One thing that I have found as a student is that your teachers can really make or break your education. Of course, it isn’t up to the teacher to make sure that you do your work and are trying your best, but a teacher’s devotion and willingness to explain confusing concepts, stay up late grading tests, and keep their students on the same page certainly makes a difference. No matter how motivated or passionate a teacher is, how they are treated by their students and by society will always make a difference in that teacher’s performance. Over the course of writing this blog, I have found that teachers in America are treated much differently than teachers in Finland and China, and believe that this may be the reason for their comparatively high achievement. So this week I want to take a closer look at how teachers are treated in the US, Finland, and China.
In the United States, teachers often find themselves lacking the respect they deserve. Some people who are not teachers, and have no idea how hard teaching is, view early education teachers as glorified babysitters. Many also seem to think that teaching is a fairly easy job, no matter how old or advanced the students are. American students often blatantly disrespect their teachers more than students in most other countries.
When it comes to the amount of work American teachers do, they are actually ahead of teachers in most other countries. Teachers in the United States, at all grade levels, spend an average of 1100 hours per year teaching. This alone is more than teachers in just about every other country, and does not include the time teachers spend grading assignments and planning lessons on their own time. And despite all this, American teachers are paid less than the United States’ GDP per capita. As of April 2015, the median salary for a public school teacher in the US is $52,906. Out of 32 countries, the United States in ranked 25th for teacher salaries.
In contrast, Finnish teachers are very highly respected, both by their students and society in general. Finnish teachers often stay with the same small class of students for multiple years, so they form strong bonds with the students they teach, almost to the point of becoming like family. Teaching is also viewed by society as being a very respectable, admirable profession. They are given the same esteem that doctors are given in the United States. This may be because teachers in Finland are required to have a Master’s degree and teaching jobs are extremely competitive. I’m not sure if Finnish teachers go above and beyond because they’re the best and brightest, or if it’s because they are respected and feel motivated to do their very best. In any case, Finnish teachers teach students, and those students have proven time and time again to be among the best in the world.
In China, teachers are highly respected as well. Students and their parents alike respect them to the point of fear, because they know that their future depends on their score on a test that their teacher is preparing them for. Students do whatever their teacher asks them to, while their parents often lavish their children’s teachers with expensive gifts around holidays. In addition to these gifts (which often add up to a significant amount of money), teachers’ salaries are exempt from tax. Again, it is difficult to tell whether the teachers are performing so well because of the respect they get, or if they get respect because they do such a good job. Whatever the case may be, Chinese students are among the best in the world, and that is due, in part, to their teachers.
It is hard to say exactly what should be done regarding teachers in the US. Making a master’s degree a requirement, like in Finland, doesn’t sound like a bad idea at first. However, teachers with higher levels of education need to be paid more, and some teachers at my old high school with Master’s degrees were almost fired at one point because they wanted to spend less money on less qualified teachers. Luckily, the students and parents put a stop to that, but clearly, we aren’t interested in paying teachers more in the US. Unfortunately, I think paying teachers more would be one of the biggest things we could do to improve education in our country, because they would feel more respected and their long hours would be more justified.
What do you all think we could do to improve respect for teachers in the US?
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/teacher-pay-around-the-world/?_r=0
Lisa, I really enjoyed reading this post! I never took the time to think about the treatment of teachers outside of this country. Teaching is a delicate balance, a triangle of communication between teacher, student and parent. Respect plays a huge role in the ability to not only teach the material, but for the student to take the material in and work to understand it. Certainly, being respected is what all teachers strive for. However, teachers have to realize that not all students are going to do so, and the public perception may be skewed. I plan on being a teacher, and there have been many times already that I have gotten strange looks when I have told others what I want to do with my future career. I have heard it all: “Those who can’t do, teach,” “Do you even get paid well to be a teacher,” “Why would you want to work with kids all day,” “Oh, that’s a pretty easy degree to get.” It can be really frustrating to hear these comments, but I think it comes down to the teacher. I want to be a teacher because I want to affect change in my future students, and help them to grow as students and as teachers. There will certainly be obstacles along the way, but I am not pursuing the job for the glory or for the money. The only possible solutions I can think of would be to work on building morale in the media. Teacher pensions are already starting to become a thing of the past, especially in Pennsylvania, so I do not think that raising salaries would be a viable option. And like you said, a Master’s degree can hurt you in the end. It truly is a difficult problem to deal with.
In regards to your opening statement, I have had a few teachers who “broke” my education. These teachers were absolutely horrible at explaining concepts, forming relationships, and being devoted, which is why I want to be an educator to show students that teachers still do care. I am concerned for the lack of respect many teachers get while teaching and for the less than ideal pay-check. I have been writing about the Finnish system in my issue brief and have noted the extreme respect for teachers in their country, however I find it difficult to imagine what the United States educational system would look like if teachers were treated like the educators in Finland.
I completely agree with everything you talked about in this post. This past summer I traveled to Japan and witness the amount of respect teachers receive from their students. The Japanese students are required to bow to their teachers when they walk into the room and when they exit out of the rooms. This amount of respect makes the classroom atmosphere so much more in control making it easier for the teacher to convey the topic that is taught to students.
This was very interesting to read and to see how other countries differ in regards to treatment of their teachers. I feel the US often has many people who, like you mentioned, think teaching is an easy job, my uncle always grumbles about it at every holiday gathering – Summer’s and holidays off, benefits, etc. But what he doesn’t know is all the extra hours and work teachers do put in to be able to help and teach as many of their students they can the best they possibly can. I know that my teachers and professors have been key role models and heroes in my life, great supporters and taught me a lot when I often faced issues at home. I feel higher pay or that higher degree may help, like you said, teachers need to know that what they are doing is truly amazing, and is noticed and respected. I’m hoping something can be changed or happen soon in regards to this issue, someday. Great post!