I have spent years and thousands of hours in various jobs working with, caring for and educating children.
Child-focused work is an enigma; the labor that is required to complete a job successfully is directly proportional to the pay, but in a ass backwards kinda way.
For example, show me a teacher who puts in 40+ hours a week teaching kids in one of the tougher schools, where they spend much of their time dealing with discipline issues, breaking up fights, being disrespected, threatened by students, dealing with non-committed or over-worked parents (to name just a few of their challenges) and I will give you a teacher in a wealthier district, where they still work 40+ hours a week, have decent support from the community and decent support from parents, a far less stressful environment, and the pay they both receive is based upon their education and the years they've put in as a teacher. If they both have a bachelor's degree and three years' experience here in NC, they both receive about $31,290/yr.
The icing on the cake is the approximately $780 million in cuts handed down to the school board.
I think I can safely say that a majority of people who work with kids aren't motivated by the money. They do it simply because they love working with kids. Just as a lawyer enjoys working with the law, an architect enjoys working with blueprints, and a professional athlete enjoys their sport.
The difference is the enigma of that profession. Caring for and educating the young people in a society is vital to that society's healthy future, but, and here's the clincher, people will not pay good money for it. Could you imagine citizens paying taxes so a lowly teacher could make $80,000/yr or more?
A parent wants from this one profession: teacher, nurse, psychologist, mentor, spiritual adviser, coach, friend, disciplinarian, babysitter and protector, and they want it for as close to free as they can get it.
They will lay down thousands for a season pass to the NHL Canes' games. But elections are coming up, and there will be hell to pay for any legislator wanting to raise taxes.
Child-focused work is an enigma; the labor that is required to complete a job successfully is directly proportional to the pay, but in a ass backwards kinda way.
For example, show me a teacher who puts in 40+ hours a week teaching kids in one of the tougher schools, where they spend much of their time dealing with discipline issues, breaking up fights, being disrespected, threatened by students, dealing with non-committed or over-worked parents (to name just a few of their challenges) and I will give you a teacher in a wealthier district, where they still work 40+ hours a week, have decent support from the community and decent support from parents, a far less stressful environment, and the pay they both receive is based upon their education and the years they've put in as a teacher. If they both have a bachelor's degree and three years' experience here in NC, they both receive about $31,290/yr.
The icing on the cake is the approximately $780 million in cuts handed down to the school board.
Work harder, put in more hours, prove your worth by showing higher test scores, and you just may be able to keep your job.
I think I can safely say that a majority of people who work with kids aren't motivated by the money. They do it simply because they love working with kids. Just as a lawyer enjoys working with the law, an architect enjoys working with blueprints, and a professional athlete enjoys their sport.
The difference is the enigma of that profession. Caring for and educating the young people in a society is vital to that society's healthy future, but, and here's the clincher, people will not pay good money for it. Could you imagine citizens paying taxes so a lowly teacher could make $80,000/yr or more?
A parent wants from this one profession: teacher, nurse, psychologist, mentor, spiritual adviser, coach, friend, disciplinarian, babysitter and protector, and they want it for as close to free as they can get it.
They will lay down thousands for a season pass to the NHL Canes' games. But elections are coming up, and there will be hell to pay for any legislator wanting to raise taxes.
