Introduction
The topic of teachers’ inadequate pay has become an issue, a problem, and also a debate in America. The issue is based on how important education is to the nation, currently and in the future hence the need to ensure that all is well within the industry. The problem is based on the fact that teachers feel that they are underpaid and have started clamoring for higher pay (Strauss, 2018). Finally, the debate is predicated on the fact that several commentators believe that teachers are already adequately paid and are simply holding the nation at ransom (Tour, 2014). Teachers perform one of the most difficult jobs in the world which also happens to be among the most significant jobs, hence deserve the best possible pay. The fact that teachers are needed in higher numbers, resulting in a higher wage burden on the taxpayer should not be used as an excuse to limit the earnings due to individual teachers.
Overview of Current Pay Scenario
Almost all available research points definitively to the fact that teachers are underpaid in the US from multiple perspectives. For a start, American teachers are underpaid as compared to other professionals who need a level of training as high as that of teachers (Strauss, 2018). Minimum qualification of teachers is very high in America (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). Secondly, research by the Brookings Institute shows that teachers are generally underpaid globally, but American teachers are still more underpaid when compared to other teachers around the world (Startz, 2016). Once again the standard for underpaid in this regard relates to qualification when compared to other professionals of the same rank. Over and above comparison with other professionals, teachers have to be considered as underpaid when an evaluation is made on the nature of their profession (Astakhova et al., 2016). Teachers constantly work with little children seeking not only to manage but also to enlighten them. Children by their very nature are very difficult to handle, more so when they are together. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that there is no switch off or slow-down button for children hence teachers have to find ways of managing and teaching them contemporaneously. Further, many professionals get paid depending on how important their work is. From this dimension, teachers ought to be paid highly because their jobs are perhaps the most important economically, socially and even from a perspective of health (Astakhova et al., 2016). Based on the totality of the above, teachers should be the highest paid professionals within their qualification bracket, yet they are not, based on available research. The only logical conclusion, therefore, is that teachers are inadequately paid.
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Why Teachers are Inadequately Paid
A variety of reasons including traditional and modern ones combine to ensure that teachers are perpetually underpaid. Key among these reasons is a traditional mentality about teaching, including the fact that it was considered as a feminine professional affiliation. Most professions traditionally considered to be feminine such as teaching, nursing, and clerical work have had underpayment issues (Wrohlich, 2017). Another reason for underpayment of teachers in America and perhaps across the world relates to sheer volume due to the high number of teachers necessary per capita in any community. The large numbers result in a large combined wage bill hence creating a reluctance to conduct any increment. A small salary increment for each individual teacher eventually amounts to a hefty wage bill. Finally, teachers are paid less in the USA due to the lack of competitiveness among teacher employers more so in the USA where the largest teacher employer is the government. Salaries in the corporate sector, for example, are high because different companies compete for the best available talent, but the same is generally not available for teachers (Acharya, Pagano & Volpin, 2016).
The Salary Increment Debate
Some commentators argue that inadequate pay for teachers is detrimental and ought to be addressed while others argue that teachers ought to make do with their current pay packages. Among the main proponents of salary increments are the teachers who indicate that low pay is detrimental to them and the students they teach. In recent months, America has seen high-level industrial action including state-wide strikes by teachers who demand pay increment (Eidelson, 2018). On the other hand, there are commentators who argue that based on what they do and also their qualifications, teachers are adequately compensated and it is thus unfair for them to demand more (Tour, 2014). Among the common arguments is that teaching is a calling hence teachers should be contented with what they are paid as they serve children. As the debate continues, children are likely to be victims of more industrial action (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond & Carver-Thomas, 2016).
Conclusion
Teaching is one of the most important jobs in the world and the genesis of any other skilled labor opportunity whose professionals are currently paid higher than teachers. Further, it is clear from the research above that the concept of teacher underpayment is not based on myth but facts. Teachers are generally underpaid on a global scale and highly underpaid in the USA. This underpayment is based both on the nature of work carried out by teachers and the qualifications necessary to teach. Various reasons including social, political, and economic factors have resulted in inadequate payment of teachers. A common prerequisite of all these bearing factors is that they have little if anything to do with teachers or students who stand to suffer consequences for the underpayments. It is high time that the subject of teacher underpayment was evaluated in a balanced manner and canvassed conclusively. Whatever monies are saved through the underpayment of teachers will eventually be lost to the vagaries of poor education or the lack of education when the teaching profession gets shunned.
References
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Astakhova, K. V., Korobeev, A. I., Prokhorova, V. V., Kolupaev, A. A., Vorotnoy, M. V., & Kucheryavaya, E. R. (2016). The Role of Education in Economic and Social Development of the Country. International Review of Management and Marketing , 6 (1S), 53-58
Eidelson, J. (2018, April 02). Teacher strikes are spreading across America with no end in sight. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-02/teacher-strikes-are-spreading-across-america
Startz, D. (2016, July 29). Teacher pay around the world. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2016/06/20/teacher-pay-around-the-world/
Strauss, V. (2018, April 03). Analysis | Teachers have had it. Why they’re revolting against low pay and inadequate school funding. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/04/03/teachers-have-had-it-why-theyre-revolting-against-low-pay-and-inadequate-school-funding/?utm_term=.ed6b855623ac
Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D. (2016). A coming crisis in teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the US. Learning Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://learningpolicyinstitute. org/product/coming-crisis-teaching
Tuor, C. (2014, July 07). 5 reasons teachers are overpaid. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-second-city-network/5-reasons-teachers-are-ov_b_5273532.html
U.S. Department of Education. (2005, December 19). New no child left behind flexibility: Highly qualified teachers. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/methods/teachers/hqtflexibility.html
Wrohlich, K. (2017). Gender pay gap varies greatly by occupation. DIW Economic Bulletin , 7 (43), 429-435
