Can you imagine wanting to become a teacher and teach the curriculum you love? Having to achieve that goal teachers must attend college for 3 to 5 years sometimes longer. All while gaining college debt and hoping to be hired to the school they desire, to teach tomorrow’s future. Though that is not all, there is also the amount of time it takes to plan a yearlong course to present to hundreds of students. All this effort to get paid less than a manager at Walmart. Which had happened to a teacher named Seth Goshorn, who quit a job in which he loved to become a Walmart manager for better pay. Though here across the U.S teachers today are getting paid much less than what you would expect, having to go through expensive payments and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not easy when you do not have a fitting pay. So, what do teachers think? Well here today in this reading, I will show you the opinions on five different teachers here at St. Cloud high school, all who teach different curriculum with various years in teaching.  

On Friday, September 9th, my first interview was with Laura Fry, an experienced teacher who teaches speech and debate, Foundations of Journalism, and media production. I began to dive in with my first interview question, “How do you feel about teachers today getting paid?” Mrs. Fry did not answer the question but explained how the teacher payment system worked. How people believe the school pays teachers when it is the school district? Also, that depending on how long you work as a teacher the pay differs slightly. Though while I asked other teachers the same question, all but one agreed that teachers today are not getting paid very well. That the demanding work being put in to working can really put a strain on their life, when wanting to do enjoyable activities for themselves. Mr. Southhall, a teacher who teaches astronomy honors, explains that it is difficult to buy a house, purchase a car and have a family, when teachers do not have sufficient pay to purchase the things they like. He also adds that as much as he loves his job as a teacher its difficult and straining not being able to comfortably afford the things he wants.  

As I dove deeper into my questions, I came across one teacher that did not seem to have a problem with their current pay; a teacher named Russel Ball, who teaches Ap and normal Computer science essentials, states that he is not affected by his pay. Though he states that: “the amount is fair, the problem is there is no raises. Because I have been teaching for…6years and I still make the same pay as a new teacher gets.” From this I was confused, Mrs. Fry had explained that teachers get paid more with experience, so what does he mean when there are no raises? I asked him that very question and he explained: “They should, but the problem is they keep raising the bottom, and when they do that, they don’t adjust everybody above it.” So as newer teachers are joining schools, they are getting paid higher amounts in raises at the beginning, while the district is not raising the current pay of experienced teachers, so as the beginning teachers are getting the same pay as an experienced teacher, experienced teachers are stuck getting the same pay rather than as raise.

While continuing to interview the differing opinions of teachers, all similarly said that being a teacher is enjoyable and more important than the idea of pay. That despite their wants they do enjoy being able to instruct students. Though having a fair pay amount would make their lives much easier, than it is now. So, the next time you see your favorite teacher, keep in mind that they care about teaching you, rather than the payment they get.