Teachers don't need appreciation weeks; they need a living wage
May 8, 2018
This week, parents and students are baking cookies and buying gift cards for teachers around the country. As sweet as these gestures are, Teacher Appreciation Week provides little material comfort to many teachers, including the 59 percent who work a second job to pay the bills. Muffins don’t tangibly help teachers — but they do assuage community guilt about poor pay.
As one friend whose parent association sends flowers for her children’s teachers told me, “Call me a cynic, but nothing says ‘So sorry you are underpaid’ like an enormous bouquet.” The average teacher salary across the country is $58,950, down from seven years earlier and $2,000 less than the average annual salary for all college graduates. Averages hide a lot, including higher salaries for teachers with master’s degrees or doctorates who have been in schools for decades. In states such as Arizona and Colorado that have seen walkouts this year, the averages are below $50,000.
[Photo credit: Unknown, but that's my grandma on the left]
