“Go visit your parents while they’re still conscious, aware, and able to reap nachas and pleasure from your visit”
Clearly the “Financial Literacy” letter hit a raw nerve. The snarky tone and lack of respect for our teachers’ incredible devotion sparked outrage and hurt feelings. Which is a shame, because there were some important points made in the letter, and perhaps even the kernel of a productive suggestion.
We all agree that teaching is a vitally important profession. That teachers invest their neshamos in their charges. That it’s more physically and emotionally intense than many desk jobs. That teachers deserve more prestige and a higher salary.
From the “Financial Literacy” letter and ensuing conversation, it also emerges that we agree on something else: Teachers should get paid for the work they do outside of the classroom as well. Including preparation, test marking, speaking to parents, and possibly professional enrichment. Caveat: This doesn’t include “thinking about my students all the time.” It’s beautiful and so appreciated, but a) many people think about ideas, concerns, priorities for their jobs off hours and b) only Hashem can gauge and quantify everyone’s thoughts.
If we all agree on the above, perhaps we can think about building a new pay scale for our teachers based on professional work ethics and standards. Most fundamentally, teachers’ salaries will include remuneration for both class time as well as an estimated number of hours of prep, marking papers, and communicating with parents. Understandably, newbie teachers might need to spend more time on their prep, and therefore they will make less per hour, but that is standard in most professional environments.
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