Thank you so much for this article. I retired twenty years ago to raise my son. I considered returning to teaching full time, but the anti-intellectual bias that seems to be sweeping this company and the widespread media implications that teachers are bleeding the taxpayers of their hard earned monies has made me decide against it. Unfortunately it is not only investment in our children that is currently out of fashion. Consider the investment this society needs, but refuses to make, in preventive medicine/wellness, the infrastructure of highways and water delivery plus renewable energy and it is easy to see how children, who do not vote, would get shortchanged.

As a side note, I enjoy your thought-provoking articles, even when I do not share your opinion. Keep up the good work.

The problem now seems to be that we do not have a system where we can pay good teachers more and retain good teachers in spite of low seniority.

Well said and thank you so much!!! As a current teacher in the public school system I really appreciate your thoughtful comments. I do work extremely hard for my students, parents, administration, school board and district. I love my job and wouldn't trade it for another but the anger towards teachers is hurtful. Those who direct their negative comments towards teachers as a whole should as they say "walk a mile in my shoes!"

It seems counter-intuitive, but anecdotally, I find some parents are happy to lavish their kids with the latest & greatest electronic device, or must-have outfit, & treat themselves to an even bigger house or newer car, but when it comes to coughing up $20/yr. in taxes for education? Well, that's when the fiscal responsibility kicks in.

I am not saying that teachers don't work hard, but please enllighten me what profession does not? These teachers crying that they work hard, so what?!?!! Most people do. I did daycare for 10 years. I did not make tons of money, but got rewarded in other ways. You think that a teacher is worth more than a nurse or an electrician or an honest mechanic? Of course they have to do things to improve their credentials on their own, again, most professionals do! Why should they be exempt from the realities of other professions?

If the girl who had "no better prospects" was paid more than $9.25 an hour it does not mean her behavior (reaction) would be different. She would react the same...frustration with a child. That's the biggest mistake the public believes in. The job is either rewarding or it is not. People care for children and the elderly with love and respect everyday. They have a job that is the right fit. They can be less or more, and their reaction would be the same.

As I see it, we are Inextricably connected to teachers and how they derive their pay. As I have always said, there has to be an alternative method for funding our schools and therefore our teachers pay. I do not have the answer and I apologize for throwing this out there without a suggestion but it is not a matter of how much but from where the teachers pay comes. I believe anyone that who performs the job they were hired to do in a manner that is over and above the rest of the employees should be compensated according to their performance. After all, in the private sector if you are not producing more than you are being paid you are a drain on the company not an asset. Employers don't hire people just to fill the payroll but to produce more than they are paid. If you follow that logic, then there is not enough money to pay an excellent teacher. The product that they produce will go forward and employers will bid for the talents of their product. Both good and bad teachers affect society at the base level. They produce the producers and if they perform well then we all benefit. Unfortunately their pay is not tied to quality production but to beaucracy and political corruption. The school districts that pay them have to satisfy the mandates of legislators that have self interest in mind, not the good of the whole.

Here's an idea that public schools should explore, raising funds from alumni. I have friends who attended parochial elementary and high schools, and they are routinely contacted for contributions.

Public colleges and universities work just as hard as private schools to raise money from alumni. Some of the largest endowments are held by public universities, including U of I, Wisconsin, Penn St. Michigan, Cal, and Texas.

Jeff,

You shouldn't lump teaching and daycare into the same discussion. There is no professional training required to be a daycare provider, no union controlling pay, etc., and taxpayers aren't footing the bill. For quality daycare, you need to do research and check references, like any other service, the guiding principle of which must be caveat emptor. The fact that it's a service applied to your kids dictates even more scrutiny is needed by parents.

Your logic for comparing Nannysitters and the public school system is flawed. Nannysitters is a business, presumably trying to make a profit from it's customers, while the school district is not, or at least shouldn't be, trying to profit from it's customers (taxpayers). So, it's utterly wrong to take $15 per hour for 3 kids and simply multiply it out to 24 kids for a full school year and imply that a teacher should make $126K.

What I do agree with you on is that tenure does need to be re-worked, the unions are out of their minds, and benefits need to be looked at.

Paul,
I am curious to hear why you think unions are out of there mind and why you have an issue with tenure. As well when you say benefits need to be looked at, what teacher benefits do you take issue with?

Great article Jeff...

People will always feel justified in criticizing teacher pay because, unlike many private sector jobs, everyone has worked with teachers in the past and feel they know exactly what is required of teachers. I have siblings who have jobs that vary from accounting to managing a manufacturing plant and in all honesty I could not tell you what they do on a day to day basis so would not be able to judge if they are paid too much or too little. I have yet to read anywhere where teachers are "whining" about how little they they get paid as much as teachers trying to defend themselves from those who feel they should be barely paid at all. And those who feel you can easily judge teachers objectively based on test scores obviously have never taught. So many factors impact student performance that are beyond a classroom teachers control, the main one being support at home. If parents are not invested in their childs achievement it will be reflected in that childs performance. Children are not widgets or sales figures.

Its always a litte shocking to hear people like Paul B. who are basically advocating for the elimination of the public funding of schools as if there would be no consequences to themselves other than a bigger bank account. How would this country prosper if the only children who were educated were those who had parents that could afford to send them to private schools. The increase in crime,poverty, and unemployment would make our current economic state look enviable. The 99% that gets so much attention lately would quickly grow to 99.99%

Teachers are not there to "care for" your kids, they are there to teach. Daycare serves more than getting 28 kids ready for ISAT testing.

Great column, Jeff; you summed everything up well. Now, how about another Occupy Wall Street column so we can get on your case?! (lol!, just kidding!)

I agree, very few teachers complain about their salary & benefits. Since I deal in FACTS & this is the Geneva Patch, lets look at what we pay our teachers. Based on the current teachers contract, here is what they get in 2011-12 school year.
With a BA & no experience start is $39,651; with MA it is $46,390. After 17 years a BA makes $60,263; MA $70,506. Raises are guaranteed yearly thru step program. Lane program covers courses taken & additional degrees. Out of classroom stipends are separate. Employee medical & dental premiums are covered 100% with $400 deductible. Family medical (60% paid) & dental (50%) with a $800 deductible. Tenured teachers can take up to a 21/2 year unpaid leave of absence. 10 sick days a year with an unlimited # accumulated. If you don't take Early Retirement with 25 years you 20% of last year salary for insurance premiums. If you retire 3 years early, we pay 100% of the lump sum payment to avoid a discounted retirement payment. Tenure means 3 days of Personal Business Absence with 4 days after 9 years.

Those with a Master Certificate of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards receive $3,000 per year from the state. If the state doesn't pay, we do. The GEA President (teachers union) can be paid 15 days to attend to local union issues. Also, up to 70% of the President's school day workload can be used for union duties. We pay up to $100,000 per year for college or graduate level courses for teachers.
Insurance costs range between $6,043 and $21,054 yearly per employee depending on the number of family members covered and the plan chosen.
By the way, Geneva School Bus Drivers start at $28.00 per hour and max out at $33.44 for the 2011-12 school year.

Those are the FACTS and can't be disputed. Geneva is currently in the last year of a three year contract. Administrators have no received a salary increase for the second year in 2011-12 school year.

If you are concerned about the District's long-term debt ($325.6 million) and other expenses, attend the December 12th School Board meeting at the former Coultrap Elementary School at 7 pm. A vote is scheduled to be taken on the tax levy for 2011. The levy will be reflected in your property taxes payable on June 1, 2012

Great article and interesting comments. Just one thing...day care providers, esp goood ones do have trainings...even degrees. You are right. They don't get paid enough for all they do. Most would say they do it for the hug, the smiles, etc like I have been doing for the last 15 years. Amazing that some babysitters make more $ then we do :)

I love how Mr. Ward throws random facts around as justification of higher salaries.

- Teachers go to college and have huge debt from student loans and then make (implied) a low salary. Maybe this is an indication that college tuition is VASTLY out of control instead of teachers making too little.
- Public Works employees make lots and lots of money and teacher make about the same. Again, maybe that is an indication that Public Works employees are making too much instead of teachers making too little.

The overall ascertion of the article is our kids are precious, they deserve the best, let's pay teachers more so we get better education for our kids.

The trouble with Mr. Ward's very simplistic approach is that it is fine blather but doesn't hold up to scrutiny when you look at the facts. There are COUNTLESS examples of private schools throughout the country that get out of the constraints of a public school trap that do FAR better than public schools - AND they cost less. Watch "Waiting for Superman" as an example.

The little nexus that Mr. Ward doesn't understand (or perhaps doesn't WANT to understand) is that in most jobs, there are market forces behind pay and workforce supply. Public schools completely remove that paradigm. How many hundreds of teachers apply to teach at Geneva, St. Charles, Batavia and can't get a job. Probably an indication that people think that the pay is pretty darned good.

If teaching is such an easy, great, well-paying job with tremendous benefits, why aren't any of you doing it?

Kevin, you are either a teacher or you have drunk too much District kool-aid. Bet you also buy into the "it's all for the children" the administration preaches.
I haven't said that teaching is an easy job. They do receive tremendous benefits and I'm starting to believe it is a well-paying job. When a Geneva teacher's salary is $53,126 in 2008-09 and increases to $77,407 in 2010-11 (45.7%) without a change in title, that is a well paying job. Think that increase is unusual? Between 2008-09 and 2010-11 school year, 7 teachers received a salary increase of at least 30% and 24 teachers between 29% and 20% increase with no change in title. Again, these are FACTS that are reported to the state of Illinois.
There are many reasons why people choose not to become teachers but that doesn't make their profession any less important than teaching. The vast majority of teachers do a very good job but, like every profession, there are those that do a poor job. In other professions if you do a poor job chances are that you will not be employed too long. A poor tenured teacher is almost impossible to dismiss as was the case in Geneva just a couple of years ago.
When your salary and benefits are paid for by taxpayers, you are going to be a target in economic downturns. The Geneva teachers are in the last year of a 3 year contract which awarded salary increases every year. If the union doesn't offer major concessions this year, that taxpayer heat will only get worse.

Geneva Non-parent,
Teachers with "large raises in salary over a short period of time" could be the result of taking additional classes, getting an advanced degree, or taking on extra curricular activities. When you look up teacheres salaries, those extra curricular salaries are included. If someone coaches for three seasons, or takes on a full year extra curricular duty such as athletic director, or sponsor of student government, that would indicate an increase in salary shown on various websites. There would be no change in title. Teachers don't change titles unless they happen to get an administrative degree and become principals or assistant principals.

No one wants to work along side of bad workers, but that is up to the supervisors to take care of. It is not always a union protecting bad teachers. The supervisors need to be willing to go through the work required.

I'll pose my challenge to you again Bob. Quit what you are doing and become a teacher. I'm sure you will set a fine example for the students and the slacker teachers you are talking about.

Geneva Non-Parent
Let me clarify what I meant by their" title didn't change." In the three years from 2008-09 through 2010-11, their classroom & teaching assignment did not change. And that is what we are really talking about here - teaching. I was surprised at the percent increases and did ask why to the asst. superintendent of human resources. He didn't explain individual situations but did say that because of the step & lane compensation system double digit percent increases are available from year to year. You read that correctly, a 25+% increase can be received in one year. If anyone wants a copy of the explanation, send me an e-mail at taxfacts@sbcglobal.net. You will need to supply a real e-mail address. If anyone wants to view the step & lane rates, just go to www.geneva304.org and search for the teachers contract.

In the private sector a boss can decide to give some workers raises and not others because each individual receives their own evaluation. Unless they are union, then everyone gets the same increase or recently maybe a decrease.

Also, I never said that the salary increases were a "nefarious plot", "arbitrary" or "underhanded." What I said is that I am starting to believe that teaching is a well paying job.

As to why good teachers would want to teach along side of bad teachers, I have always wonder why that would happen. But I know it does. If they want, maybe those good teachers could provide an answer.

Kevin says:
"No one wants to work along side of bad workers, but that is up to the supervisors to take care of. It is not always a union protecting bad teachers. The supervisors need to be willing to go through the work required."
"I'll pose my challenge to you again Bob. Quit what you are doing and become a teacher. I'm sure you will set a fine example for the students and the slacker teachers you are talking about."
Based on the above comments, I will assume Kevin is extremely familiar with the teaching profession. First, why wouldn't a supervisor be willing to do the work needed to make sure the children receive the best education possible. Isn't that the role of a supervisor in or outside of teaching - getting the best people possible to work for you.
Second, why have you challenged me to quit my job and become a teacher? What would that prove? I have said that teachers get great benefits, are well paid, that in an economic downturn their salaries & benefits will be a target and that not all teachers do a great job. Of those statements, which ones aren't correct? Certainly it can't be the last one because you already have stated that supervisors sometimes don't want to do the work necessary to dismiss a teacher.
If I became a teacher only one thing would change - I would do everything necessary to get a bad teacher dismissed. That should be the responsibility of any good teacher because that really is "for the good of the kids."

"Doing everything necessary to get a bad teacher dismissed is the responsibility of any good teacher" Really Bob? And when would a good teacher have time to do that? Wouldn't one assume that if they are a good teacher they would be doing what they are supposed to be doing...TEACHING KIDS? When would they have time to "drop in" and observe these bad teachers being bad. And wouldn't they be doing the administrators job for them? Is that what happens in private sector jobs, co-workers going around and making sure bad co-workers get fired? Can we assume you have taken on that responsibility where you work? What about the power of parents in pressuring administrators to have poor teachers fired. They have a closer connection to what goes on in a bad teachers classroom by having their children in the classroom, more than a co-worker who they might pass in the hall or share lunch with in the faculty lounge. I will assume your kids have had bad teachers at some point. What did you do to get them fired? Seems like teachers will always fall short of your standards Bob.

Bob, Now your putting words in my mouth. I don't see where I stated you were anti-teacher or anti-education. I truly believe that you, like many people, don't have a problem with "how much" teachers get paid as much as you do with "how" they get paid. If all schools were privately funded then we probably wouldn't be having this conversation but this is not the reality of the situation. As for my other point. If a "supervisor" , or in the case of schools, "the principal" is not doing their job it is more likely teachers would voice their concerns about that principal to the central office administration or superintendent. It is the responsibility of the principal to hire and then evaluate all teachers in their building. They are the ones who have time in the day to sit in those classrooms while teaching is taking place and assess good or bad teaching. Teachers are hired to teach and their daily schedule is set up for that. They don't have time to casually drop by another teachers classroom to observe how they teach and then make a case for that teachers dismissal. I am curious if the F.A.C.T.S. group was formed "before" or "after" your kids graduated from the district?

Again I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but how is a teacher supposed to know if another teacher is good or bad if they are not in that teachers classroom watching them teach? By word of mouth? Lunch room gossip? Inform me Bob. I assume you know enough about the typical day to day schedules and responsibilities of a classroom teacher that you can confidently speak out on this particular issue.

Wow! :)

I am sick of the arguement that teachers DESERVE higher salaries because they went to college, so what! It is the entitlement mentality that has driven our country to this sad state!! There are thousands of college educated unemployed people. And, anyone who thinks that working in public works or the like is easy and not worth the money, you try it for a while! Also, many of those positions require at least a two year degree or more today. Perhaps you will gain a greater appreciation for those who help the cities and towns keep going.

I am a daycare worker and I believe I should be paid more! I have worked in many schools and believe that I am "teaching" the children I care for many things that will prepare them for life! I have my early childhood degree and am doing the exact same thing or rather I'm doing more because I also have to clean up my own mess ( I can't just leave it for the custodians) that "teachers" are doing yet I'm getting paid a fraction of what they are getting paid because they stayed in school for one more year! Clearly, something is wrong with our world when people are allowing for this to happen!

Hey Teachers, Day Care Workers, et al...Deal with it, the rest of us have had to since post 2008. There are no guarantees in life, no promises, no yearly raises or bonus for most of us. If someone told you that, they lied-which is another valuable life lesson-trust then verify. I've written this before: no one is demonizing the vocation of an educator, if that’s what you want to do-good for you. But in this sad economic environment to "expect" anything because you went to college is galling. Jeff-it has nothing to do with being cheap. There is no money. It was given away by our State politicians to buy Union Votes…which is the way it’s always been done(sadly).

It would be nice if the Patch would also recognize that the frustration among tax payers has nothing to do with whether the public believes teachers are professional, and deserving of quality pay and benefits. I believe there is a growing awareness among the public that many systems in place since the 1950's need restructuring and that Government/Public employment and laborunion/management tactics also need to be revisited and re-engineered in order to be sustainable into the future.

I believe we all see the financial problems that the public sector faces, but everyone wants to kick the necessary sacrifices needed to fix the problem down the road to the next generation. This generation has finally stepped up to say no more. We want to fix the problems today, and we will look at all sources of concern. Let's address the structural issues, so the trash emotional gossip-style rants can give way to intellectually sound and financially stabel solutions long term. Geneva supports teachers, and supports fiscal responsibility. I doubt fiscal irresponsibility is supported, nor are community/teacher tensions desired either.