A huge debate in recent years has started about whether or not teachers should be paid more than they are. On average, a new teacher in the United States of America makes $38,000 a year. The amount that teachers earn per year is absolutely not enough for the importance of their job. Teachers are the foundation of childhood education which hopefully leads to continuing education later on in college. Here are just a few reasons why teachers deserve to be paid more:
1. Teachers pay for supplies out of their pocket most of the time.
Teachers having to buy their own supplies has become all too "normal". Our teachers will go and buy supplies for their classroom or for their students that cannot afford materials of their own. Teachers deserve to have supplies already available to them but it is not always the case.
2. Often times teachers will offer out-of-school help/tutoring.
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Out of school tutoring is completely unpaid and up to the teacher to volunteer a lending hand after hours. Many teachers do so unselfishly, but they deserve to be recognized for it.
3. Teachers spend a lot of time outside of school planning lessons.
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Unless you have gone through the trouble of lesson planning you truly don't know the struggle of figuring out what to do and how you should go about the lesson. In the beginning stages of a teaching career, it is a lot of trial and error so multiple lessons may need to be made up which takes hours of work outside of the classroom.
4. Teachers often times help supervise during lunchtime and have bus duty.
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Teachers usually will take turns giving up their lunch or their time after school to help supervise kids in elementary or middle school. They deserve to be recognized for helping out with this part of their job as well.
5. Teachers sometimes fill in as a parental figure for some students.
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Many students, especially in low-income areas, lack a strong parental figure in their at-home life. Sometimes, teachers become a parental figure for students and they only feel comfortable talking to their teacher. Teachers take in so many students and get to know them as individuals, make sure they're okay, and can offer guidance if a student needs help. Sometimes a teacher is all that some students have.
