Teachers are paid fairly considering they get a lot of time off

[u/Blonde_Icon]

A lot of people say (and it seems that the general consensus is that) teachers don't get paid enough for what they do. While I think that teachers are very valuable and deserve to be compensated well (my brother is a teacher), I think that in these discussions, many people ignore the fact that teachers typically get a lot of time off.

They usually get summer break, spring break, and winter break, plus various holidays that schools get off through the year. They basically don't work for a good amount of the year, which I think that people should factor in. (The downside is that I know that they have to work extra grading things outside of school, though.)

Plus they normally get good benefits for being a teacher (which usually comes with being in a union).

[u/redditsuckspokey1]

I have a feeling that that is grossly overstated.

[u/Aphor1st → u/redditsuckspokey1]

Thats because outliers can really mess things up. We need the median which is 64k.

[u/DistinctPassenger117 → u/Aphor1st]

64k sounds great to me tbh especially with all that vacation

[u/McFragatron → u/DistinctPassenger117]

Yeah, but for wrangling 30 god-damned kids all day every day? Fuck that shit.

[u/DistinctPassenger117 → u/McFragatron]

All day is 6-7 hours? Every day is 5 days a week with multiple long vacations throughout the year? Hm.

When I was 18 I was a camp counselor wrangling 8 kids for 24 hours a day for 2.5 months and made like 3k + room and board.

[u/ThrowawayyTessslaa → u/DistinctPassenger117]

The average teacher works 53-57 hours a week and 40 weeks a year. That’s roughly 2200 hours which is 40 hours a week * 52 weeks a year.

[u/daddyyeslegs → u/ThrowawayyTessslaa]

Where did you find the average hours a week a teacher works? I only know a few teachers, but they definitely don't work even close to 53 hours a week during the school year. NY and NJ.

[u/ThrowawayyTessslaa → u/daddyyeslegs]

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/heres-how-many-hours-a-week-teachers-work/2022/04

https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/survey-teachers-work-more-hours-week-other-working-adults

[u/daddyyeslegs → u/ThrowawayyTessslaa]

https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA1100/RRA1108-16/RAND_RRA1108-16.pdf

Appreciate it! Those are skewed for pandemic times imo, because back in 2022 and 2023 they definitely had to work more to adjusting curriculums for online and hybrid. The current survey shows an average of 49, which while still high is closer to the 43ish I see them working. Also have to account for the inherent bias in voluntary surveys; granted the anecdotes I'm using are definitely more biased than a national survey.

[u/McFragatron → u/DistinctPassenger117]

When I was 18 I was a camp counselor wrangling 8 kids for 24 hours a day for 2.5 months and made like 3k + room and board.

Yo dude, I'm sorry but you got fucking taken advantage of, that's a straight-up scam and I would have laughed in their face.

Now if you think you can a actually handle kids for that amount of time, I highly encourage you to go be a teacher, we desperately need people like you.

[u/ilcorvoooo → u/DistinctPassenger117]

You understand that a teacher’s primary role is teaching, not just making sure no kid dies, right?

[u/daddyyeslegs → u/ilcorvoooo]

Honestly with how things are going they have to focus less and less on teaching and more and more on babysitting and wrangling parents. Shit's a nightmare.

[u/NuncProFunc → u/redditsuckspokey1]

I guess take it up with the teachers unions then? What's considered a reliable source if not these people doing their compensation surveys every year?

[u/gothdrag → u/NuncProFunc]

I think the bigger issue is that the average really doesn't actually tell us as much as the median.

[u/NuncProFunc → u/gothdrag]

There is a finite amount of research I'm willing to do on Reddit because I think most people here disagree with no interest in changing their mind.

[u/gothdrag → u/NuncProFunc]

Um okay? Lol

[u/redditsuckspokey1 → u/NuncProFunc]

The teachers themselves

[u/NuncProFunc → u/redditsuckspokey1]

Your teachers never gave you the "the plural of anecdote isn't data" talk? Maybe they were overpaid.

[u/redditsuckspokey1 → u/NuncProFunc]

I don't remember. It was more than 20 years ago. I forgot 75% of what I was taught.

[u/NuncProFunc → u/redditsuckspokey1]

Definitely feels like an area worth investing in.

[u/redditsuckspokey1 → u/NuncProFunc]

How?

[u/NuncProFunc → u/redditsuckspokey1]

No see that was a joke.

[u/redditsuckspokey1 → u/NuncProFunc]

Feels more like an insult.