Teachers are responsible for almost everything we know. They taught us how to unlock the world of reading, and how to turn scribbles into wonderful stories. We were their flowers, and they nursed us to full blossom. For all teachers do to prepare us for our lives, what do we do to show our appreciation to these vital workers? We must start compensating teachers adequately. 

According to salary.com, teachers make a median salary of just $54,445. This amounts to $26 an hour. According to Indeed.com, this is as much as a Doordash delivery bike driver makes per hour. Many teachers are growing tired of doing so much with so little to show for it. 

A substantial number of teachers, almost 55% according to the National Education Association (NEA), are thinking of leaving the profession. This dramatic decrease in educators will leave many schools scrambling to find replacements, leaving children with less of a complete education as they are taught by substitute teachers most of the year. With all these teachers leaving it will put extra stress on other teachers as well as subs. 

In fact, nearly 60% of teachers express great amounts of stress due to factors like shortages of subs, random walk-ins by administrators grading their teaching harshly, and worry about their personal safety as school shootings have increased substantially over the past years. Teachers are stressed out just by trying to make sure their students succeed.

Forbes says “There is also a constant pressure to keep teachers all on the same curriculum or same pacing. There is a need for differentiation now more than ever to help students catch up to their grade level. When teachers are left with a scripted curriculum by their district and a limited time frame, they often have to leave out the differentiation they know would support their struggling students. Teachers want to help all students achieve, and the feeling of leaving any student behind is devastating. The pressure that they put on themselves to ensure that they serve all students can also contribute to the stress.” 

School districts need to reevaluate their policies and budgets to not only alleviate pressure on teachers but to effectively compensate them for their time and the amount of work they put into making sure the next generation of Americans is prepared for life, the work environment, and entrepreneurship. 

People may say that teachers are compensated well enough for their time as teachers get long periods of time off when students do, but many teachers are working during these breaks. They get an average of 67 days off during the year and many of these days are spent making lesson plans and preparing for the school year. Teachers also work long days. After a teacher comes home they spend time grading papers and making preparations for the day ahead. 

According to data lab.usaspending.gov, the military budget is 11 percent ($755 billion) while spending on education is about four percent ($297 billion). The spending on education needs to dramatically increase or we will see an even greater amount of teachers leaving than we currently are. The school districts are not the problem, in fact, 86% of AISD’s budget goes toward teachers’ salaries. 

The state and federal governments need to put in place changes to put funding toward education which is one of the most valuable resources the American people have. We owe it to our teachers.