The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.
He argued, " What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher ?"

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do.. Those who can't, teach."

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the same world.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.... You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?"

His jaw dropped, he went silent..

BRAVO!!!!!

I made $7.00 an hr as a preschool teacher, as rewarding as it was, i enjoyed eating far more, so.. I no longer teach preschool.

This is all feel good stuff here, but bottom line is, if you're making 30K or less a year to mold future children, you aren't going to be as excited about making a difference as Bonnie is. I work part time as a school bus driver and make more per hour than most teachers do, which is a shame. The best thing this country could do is stop shelling money out to a majority of the welfare culture, and put that into paying teachers what they deserve and maybe all those feel good things Bonnie said would be a reality to almost every teacher.

well good for her...but that is a person to whom teaching is a calling...tis sad though to some it is just another job...this I know for sure...

Well what is the reason teachers are so underpaid?

Getting a BA or Masters degrees in education and starting wages are around 25-30K? You spend more than that on schooling. Its governments fault, entitlement programs and saving SS are more important than the children.

Because sports are more valued and 'entertaining'. Because the criminals keep getting incarcerated. Because people fake disability to collect SSI. Because studying porkbelly futures is more important than the education of children. Because people get to vote to see if education levies pass to provide resources for our kids. Because people would rather play the lottery. And finally, the most important reason?

Because our society allows this.


I tell my son all the time:

Your teacher has the most important job. Yours is the second. Your teacher educates you, and you listen, ask questons, and learn because that's your job.

as a teacher, i thank you. and i agree. our local school budget is shot down year after year after year then the ppl that vote it down sit around and b!tch about the youth. and when money needs to be cut, it comes from education yet we want our children to be well educated b/c they need that education to become the CEO or whatever.

as a side note, i work in a very poor district that pays very well. i still struggle to make ends meet and i dont know how i am going to make it through the summer, but i own my own house and car. i have a beautiful son and i am currently working on becoming a foster parent. i, personally, make quite a bit of money in my position but not all are as lucky. for all teachers do, they should be paid more. most teachers come in early, leave late and take a huge bag of work home with them. we teach extra activities and host educational nights for the children without pay b/c it will benefit the students. if i were to change my position and teach in the town i live in (a very nice area where the kids get cars when they reach 17) i would have to take about a $10,000 pay cut. i work 1 town away from where i live.

Those who can; Do.
Those who can do more; Teach.

A little selective in budget cuts are we? We also have a massive defense budget we could pull money from. Stupid welfare, Timmy doesn't need to eat as long as he has long division and homework.

I got a BA in biological sciences and started working as a research tech about 8-9 yrs ago. My starting salary was 25K and I didn't get summers off. The average teacher in PA makes around 50K, low/start range is around 28K and upper range is 70K. 50K isn't bad when you get about 3 months off.

One of the big issues is unions, most unions are against merit pay they want everyone on the same level regardless of actual ability. So great teachers end up getting the shaft. Teaching salaries are generally done by seniority not ability.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_50.htm

I know the popular notion and the PC one is that teachers are underpaid but really the good ones are underpaid and the poor ones are overpaid, thanks to the unions. The vast majority of reports and studies I've read that actually compare teacher salary perhour with other jobs say teachers really aren't that underpaid. As with nurses who only recently started getting good pay, the market should fix the issue. If salaries were that poor, nobody would want to teach, with a shortage of teaching jobs the pay would increase to entice people into the profession.