Underpaid Teachers in Ohio

Underpaid Teachers in Ohio

High school teachers’ average salary varies across the world. The United States is said to be one of the richest countries in the world, yet our teachers are being paid one of the lowest amounts. The Education Intelligence Agency, author of the article “Ohio Teacher Overcomes Union’s Tolerance” published an International Teacher Salary Report ranking the fifty states by “how much the average salary exceeded per capita personal income.” According to the Education Intelligence Agency Ohio’s percentage rate is only fifty- five point one percent. According to the Education Intelligence Agency the lowest state percentage is in South Dakota at twenty- three point six percent and the highest state percentage is Alaska at one hundred and one point five percent. Teachers are a very important part of our society. Teachers’ jobs consist of more than just sitting behind a desk for nine months and having paid summers off. There are many extra tasks that teachers have that most people don not consider. Teachers in public schools work hard for a low salary and should be more appreciated; public school teachers shape the world’s young people, serve as role models, and work long hours.

Ruth E. Sternberg is the reporter for the Columbus [Ohio] Dispatch Schools and has completed a survey on the issue of Ohio’s teacher’s salaries. According to Sternberg, the public high schools that have high salaries do not have enough money for

new technologies. This is a disadvantage for the students. The students do not have the advantage of computers, digital cameras, and other new technologies that make learning more fun. The students who do not have these technologies may lose interest in learning. Sternberg also points out that higher salaries also causes businesses to decide not to open their stores in that district because of the higher taxes. The stores do not want to pay out more money than what they have to, even if it is for a good cause. I can understand the concern of the business owners, but they should think about where the money goes and how much it would benefit the public schools in that area. Sternberg discusses the loss of teachers that would be forced on the district if they raised the average teacher salary. This would mean that the class sizes would be larger and the teacher to student ratio would also rise. This would be a disadvantage for the students and the teachers. The teachers would have to work harder to give each student the one on one time that they need and the students would have to wait longer for help. This would waist valuable class time for the students who were waiting for help. All good things must have some bad side effects. There is not enough money in the school systems to have the best of both worlds.

Our teacher’s shape our worlds young people into adults. They can teach students more than what the parents can because they have more time to spend with the students. Many parents work full time and do not have the time to teach their children how to be good adults. There are also some parents who do not know how to be good adults and can not teach their children how to be good adults. I have seen many teachers at my school that would do anything to help a troubled student. Teachers can give the students their

undivided attention. The students have to share one teacher, but the teachers usually try to make time for the students on a one on one basis. All of my high school teachers meant a lot to me. I learned more than reading, writing, history, and mathematics from my teachers. There were many hard times in my life that I would have had a rough time getting through if my teachers would not have been there for me. My teachers were more than just educators, they are also my friends.

My parents think that teachers should be just educators and not friends. They believe that your peers should be your friends. My parents think that teachers should not talk about their personal lives with students and they should not ask students about their personal lives. My parents are very private people. They consider these actions to be unprofessional on the teachers’ behalf. I disagree with my parents because there are many times in a students’ life when the student has problems that they cannot ask their parents about. It is hard to spend eight hours a day with someone and not get personal with them at some time or another. It is important to have an educated adult to turn to.

According to Jodi Wilgoren, a member of the “Times” staff, eighty- eight percent of Americans has their diplomas. Although this is not perfect it is still very good. The teachers in the United States have a big effect on the citizens. We have wonderful teachers that point us in the right direction. I think that some people have to be pushed through high school. These people have little or no