someone & they replied “well, they don’t care about the money. They’re passionate about their job, they do it because they love it. Not for the money” and while that is true, that most teachers go into the education system because they are passionate about it, THEY DO DESERVE BETTER PAY. Teachers are so important!!!!!!

"Because the government doesn't want a population of critical thinkers" George Carlin.

Growing up I never really saw teachers leaving their job or quitting during the school year. But now it seems normal. It always seems like the best teachers leave.

I recently retired after 32 years in teaching. I didn't make a living wage until the last 8 years of my career. For each of those 32 years, I routinely spent at least $1500 a year on supplies (sometimes more) out of my own pocket, worked from 6 am to 9-10 pm at night, worked weekends, worked during our so-called "summer vacations". The workload is crushing and my wages didn't keep up with the cost of living. You have no personal life during the school year and barely have one during the summer. Why did I do it? The kids. I miss them every day. Those 32 years meant something more than money. But younger teachers are quitting before they get locked into the system because being an educator has become more and more difficult each year. Parents and the administration often don't support us, but they are happy to thwart us. Don't get me started on the politicians, who conveniently beat up on our profession for votes and cheap applause. Our schools are broken because as we veterans retire, younger teachers are NOT taking our place. I don't blame them. We need more money, but also more autonomy and respect. I won't hold my breath.

My high school teacher was literally working minimum wage at a grocery store.

One of the things that makes this worse is the fact that many teachers aren’t given enough money to get supplies for their students so they have to use their own money. I vividly remember a teacher nearly in tears when she was talking about how there were no more public pencils for us because people kept taking them

It’s been two years since this article. I check back in on this from time to time. I’m a teacher. I fall into a pit of despair knowing nothing changes. I’m tired and trying to get out of this hole. I want to be able to afford a family of my own and a home of my own. I work hard and do a needed service in this country. Why can’t I as a teacher have those things?

Here’s the crazy fact I realized: Most people in their professions today would not be where they are without teachers. I say this because we all learn from teachers in some way or form. We do not just go into a profession without knowing anything.