During a student’s career, it is not uncommon to hear teachers mask their salary complaints as a form of a casual joke. The average salary of a public school teacher ranges from $51,000 to $68,000 annually, while the annual median necessary salary of living expenses in the United States is $67,690 (Salary.com).

Clearly, the annual average salary of a public school teacher barely scratches the surface of what is needed to experience adequate living conditions. To make ends meet, the majority of teachers must turn to moonlighting, the obligation to work a second job. Teachers in the K-12 public school system in the United States should receive a raise because not only does it benefit teachers, but it ultimately achieves the universal goal of education — to provide students the tools necessary for a productive life.

Personal Experience

As a high school student, I have heard remarks from teachers as early as my elementary education concerning their low salary income. To this day, teachers comically hint that choosing to become a teacher isn’t the best option if you aim to be wealthy.

After considering these comments, there seem to be two contradicting reasons as to why individuals become teachers: (1) They have the desire to make a difference, or (2) They choose to teach as a substitute from their initial career path. Clearly, the intention that an educator has when they walk into a classroom matter.

Low Pay, Low Quality

Exhaustion can be a result of overworking, which causes a chain reaction that negatively affects the educational atmosphere. In an interview with my high school teacher, Ms. Schroder, to acknowledge her experience of working a second job, she testified, “...I had not known what weekends were like in my adult life since I worked them from 17-25 years old at [a restaurant] alone. I had very little free time and was continuously stressed out, without knowing it”. Ms. Schroder is one of the many teachers who live independently but experienced unfavorable living conditions based on their teacher’s salary alone. Therefore, educators must work a second job, despite the consequence of unimaginable stress. 

Low Pay V.S. Certified Teachers

Teachers who are highly experienced in the educational field may not desire low pay. An article by Business.org statistically concluded, “While teachers generally make notoriously low wages, educators in six states (New York, California, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Alaska, and Iowa) actually make more than the average for other occupations in their area”. Higher paying states in America attract individuals who have studied extra years or suffered a large sum of student loan debt to become certified teachers.

Where Did The Teachers Go?

Critics argue that increasing teacher’s salaries will eventually turn for the worst. A public policy analyst, James Richwine, argued that “...increasing pay reduces the number of job openings (because fewer teachers will quit or retire), and increases the number of new applicants (because the salary is more attractive)... And, unfortunately, the best-qualified applicants are probably most discouraged” (TheFederalist.com). While it is true that increasing teacher pay will most likely attract candidates that may not qualify for the position, it would resolve the predicament of teacher shortages across the United States.

School districts are experiencing a severe drought of teachers to recruit. One factor that illustrates this problem is better opportunities elsewhere. In a podcast, “Education Cliff” by Hear Arizona, they interviewed teachers while stating statistical facts among them, “According to the Arizona Teacher Retention Project, 42% of teachers hired in 2013 left the profession within three 4 years. The five most commonly cited reasons: salary, class sizes, work clothes, benefits, and the perceived lack of respect from students, administrators, and parents”. Former teachers ranked "salary" as the number one cause of resignation because the other top factors enable the teachers to believe they deserve higher pay. Outnumbered teachers in a classroom setting who carry stress, pressure, and tension can be mentally and physically challenging.

K-12 public school teachers should be given a raise because it will ultimately stimulate the educational environment. Dealing with overwhelming tensions between school life and personal life can be detrimental to a teacher’s overall health. As students, we are the future of this nation. While the teachers are not at their 100% in teaching, our ability to thrive as a nation will slowly decrease. It is strongly urged that teachers receive the pay that they deserve.