If teaching is such a cake job then why is there such a high shortage?

In many schools the teacher is more of a prison guard than instructor. The job is more about herding the kids through the day than actual instruction. Subject knowledge is probably the least important aspect of public HS teaching. Classroom management is all it's about.

So yeah, maybe you know a lot about chemistry, or physics, coding, etc.. and you want to go into teaching because you love that subject, well nobody cares and none of that matters. So, if you want to teach English and surround yourself if the world of literature, then you probably need to teach at university or a private school.

Democrats enabled this because you know everyone is supposedly equal. So equal bottom of the barrel results for everyone. This sums up most of the public schools in NYC. I think most teachers come in thinking they can teach and be inspirational but become jaded very quick. Smart ones leave right away for better paying jobs. Others stick through for the pension and the benefits.

Yet the Republican mayors in NYC did more harm than the Democrats.

intellectuals will work at higher paying jobs. as for the people who aren't intellectuals, they'd rather just work labor jobs than deal with your stupid kids.

It is more of a problem of terrible parenting across the board. Find any teacher that has stuck it out long enough to see things change and this is a common theme they will tell you.

Teachers are well-compensated. However, they are well-compensated in terms of low number of days of work, large health benefits, and a generous retirement with an early retirement. The actual salary is lowish.

In Seattle, teachers work 189 days per years. Here's the pay schedule: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.seattleschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Certificated-Non-Supervisory-2021-22.pdf (Hopefully the link will work.) There are 15 levels. Taking Level 8 and the highlighted column (BA + 135 -- no masters), base salary is $88,500. In addition, per seattleschools.org, the average benefit to teachers for pension is $39,000. Note this does not include medical benefits. Your average teacher gets a Cadillac health plan, but we'll neglect that for now. So total comp per year for a teacher is $128,000.

I work 245 days per year. So let's start equalizing based on days of pay. If the teacher were to work 245 days, her salary and non-medical benefits would increase to $167,000.

Now, $167,000 isn't an amazing salary, but it's definitely not bad. However, the base salary of $89,500 doesn't look nearly as good. Overachievers choose jobs where they are compensated in cash and stock options for hard work and achievement. Underachievers choose jobs where they are compensated for showing up (years of service) and in vacation time and retirement benefits. So you have a bunch of underachieving types (as well as some passionate individuals who happen to love and care about kids and teens - but they are the exception to the rule) going into what is actually a quite difficult job. Parents don't respect them because all they hear is complaining from people who work literally half the year and get a big pension, neither of which a typical working parent gets. So you have a hard job, deferred benefits you don't fully realize until you retire, and no respect. You're probably an underachiever or you wouldn't have picked this job in the first place. Sounds like a formula for success!

Low pay despite needing education beyond a Bachelor's most of the time
Lack of respect by parents and students

Average pay in US is $50k while average teacher salary is $70k. 40% above average by definition is high, not low. Only a teacher couldn't do the math.

So if you take out your lunch and breaks:

165*6=990 hours a year

990/52=19 hours a week

990/40=24.75 full time equivalent weeks

24.75/52=48% (rounded) equivalent of full time

Your job is part time.
I showed my work, like your students, to teach you how to solve it.

Sure sounds cushy, with all these lunches and breaks and short years, so why the shortage then???

Something doesn't add up.

Nice try, but no one lives on benefits. The teacher still earns $88k (after how many years?) and they pay their bills based on this, not some imaginary cash from benefits.

And what good is a $39k retirement going to do for them?

Crikey mate, I have no clue what they teach kids down under, but I dont think anyone teaches falsehoods to kids.

As for your nutty second paragraph, then whats the point of school?? So ask them about their home life and send them home because they wont amount to anything? Insane.

How do you think kids grow and learn?

What doesn't add up? The hourly pay is very high but the hours are low. TEachers aren't willing to work during all of those off hoursshich would elevate their pay greatly. But the main cause of shortages in certain areas is that many people want fulfilling work. Tey don't want to be bored and they don't want to be threatened in inner city schools.

My girlfriend spent several years getting into teaching (from scientist/biology jobs with master's degree) because it's one of the few jobs in her rural area. Low pay was one thing ($35K in a rural area). But the kids being monsters is why she quit after her first full year officially as a teacher, after previous years as a sub, full-time sub.

She told me that the classroom isn't like when we were kids in the '80s or '90s, where there were no disturbances in class, with maybe the rare kid being sent to the principal's office. It's full on crazy in a middle school or high school classroom (at least in this rural area), and the administration doesn't or can't back up the teachers. Kids will also lie and make up things to try to get the teachers or subs in trouble. What made her not continue this fall was a kid saying, "Suck my d..k" to her in front of the class.

That’s horrible and all too common. If I said something like that my father would of whipped me. However, that “kid” probably doesn’t even have a father in his life. Which brings me to my point. Is the lack of strong father figures a major cause for school chaos keeping teachers away?

Degrees and experience needed for average pay in the U.S. versus degrees and experience needed for average teacher pay?

Want to compare? It's a function of math, too!

Average teacher works 54 hours a week.

But you continue making up your own narrative.

edweek.org

Here's How Many Hours a Week Teachers Work

Ileana Najarro

Just under half that time is devoted to directly teaching students, new survey results show.

Open link

Mentioned in post #2. Try to keep up champ.

True but that wasn't his point. Teacher earn much more than the American. Most jobs have average pay if you discount for education and experience. When the Government publishes stats on what jobs pay well and what ones don't, they don't handicap the numbers.