Education Myths that Eliminate Good Teachers

Myth #3: Teachers are paid too much.  This of course is one of the greatest canards in the education debates – especially amongst those bent on breaking unions.  Recently, Mother Jones Magazine compiled a list of average pay across the country, and as is evident from what they found, it varies widely (again, due to the differences in local funding).  While there are many ways that unions can modernize and become more flexible (speaking as a former VP of my local – I am extremely pro-union, but I do know that the union model is one from a past century and could definitely be updated while still strongly advocate for teachers and students), it was unions that set the bar high enough that teachers at least make average professional salaries commensurate to their education and training in most urban areas of the country.  One of the negotiations unions made early on was that teachers would accept lower professional wages in exchange for secured pensions, similar to other state workers and private pensions that were prevalent during the mid-20^th century.  But now those pensions are being robbed because states are unable or unwilling to fulfill their commitment to retired teachers.  Consequently, due to the impact of the failing economy, teachers that intended to retire can no longer afford to do so.  Many GenX teachers, like myself, and now Millennial teachers, expected that Baby Boomer teachers would be retiring in droves by now, opening up opportunity for rising, eager and qualified teachers.  But because that is now off the table for so many Baby Boomers, who face a much more uncertain retirement than they expected, those jobs are still occupied.

When we believe these myths, we create more layers through which we must wade in order to understand the nature of the problems in our profession.  Instead, why not discuss how to value teachers more in order to create a profession that draws in and retains the most qualified and motivated educators around the country?  Making equity across the country a priority, building up and supporting teachers rather than treating them as the enemy, and focusing on conditions in schools for students and teachers – those are the reforms that will truly improve our schools, make teaching what it was meant to be for employed teachers, and bring back those qualified teachers that are currently missing from classrooms.

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