Report: US is #1 in School Spending

[Empress]

Originally posted by Tuberski
Stop teaching kids that don't want to learn. You are throwing money in the trash when you do that.

That makes smaller class sizes.

Now that would be an interesting study, wouldn't it. To study the resounding effects over at 10 year study of a school district that severly enforces a three strikes and you are out of school forever policy. I saw the program in the discovery times channel about schools in innercity chicago who are implimenting military control/Jrotc for the whole school. In it, they compared it to the surrounding schools... I must say, were I a teacher in one of those inner city schools, I would definitly want to get rid of all those who don't want to be there!

[Tuberski]

It would, although half in jest, it's not a totally bad idea, combining students that want to learn in a group, will make that group more learning oriented.

Students that don't want to? Get rid of them, or put them in groups where they have to learn.

Force the ones that don't learn, encourage and help those that do.

ACK!

[Ben Kenobi]

Top off with the fact that most teachers get degrees in the easy non-science displines and you see why the teachers are really over paid and not under paid.

In Canada

Plumber: 2 years technical training - 100 K/yr

Teacher: 5 years of university - 50K/yr

Yes, teachers are overpaid given their flimsy qualifications.

What would I do to correct the situation in the US?

Standardised testing and curricula, for each state.

Streams, allowing top students to do a more difficult curriculum.

Fix up all the school supplies, etc. so that these take priority over other things, computers, etc. Buy the books before the technology.

[MrFun]

Another thing -- some schools have double positions -- such as having their PE teacher/athletic coach teach History.

HIRE TEACHERS WHO ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE IN WHATEVER COURSE THEY SPECIALIZE IN!!!

[Jaguar]

It's common knowledge that teachers are under-paid.

As for actual statistics on this, well, I can't be arsed to do that, since I'm too damn lazy.

Don't worry, I have taken the liberty of doing it for you.

First result of google search for "average US public school teacher salary" (search did not have quote marks.)

The average salary of a U.S. public school teacher for the school year 2000-01 was $43,335.

http://www.teateachers.org/newsctr/2002/jul/04006.php

[Ted Striker]

All you guys who are blaming teachers can shove it up your azzes

For what they do they are UNDERPAID

I'd like to see some of you do a better job. Some of them should get WAR PAY.

Teachers don't teach anymore. Back in the day all they had to do was prepare a lesson plan and then go to school and TEACH.

Now their job is the following:

1) Social worker
2) Security guard
3) Paperwork administrator
4) Teacher

Notice that teacher is last on those duties. They are so busy handling the other BS crap that they don't have as much time to focus on teaching as they once did.

[Ben Kenobi]

See if I can't find Canadian stats.

http://www.meq.gouv.qc.ca/stat/indic03/indic03A/ia03110.pdf

A caveat.

In addition to teachers, educators also
include school administrators and nonteaching professionals who work with students (e.g. education consultants, guidance counsellors and pastoral animators).

Canada: 56 081 CDN

Actual 'teacher' salaries will be lower since administrators are included in the definition of 'educator'.

[Q Classic]

Though we must be careful not to go to South Korean levels. I hear they beat their students for getting lower than a perfect (or near-perfect) score

what, your parents didn't do that to you?
more seriously, my youngest cousin goes to school at 7 in the morning, and comes home at 4. he then eats dinner, gets a bit of free time, and then goes back to another prep school from 7pm to about 10.
he's in the fourth grade.

Any way you cut it the teachers are well paid and they've tried to block every single attempt at reforming the school system. There is no excuse for paying the most per student yet getting some of the worst results

it's not enough to have a family of three live on comfortably and have one of those kids in an elite school.
i've got a few scholarships and finaid, but i've also got loans up the wazoo, and mom's the only person who has a permanent full-time job. she has to pay for my school and basic necessities for my brother and herself. she can make ends meet, but it comes at the cost of:
nothing in the way of savings. she'll have to rely on social security, which may or may not exist by the time she retires, and her children, which i am more than willing to do.
living quite sparsely. for instance we, the kids, have to pay for the internet connection. i'm fine with that, because we're also the ones that use it most, but it takes quite a bit out of our budgets--we don't have allowances, and thus must work.
poor health benefits: i'm going to a shrink i detest. she's also the only option we have. we've changed dentists seven times in the last two years, twice because the dentist decided not to re-up with the insurance company.
oh, and this is with mom having 8 years of work in a suburban school system.
it's not enough money, flat out. sorry if you think so, but i have to disagree.
you try paying for a us$36k/yr education on a us$22k/yr salary.
granted, these aren't mass statistics, and it's "ancedotal evidence". but i'm telling you where i'm coming from here.

[Drake Tungsten]

Another big problem, one that you rarely hear anybody complain about, is the necessity for teachers to "teach for the test" rather than teaching for understanding.

I don't know if this is really a problem. The Japanese school system, generally acknowledged to be one of the best in the world, teaches to the test to a far greater extent than any American school I've seen. The problem may be with the tests themselves (not wide-ranging enough), rather than the teaching to said tests.

Public boarding schools!

They have them here. A pretty bizarre system, actually.

granted, these aren't mass statistics, and it's "ancedotal evidence". but i'm telling you where i'm coming from here.

It's very much anecdotal evidence. My mom teaches at a rural school district in Nebraska and she gets excellent health coverage. She also gets a salary which seems low as a total figure, but is actually pretty high when you figure it out on an hourly basis. Teachers get paid less because they don't work for a quarter of the year. Don't tell that to them, however; no surer way to get a teacher riled up.

[Q Classic]

It's very much anecdotal evidence. My mom teaches at a rural school district in Nebraska and she gets excellent health coverage. She also gets a salary which seems low as a total figure, but is actually pretty high when you figure it out on an hourly basis. Teachers get paid less because they don't work for a quarter of the year. Don't tell that to them, however; no surer way to get a teacher riled up.

shoot, i should tell mom to move to rural nebraska. don't think she'll go for it, though.

[Drake Tungsten]

shoot, i should tell mom to move to rural nebraska. don't think she'll go for it, though.

She shouldn't. Living in rural Nebraska has a huge downside, namely having to live in rural Nebraska.

[Q Classic]

She shouldn't. Living in rural Nebraska has a huge downside, namely having to live in rural Nebraska.

cost of living's lower, though. and then again, no matter which direction you drive out of atlanta, you'll eventually hit south georgia, so...

[Drake Tungsten]

and then again, no matter which direction you drive out of atlanta, you'll eventually hit south georgia, so...

I pity you.

[Tingkai]

Oerdin: so you want more money spent on students, but you want teacher salaries cut?

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Jaguar Warrior
Don't worry, I have taken the liberty of doing it for you.

First result of google search for "average US public school teacher salary" (search did not have quote marks.)
http://www.teateachers.org/newsctr/2002/jul/04006.php

Yes, I did the same thing and the generally accepted average salary is about $43,000 not the +$50,000 Oerdin cited.