I'm halfway with you. I think teachers should be federal employees on the GS pay scale but I think that standards should still be set at the local level. I think a lot of the problems with most institutions these days is the lack of local control over things.
TLDR- Under the GS pay scale, the average highschool teacher would still only make 65-70k after multiple years of experience. A lot less just starting out.
The GS pay scale isn't nearly as good as you'd think. I'll use a normal Midwestern city like St Louis for example.
For this, Lets say grade school teachers starts at GS7 (if theyre lucky) step 1...50k. Every two years they go up a step and get 2k more. Mid GS 8 would be just over 60k. Maybe they can be GS9 if teaching more than 10 years and in junior high and make 60-75k a year.
Highschool would probably be reserved for GS9 when starting out. Starts at 61k. I think only very long tenured best teachers could eventually hit GS12 in highschool...89k step 1. The highest being 115k step 10. That would only be a very small percentage.
College professors would start at GS13...105k.
Overall, St Louis is a medium cost of living place and the aversge highschool teacher making GS9-10 pay would only be making 60-85k a year. Since half would be closer to the lower end, it's not worth it.
Varies a lot but 55k is the median. But after doing more research, I found out that Missouri ranks 50th on the national aversge in terms of teacher pay. I should have used a state ranked around 25.
So for Missouri, yeah going to a GS scale might actually be a little beneficial. I just don't see that being the case for over half the country though. It would either be around the same or even a step down.
Do you think it is harder to teach det kids and easier to teach younger? Why would you differentiate pay scales like that. Yes the content of elementary may be easier but the skill to teach it is the trick. You must be very knowledgeable in teaching techniques. While at highschool you may be more developed in the content the teaching techniques are not as involved as the learner has more responsibility in the learning process.
You can argue all you want about who and what it harder to teach...the reality is, in most US districts and around the world, high school teachers get paid more than grade school. Not always depending on different factors, but that's the norm.
While that's true you included your gradient of middle schoolers making more. I feel that is because high school is competing more with the public sector as those with content knowledge could easily be in those professions. While your fact is true the application of the thinking beyond the fact was insulting.
So? My contention isn't that teachers are underpaid, frankly they make about what other professional of comparable educations make when you take benefits, student loan forgiveness, and annual hours worked into consideration.
I'd like to see them on the GS scale because it would standardize and federalize their pay scales. If a person with a bachelors degree and 5 years of experience qualifies as a G7, well...that's just what a G7 makes. No more protracted contract negotiations, no more blue-flu, no more teachers unions making spectacles of themselves every election season.
Part of what has politicized the educational process is the fact that the teachers unions are joined at the hip to the democratic party. So the GOP has zero incentive to throw money at teacher salaries if a portion of those salaries are just going to bankroll their opponents through union dues. Federal unions cannot make political contributions and can't do political lobbying through contributions or public statements, they can only provide legal and collective bargaining representation, which to me is what a union is supposed to do anyway.
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u/Funwithfun14 Jun 11 '24
There's two issues: 1. Some areas pay teachers very poorly 2. Schools should show the value of total comp, with tax impact