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The following blog entry is a response to a prompt from aBetterWestVirginia.com, which asked bloggers in the state to "identify an obstacle that hinders West Virginia and discuss its solution." This opportunity was offered by aBetterWestVirginia.com as a way to celebrate West Virginia Day, which is a day remembering the birth of West Virginia's statehood: June 20th, 1863.
By Jeff Webb
West Virginia needs good teachers. With many young teachers opting to leave the state for better paying jobs and many experienced teachers approaching retirement age, the West Virginia educational system has positions to fill, and the state needs to offer some incentive—some enticement—to get educators to stay in the state.
Perhaps the solution is offering higher salaries for teachers. Over the past several years, with an average salary somewhere around $43,000, West Virginia has consistently ranked low in national rankings of teacher pay, while bordering states of Virginia and Ohio have consistently been ranked near or in the top ten highest-paying states for teachers. It is little surprise, then, that young teachers, fresh out of college and looking to start a life, migrate to these nearby states for more lucrative job opportunities.
There are some problems, though, when it comes to raising teacher salaries in West Virginia, namely that the state isn’t a very rich state to begin with, and the current economic recession in the United States can’t help matters, either. According to one recent survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, the median family income in West Virginia is somewhere around $44,000, and, in this respect, the average teacher pay is not far off from what most other West Virginians are earning.
However, using this excuse—that teachers do not need more money because they are right at the average income for the state—is frivolous, as the basic problem still exists: other states offer better pay, and, as a result, West Virginia is losing teachers.
The state’s two largest teacher unions, AFT and WVEA, have each offered their own ideas for pay raises, but there are flaws in their ideas. Namely, in the pay raise plans of both unions, not only do teachers receive a raise, but so, too, do superintendents. With the average salary for superintendents around $90,000—and the salary being even higher in some counties, such as Kanawha—there doesn’t seem much use in the superintendents receiving raises. Rather, it would be much more beneficial to the state and its educational system if the raise were only given to the people that need it: teachers.
Currently, the West Virginia legislature sets the minimum pay for teachers, and then individual counties, based on population and taxable income, can pay more than the minimum. Perhaps, then, what the legislature needs to do is raise the minimum salary by a couple thousand dollars in order to bring West Virginia up to par with other states. If financing for this is hard to come by, perhaps some superintendents and other government officials might consider a pay cut.
Humility. That is the simple answer to this problem. Nobody becomes a teacher for the money. A person becomes a teacher to help others, and that person will do the job no matter what the pay. It’s just that, in the current society, money is necessary to living, and wanting to receive more money for a job whenever possible is not a difficult motive to grasp.
However, it will take humility for West Virginia teachers to accept what they need, not what they want. Likewise, it will take the humility of government leaders to cut back on excess, to give more money to those that need it and not, perhaps, to those that don’t.
Receiving a proper education is one of, if not the most, important things in a person’s life. Paying West Virginia teachers a better salary makes the profession both more respectable and appealing, and that, right now, is exactly what the state’s educational system needs.
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4 comments:
I get paid a measly 35k a year as a computer programmer. I sit and slave behind a desk all but 2 weeks out of the year that I get a paid vacation. And your telling me that the average teacher in WV makes 47k per year. These same teachers get 3 months of summer vacation plus every federal holidays and state holidays that fall during that time, which its seems like every time the governor sneezes there's a new holiday.
After all of those perks your telling me that I should support more of my hard earned tax money going to support these selfish spoiled educators. I say Bullshit. I agree that there should be a minimum say 32K but this whining about raises because they didn't negotiate their salary well enough when they started needs to stop. You wan't more money? Pick up a summer job thos 3 months your off and Get over it. The cost of living in the state isn't that high if your that down and out its your own poor life choices.
Hey "programmer" - that idiotic tyraid HAS to be some of the most ridiculous, unintelligible and misinformed bunch of tripe I have ever read from (what should be) a collegiately educated individual. I honestly do not know where to begin in addressing your spurious nonsense.
I laughed - out loud - even after the second sentence...." I SIT and SLAVE behind a DESK ...?!?!
Huh? Don't trip over the mouse pad on the way to the coffee machine.
Have you ever been in front of 25 to 30 students, hours at a time, no "breaks", no time to grab a cup of coffee, no water-cooler chit-chat, no bathroom break. Then add the responsiblilty for every WORD out of your mouth, every movement, every action, scrutinized by kids, parents, administratiors and our fine communitiy members - such as yourself.
Let us actualize your "slave" job, shall we? You play around on the internet several hours a day, take long lunches, and flirt with the fatass cat girl two cubicals down and you actually think you have a tough job???
Unimportant, yes.
Meaningless, sure.
No real benefit to society, of course.
But pleeeeease, don't say you "slave behind a desk".
By the way, moron, it is only 44K a year - and that is the average. The "average" teacher in West Virgina is also 46 years old, has been on the job 19 years and has a Master's degree plus 15 to 30 hours.
You have that much experience and education there keyboard king?
When you grow up, learn to actually read, and discover how to discern fact from trite hearsay; go ahead and come to the 'big" table with the adults for a factual discussion. In your case, however, I'm not holding my breath.
Thank you both for your comments. Please let's try our best to keep things respectful, though.
In response to the first poster, it is worth mentioning that teachers do not get paid for the 3 months off during summer. They only get paid for the months they work. It is not a paid vacation, as is often the misconception.
Looks like the first guy is trying to out-victim the victims; we get it - you don't like your job, but your life experience is obviously very limited.
Dig it: only the lowest earning 10%of programmers pull down less than $38,460/yr (bls.gov) so you either suck mightily or need to apply some of those negotiating skills you tout.
Aside from that, teaching is a union gig and there is no individual negotiation of the starting salary.
The second guy: I hear you brother, but you're not going to insult your way to taxpayer outrage over low teacher salaries. Also, you lost me at "tyraid." Trying to be pedantic works much better when you use proper grammar and spelling. YOU, no doubt, are tenured.
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