Underpaid Teachers?

"To the extent that underpaid teachers are a problem, it is for one reason and one reason only: teachers unions." These are strong words Mr. Hemingway (2005)!

I have long thought that educators should be treated the same as professional athletes or members of the military. When you perform well, you are compensated well. Also, like the military, there should be compensation for teachers who work in difficult settings (urban schools). Instead, teachers who work in the richest districts typically receive the best pay.

The education of our citizenry is either a priority or it is not. As a nation, we either stand behind our propoganda of equal treatment for everyone, or we simply perpetuate our own hypocracy. I grew up believing that teaching is a noble profession. My mother and grandmother were both teachers. My mother spent her entire career teaching for the St. Louis Public School District. My mother refused to strike, because she believed that her students deserved to receive the best that she had to offer regardless of her compensation.

The paradox is that people shouldn't become teachers for the money AND that districts should reward teachers based upon their committment and performance. If there is any hope of education surviving, it will because the paradigm shifts to support attracting and keeping the best possible professionals. As teaching becomes a more sophisticated and complicated profession, there is no room for mediocraty.

References:
Hemingway, M. (2005, July 3). Unmerrited Teachers. National Review Online, Retrieved on July 3, 2005 from
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/01/opinion/main705884.shtml.

David