When presented with the idea of the Civic Issues Blog, I knew almost immediately, the topic I wanted to address: education. As a child of two public school teachers, and as a student myself, I have had a front row seat to the many problems that face the education system in the United States.
In the past few decades, several issues about education in the US have come to light. College has become more expensive, while the job market demands higher levels of education for lower pay. The pandemic has caused millions of young students across the US to fall behind as they missed out on the intimate instruction required for basic skills like reading and writing. School shootings have run rampant for the past 30 years, with more and more massacres each year than the one before. However, I do not want to talk about any of these issues for my first post. I want to talk about what I have been witness to since I can remember: how our country treats educators.
While I may be biased because both of my parents are teachers, I firmly believe that being a teacher is one of the most important jobs in the world, right next to being a doctor. Despite the vitality of their work, it seems as though teachers get nothing but grief. Under the presidency of Donald Trump, Elizabeth Dee Devos tried everything in her power to remove funding from public education, to pour into private and charter schools.
Funding is one of the biggest issues that faces teachers. I have no idea why someone would feel that there needs to be less funding in public schools, when I have seen first hand several teachers having to use their own money to buy school supplies? Let’s not forget that teachers are highly underpaid. According to the New York Times, “salaries for teachers have essentially not changed from 2000 to 2020 when adjusting for inflation” (Edsall). Sure, teachers get summers off, but still, they are not making a true living wage. According to Pew Research one in six teachers work a second job. My own father works a second job as a tennis instructor. He works 12 hour days, six days a week, in order to provide for my three siblings and myself.
One would think that if the job market is so dependent on high educated individuals that that value would be reflected in better pay and respect for educators, but sadly this is not the case.
I completely agree that teachers have one of the most important jobs and that funding for teachers and schools should increase not decrease. I think this is a great issue you touched on as it is not talked enough about. I also like how the information was displayed and conveyed because it made the blog a lot more readable and engaging.
It is quite upsetting to see the struggles teachers go through to live a normal life. I’ve seen various stories of underpaid teacher struggling to make basic ends like groceries, rent, insurance, etc. work, and some of them haven’t settled into a family yet. I knew teachers worked second jobs, but I didn’t expect it to be 1 in 6! It’s sad that the Trump administration tried redirecting money away from public school teachers. Hopefully, teachers get paid the fair amount they deserve; their hardworking in managing us is really demanding in every facet.
I must say that this is a type of perspective I wish was more broadcast in the media. When it comes to issues of education, I feel that the media often fails to get the perspectives of people in education such as teachers as opposed to legislators and outsiders. Teachers are definitely severely underpaid in this country, and I will say myself that if teachers were paid fairly and equitably, I would’ve planned to go to college for education/teaching as opposed to my current path.