Teachers don’t get pay they deserve or need

You would think the plight of teachers couldn’t get any worse, but that’s not the case. Already overworked and underpaid, they are now expected to report for teaching in the face of the coronavirus that is continuing to spread and is waiting for them at school. In addition to their regular duties, teachers are now required to assist in keeping their classrooms sanitized, monitor their classes to see that masks are worn, see that social distancing is maintained, and many teachers are required to teach some of their classes online, which requires additional preparations. The fact that teachers also run the risk of contracting the virus from a student and taking it home to their families is another concern that has caused some teachers to quit their jobs or take an unpaid leaves of absence.

Despite the increased workload you don’t hear any talk about increasing their salaries. If a teacher were to demand an increase in salary or threaten they would quit, the administration opens the door, knowing that there are always others available to fill the vacancy. This is in keeping with the history of how school teachers have been treated over the years; they have always been considered to be expendable. This philosophy has helped create a brain drain by which the more talented teachers move to other states that pay them a living wage. However, it is just possible that if more and more teachers decide to drop out because of the virus risk, the availability of teachers to fill in would be reduced, and give teachers an increase in bargaining power they badly need.

When you sign on to teach you know this is not a profession where you will get rich but the desire to teach can be so overwhelming that being underpaid doesn’t keep you from this profession. I was a part-time teacher at the University of Arkansas for over 50 years, and my time in the classroom was a joy, and I can understand how many others love the profession, despite being treated as a second class citizen.

Since lack of revenue is usually the excuse for low teacher salaries, we should look at how schools in many European countries operate, where there is less of emphasis on bricks and mortar and more on paying teachers a better salary. In addition the use of old-fashioned blackboards, instead of computers, frees up additional money for teachers. Despite these changes, many of these countries still rank near the top of worldwide educational systems.

It would help if politicians would speak out in support of our teachers’ needs, but education is not a hot button issue, such as the “me too movement” or “Black Lives Matter,” and it would take a rare politician to have a platform that calls for an increase in teachers’ salaries. However, if their support of an issue does not net them votes, they run from it as if it was the plague. BASS TRUMBO Fayetteville