Emily's Post: In defense -- and praise -- of public school teachers

Emily Mills:

My mother was a public school teacher. She graduated college with a degree in elementary education and spent the rest of her life -- nearly up until the time of her death at age 50 -- teaching children. I remember the hours she spent at home working on projects, grading, and just making decorations for the classroom, and all this even though she spent most of those years as a substitute teacher.

Eventually she found a niche teaching children with learning disabilities how to read. My mother worked tirelessly to see that these kids had a leg-up and didn't fall through the cracks of the system. She knew how important it is to be able not only to read, but to read well.

Through all of the time spent, hours worked, problems tackled, gold stars given, lives changed, she barely made any money. I was too young to know her exact salary but I know it wasn't much, especially given that she had three kids of her own at home. We made do -- my parents took good care of us despite what I now know were some very rough financial times. And I never heard my mom complain, not in front of us, anyway. She loved her work and the kids she worked with, and that's what mattered.

And so I know it to be the same case, far more often than not, with teachers. Teaching is not a career that is entered into lightly. It's some of the hardest, if most rewarding, work around -- all for some pretty petty cash. They're not living in mansions. Average yearly salary is just $46,390 in Wisconsin, with an average starting salary of a mere $25,222, ranking us 20th in the nation. For some perspective, that starting salary would put you under the federal poverty line for a family of five, and just barely over it for a family of four.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 3, 2011 1:42 AM
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