The argument is not silly at all. Compared with their non-teaching peers, Kentucky teachers are relatively better off in Kentucky than in other states. Teachers' pay ranks 37th in the US and Kentucky's median household income ranks 45th in the US. Many Kentuckians are more underpaid than teachers are.

 

That doesn't make them over paid. This argument is ridiculous.

 

Did you seriously compare teachers to taxi drivers? Seriously? Do you think taxi drivers should be paid as much as teachers? I think teachers do a very important job and should be paid accordingly. It isn't all about the salary...they should have good retirement, and good benefits as well.

That has to be the absolute dumbest suggestion in the history of the internet!! Sorry, but you don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about.

 

:thumb:

Ok...what is the minimum educational level required to obtain your job? What is the minimum level of education required to keep your job?

 

Bachelors degree and specialized certification (although it has become commonplace for individual employers to require a masters) 20+ hours of continuing education yearly that must be maintained for as long as you work.

Sorry, you're wrong.

 

My link shows how few college graduates there are in this state, not what they're paid. It kills your argument. Open it next time.

Maybe if you had not fouled up your initial post, I would have looked at the link before I responded. Most people seem to understand the comparison that I made. You seem to have missed the point entirely.

And what is Kentucky's rank in percentage of 4 year college graduates? 48th.

 

Maybe if you had not fouled up your initial post, I would have looked at the link before I responded. Most people seem to understand the comparison that I made. You seem to have missed the point entirely.

Yeah, I was real unclear there, wasn't I?

Thanks. That makes the job so worth it.

 

By the way, I have former students that are engineers, geologists, computer programmers, doctors, nurses, etc...they come back to speak to my current students...when they mention their salaries....they all make more money than I do. I don't begrudge it of them and I have never WHINED about it.

Then my comment does not apply to you. However, I think many people would agree with me that more teachers complain about their salaries than any other profession. So many news articles begin with the premise that teachers are underpaid, I think that it is time for somebody to challenge them to prove it. Are you underpaid?

And since HB brought it up I have to work until I'm 65 for my full pension benefits (that i pay into out of my salary). I also have money taken out of each paycheck to cover my health and dental insurance. I can also pay for life and disability insurance if I choose.

 

How much does a teacher have to contribute to their pension and how long do they have to work in order to get their full retirement? How much is taken out of a teacher check to cover health and dental insurance and do they have to pay for life and disability insurance? I really don't know the answer to this.

 

And before the wrong impression is made, I am in no way anti-teacher, I just don't think that they are as undercompensated as many of them (and their unions) would have you believe.

Bachelors degree and specialized certification (although it has become commonplace for individual employers to require a masters) 20+ hours of continuing education yearly that must be maintained for as long as you work.

 

This "continuing education"...are we talking university conducted classes or training specialized for your profession?

To recap:

 

Kentucky ranks 45th in median household income, 48th in graduates with a 4 year degree and 44th in high school graduates. Smells like correlation to me.

 

I mean, imagine the shocking headlines in the newspapers tomorrow: "Lower median household income tied to lower educational attainment."

 

And, so, should it be shocking that in a state that beats only Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia in the percentage of college graduates, that teachers make more than the median household income? Only 21% of our population over the age of 25 has a college degree... wouldn't we expect nearly all of them to do better than average on pay?

Yeah, I was real unclear there, wasn't I?

You fixed your post after the fact. The HTML was garbled in the version that I read and quoted and I did not feel like ferreting out the link. That is why the second part of your post was not quoted at all.

Teachers are all college grads, many with masters.

 

Do you think the same can be said of the rest of the Kentucky work force? Makes the argument a little silly, doesn't it.

 

Compare their rates with their matriculated peers. They are not over paid.

 

Exactly. The crux of the argument is that anyone who makes more than the mean salary in the state in which they reside is overpaid. That is a ridiculous definition of overpaid.

 

If Kentucky's average household income ranks 45th in the country, how will increasing the tax burden on its citizens improve their plight? Kentucky's focus needs to be on creating a more business-friendly climate, which will result in higher salaries across the board, including those earned by teachers.

 

This isn't going to happen with a poorly educated populous. To quote a song "you can't take the effect and make it the cause."

This "continuing education"...are we talking university conducted classes or training specialized for your profession?

 

Could be either.

And for the record, I know plenty of auctioneers who do better financially than teachers, and they don't have a college degree. There are always going to be exceptions, but the aggregate shows that teachers make less than most other college graduates and that college graduates make more than non-college graduates.

To recap:

 

Kentucky ranks 45th in median household income, 48th in graduates with a 4 year degree and 44th in high school graduates. Smells like correlation to me.

 

I mean, imagine the shocking headlines in the newspapers tomorrow: "Lower median household income tied to lower educational attainment."

 

And, so, should it be shocking that in a state that beats only Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia in the percentage of college graduates, that teachers make more than the median household income? Only 21% of our population over the age of 25 has a college degree... wouldn't we expect nearly all of them to do better than average on pay?

Does the fact that Kentucky ranks so low in both high school and college graduates suggest to you that elementary and secondary teachers are underpaid? Some studies rank Kentucky much higher in teacher salaries when factors such as cost of living are taken into account.

You fixed your post after the fact. The HTML was garbled in the version that I read and quoted and I did not feel like ferreting out the link. That is why the second part of your post was not quoted at all.

I never changed any of what I bolded, or the link. I just added the second point.