President Obama came out saying the United States must out-compete and out-educate other developed and developing countries so we can remain the global leader of innovation. Two areas he cited specifically as needing special focus were mathematics and science. Reflecting upon these comments from our commander-in-chief and the national debate over teacher salaries taking center stage, it seems more clear than ever that Americans are definitely lagging behind–at least in math. Let’s break it down.
Regardless of what one believes a teacher’s role to be, at the most basic level, a teacher is a state-funded babysitter for children aged five to 18. This is not to say all teachers only babysit their students. The vast majority of these individuals provide an added service of instruction and motivation. That being said, times are tough and tax revenue isn’t what it used to be, so let’s go ahead and pay teachers what we pay the kid down the street to babysit: $3 an hour. Also, we cannot afford to pay for planning time or anything extra, only the six and a half hours spent each day with the children. Sacrifices simply must be made during hard times.
If you’re not one of the math-impaired individuals our president referenced in his recent address, some simple multiplication of three dollars an hour for six and a half hours a day leaves a teacher with a “babysitting” rate of 19.50 dollars per kid, per day. Multiply this figure by 30, the size of an average classroom, and a teacher is only scheduled to make $585 dollars per day. Keep in mind though that these lazy teachers only work 180 days per year, so multiply 585 by 180 and you reach an annual salary of $105,300.
The average teacher should make no more than $105,000 per year. However, statistical data shows that the average teacher in the U.S. makes a little less than $50,000 per year. Breaking that back down, if you haven’t gotten lost in the math yet, we discover that the average teacher, making fifty grand per year charges a rate of a mere $1.42 per hour to babysit his or her students. What a bargain.
High school math teachers nationwide should make note of this little exercise and have each one of their students do it for his or herself. With this knowledge, perhaps the next generation will not be so mathematically dim-witted as to call teachers overpaid babysitters. The fact of the matter is that teachers are highly underpaid professionals who put in many hours beyond those claimed on a timesheet and studies have found that if a parent is to leave a child with a teacher long enough, there is an incredibly high probability that this child will grow up more educated than if he or she was left with some kid down the street who would likely charge more than just $1.42 per hour.
