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Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

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Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#201

I'm in NJ where we value public education, for the most part. According to National Center for Education Statistics our average teacher pay was $77,489 in 2022. This is excluding benefits/pension. Well worth it.

How come 78% of low income fourth graders in NJ can't read?[0] [0] https://acnj.org/newsroom/news-releases/nj-4th-graders-score...

Not being proficient does not mean they can't read, it's more that they're not "good" at reading. The same article says that the national numbers are even worse. The article only states that the gap between low income and wealthier students increased by 3% but it's not clear what the actual total difference is. If you look at the underlying data[1] you'll see that the national average is actually below proficient and that New Jersey is consistently above average, regardless of income. Certainly there is a difference in proficiency by income but there are far more factors at play there, most importantly the child's home life.

[1] https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/states/scores/?gra...

Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#202
post #78

I know this is crazy but: Recently I was thinking about opening a foundation that will create a universal multimedia "product" (combination of software, movies, games, maybe vr) that will teach kids around the world in schools subjects that all nations agree upon like mathematics, physics, chemistry, informatics etc. This is extremely challenging to convince governments to impose this in the schools but the gains are…

> Recently I was thinking about opening a foundation that will create a universal multimedia "product" (combination of software, movies, games, maybe vr) that will teach kids around the world in schools subjects that all nations agree upon like mathematics, physics, chemistry, informatics etc.

If this ever got made it would only be used my school administrators as a cudgel to discipline teachers unions. It would never get used to actually teach children.

Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those teachers aren't burning the money. It goes back to the community around them as they spend it, generally.

And taxpayers usually burn money?

Generally tax structures should be set up to tax the most wealthy entities first, and the poorest last, by my understanding. The wealthiest entities are going to be corporations and their leaders and they don't live where the teachers do.

So, from the perspective of businesses and individuals that live where the teachers do, yes, the largest taxpayers do usually burn money.

(Quite literally, in the form of things like very expensive-to-operate private planes, such as to attend the recent 'super bowl')

Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#204
post #128

This is loosely related, but every time I think of public school teacher salaries my mind goes to the public school teachers I know. As a group they are… exceptionally ungifted. As just one example, I lived with two middle school teachers in Texas for a few years. They probably couldn’t pass the grade they were teaching. I have never met two professionals with so many credentials (MS in Education) and so little sense…

I would love to retire and become a public school teacher, but I will not go back to college for a bachelors degree in teaching. Make it easier to become a teacher and you'd see more people consider it, IMO.

Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#205
Nationwide minimum salaries don’t make sense. In nearby Carroll county, MD, the median individual salary is $45,000 and about 45% of the population over 25 has a bachelors degree. Minimum teacher’s salary is about $48,000, which puts them above the median for all workers, in a county that’s pretty highly educated, but also fairly cheap and rural.

By contrast, $60,000 in NYC is quite out of line with what other college educated workers earn in that city.

Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#206
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Difficult how? A relative of mine is a teacher in a high-poverty area and it seems like a very taxing job. Regularly having to deal with children who are emotionally or physically abused, or who recently immigrated and don't even speak english, and trying to teach them math. I daresay this is not a set of challenges most software engineers I've met would be well equipped to handle.

I haven't seen a lot of evidence actual teachers handle problem children all that well either.

Right, seems rather difficult!

Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do understand how this would and has played out, right? Basically the government would be subsidizing private schools for the rich, and since rich people are getting their needs met the funding will evaporate for schools in poorer neighbourhoods. Society will be move divided and your ability to succeed will depend on the class you’re born into above all else. How can developers understand the value and need for d…

We did this in Indiana and handled this by having an income cap for voucher eligibility. The reality is that people living in poor areas now have access to better schools. Rich people don't get vouchers.

That’s good for Indiana if true. What about other places? My understanding was that many voucher proposals did not have income caps.

Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#209
post #128

This is loosely related, but every time I think of public school teacher salaries my mind goes to the public school teachers I know. As a group they are… exceptionally ungifted. As just one example, I lived with two middle school teachers in Texas for a few years. They probably couldn’t pass the grade they were teaching. I have never met two professionals with so many credentials (MS in Education) and so little sense…

Supporting this view, practically every person I've met who made it from a Public School to the Ivy League talks about 1 or 2 teachers making all the difference. The rest don't register and some are harmful.

The story is usually something like, "I was always good at school, but it got boring and I didn't feel challenged. Then I had this one teacher who really pushed me and showed me what I was capable of."

Re: Sanders calls for minimum salary of $60000 for public school teachers

#210
post #128

This is loosely related, but every time I think of public school teacher salaries my mind goes to the public school teachers I know. As a group they are… exceptionally ungifted. As just one example, I lived with two middle school teachers in Texas for a few years. They probably couldn’t pass the grade they were teaching. I have never met two professionals with so many credentials (MS in Education) and so little sense…

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