Michael Bromley, Washington, D.C. Teacher: Teachers Are Overpaid

Education Week:

Note: Michael Bromley, a teacher in Washington, DC, is guest-posting this week.

My colleagues groan when I say it, and then tell me to shut up: teachers are over-paid. Truly, we are. To argue that teachers are underpaid defies logic and means nothing: based on what? Oh, teachers are socially important, so they should be well-paid. Okay, measure that importance for me, will ya? Let's see, if I fail five fewer kids this year will you give me a raise? That won't work. What if I passed 'em all? Hmm. As with all attempts to quantify, measure, and manage education, there is no true, consistent, or constant baseline from which to measure teacher value. Even if we do attach pay to performance, from what baseline do we start and why?

Read the whole story: Education Week

Comments

[stopnlisten]

07:19 AM on 08/06/2011

"Okay, I'm not a career teacher, and having built a business from scratch, I know what it's like to not know what next month's pay is going to look like. Most of my colleagues have studied and done nothing but teaching. It's all they know."

This poor fellow has no commitment and no clue.

[dcrevealed]

10:57 AM on 08/05/2011

Maybe they are, but I would rather over pay the teachers then the football players. If the average teacher makes $50,000/year, you could pay well more than 20 teachers a year for the salary of one good football player. And sports stars teach our kids what these days? How to break the law and get away with it (not all of them, but quite a few). The education system is messed up not the teachers. Maybe with some extra cash, higher level professionals would consider teaching careers and would teach the kids real world stuff like finances and Entrepreneurship in schools. That would be my measure of success and willingness for teachers to earn higher pay. There is some merit in the statement that teachers are overpaid to implement the current education system in this country in my opinion. It's not the fault of the teachers though.

[saltpeter]

01:27 PM on 08/04/2011

Make no mistake, this is NOT a joke. The only JOKE is whether or not a "Michael Bromley" actually exists and is not simply a figment of the Right Wing imagination of the corporatist stooges at the American Enterprise Institute. These are people who NEVER liked public education because public education has a tendency to empower it's workers, create a citizenry of critical thinkers, and is paid for the big bad government. Public Education also allows for non-wealthy Americans to ascend into the middle class and beyond and UPWARD MOBILITY for a large portion of Americans is the last thing neocons like ACI want for this country.

Face it, the Right successfully gutted unions now they're looking to do the same thing to our public education system. You can't train citizens to look at themselves as a mere functionary of an economic machine until you start talking about students like they are mere commodities. When Right Wingers like those in AEI look at their fellow Americans, all they see are cogs in the machine.

[Huzie]

08:35 AM on 08/04/2011

As a teacher, the headline drew me like a moth to a flame. After reading it, I fear that what I sincerely believe is witty satire will be taken as gospel by those who do not understand the plight of educatiors these days. They will say "You see, even a teacher thinks he is overpaid" Other people will call for his head. To all I say, watch some of Jon Stewart's Daily Show or The Stephen Colbert Show. Saturday Night Live has become rather lame. We have forgotten what satire is.

[SeptimusDSX]

07:17 AM on 08/04/2011

If I'm not mistaken, the article was tongue in cheek. He makes good points though. Many people use the exact same simplistic and superficial arguments the author puts forth to justify having a go at teachers.

[savitri777]

06:26 AM on 08/04/2011

maybe congressman and wall street are over paid ?

[OP3366]

04:11 AM on 08/04/2011

Whether this post was serious or not, permit me to add one thought.

Forget debates over who works more hours or who earns what, any of that jazz. These are our kids, our future. There is no greater calling than being a teacher. And yet most of our top students avoid the career like the plague because, they will tell you, it is either too stressful or they can't make enough money. If we want to attract the very best to help our kids be their very best, we'd better take stock of salaries and work conditions. All those who say in here how wonderful their lives would be if they were teachers, then take the leap already. What are you waiting for?

[cryingliberty]

03:13 AM on 08/04/2011

I see a lot of posters fuming.

The problem is, the author has baited everyone, and even HP bit. The article is a satire, folks. He argues for so many incredibly absurd things (cut half of the teachers, double the pay of the remainder and have a cage match in the gym to see who keeps their jobs...I mean, really??) that the only way to read the article is as a satire.

He got all of us but good on this one.

[saltpeter]

01:20 PM on 08/04/2011

Problem is this was posted on a website run by the American Enterprise Institute, a notorious Right Wing Think Tank with such past and present members as Newt Gingrich, Milton Friedman, Irving Kristol, Lynne Cheney, and Paul Wolfowitz. These are dyed in the wool supply siders who seriously think that MARKET FORCES should be applied to EVERY FACTOR of American life. You know, the same market forces that caused our economy to fall into free fall.

Not only is this NOT a parody, this is what the neocons who craft Right Wing policies think of the teaching profession. They have NO respect for ANY system that empowers workers, creates a society of critical thinkers, and is paid for by the government.

[cryingliberty]

05:27 PM on 08/04/2011

The website isn't run by the AEI - their staff is independent (although, admittedly, that doesn't mean much) and the AEI is listed nowhere on their donors page (again, doesn't necessarily mean a ton, although their major donors seem to be at the very least, neutral).

The -regular blog author- is from the AEI (and from a cursory glance, he's the only one), but this Michael Bromley guy was standing in for him this week.

I agree with you that what was written is right up the alley of most right-wing politicians these days - that's what calls out the absurdity of some of the things he says.

I just have a hard time believing that the article is real when the guy advocates for teachers having a fight over the coffee machine to determine who gets the job, as well as the incredibly absurd notion of supply-side education he mentions midway through the piece.

[Arleen1]

03:04 AM on 08/04/2011

People who say that teaching is a walk in the park, and that they are satisfied with the pay have me concerned. Teaching is hard work. Teaching is not just showing up everyday and putting worksheet after worksheet in front of students, showing a movie, give a test or two and go home. If you are concerned with creating knowledgeable, capable, intelligent adults, you spend time to create lessons that not only teach academic skills, but also authentic life lessons that get students to think and apply higher level thinking skills with problem solving. These lessons do not come in a can. Making lessons authentic takes time to plan, execute and evaluate. I am surprised at many idiotic statements that I've read here. Some coming from people calling themselves teachers.

[esmarelda]

02:09 AM on 08/04/2011

This comes from groups who are anti-education. We can't have an educated country, it might cause problems for Fox News and Conservative types.

[Teacheronthemic]

01:21 AM on 08/04/2011

Child please... I get paid on the 5th. Tonight's dinner consisted of a hot dog sliced up in a bowl of Sapporo Ichiban. I got some Hot Pockets in the freezer, so I'll be good by Friday.

[Vic22]

11:22 PM on 08/03/2011

If teachers were over paid, then why did Walter White need to find a new career?

[Vic22]

11:07 PM on 08/03/2011

Republican Ideology in a nutshell:

If it doesnt make dollars, it doesn't make sense

[hollywood2008]

10:33 PM on 08/03/2011

Well I'll say this, I work 8-3 and have summers off. I'm definitely not "under" paid, I think I'm paid about just right. I know how fortunate I am - in my last career I worked 8 am to 10 pm every day.

[nihilzi]

11:22 PM on 08/03/2011

Wow...you must be a terrible teacher.

[OP3366]

04:01 AM on 08/04/2011

I have never known a teacher who works 8 to 3 and only five days a week. I have never known a good teacher who doesn't take a pile of work home every weekend, every holiday. I have never known a good teacher who doesn't do prep work over the summer.

You are either NOT a teacher or I am glad my kid never had you in the classroom.

[hollywood2008]

09:31 AM on 08/04/2011

and i'm guessing you've never had a corporate job before. it's night and day...i used to have 5 bosses breathing down my back while working on excel the entire day. believe me, this job has much better working conditions. and you're right - i dont do just 8 to 3. i also coach and grade on the weekend. but i dont consider that "work" because i love it. the problem is that most teachers just do it because they need a paycheck, not because they're educated or value education (studies show that most teachers ranked in the bottom 1/3rd of their college class!)

[Tommy Hammersticks]

11:13 AM on 08/04/2011

Just because you take a pile of work home with you every weekend does not necessarily mean you are a hard worker. It could just mean you are inefficient and can't manage time properly.

That goes for working late as well. Just because you are working 12 hours a day does not mean you are working hard. It may mean that you waste to much time throughout the day.

[Bombadillo22]

09:49 PM on 08/03/2011

' To argue that teachers are underpaid defies logic and means nothing: based on what?'

Based on what one must pay for child support and babysitters (x30 per class).