Do you think teachers are paid too little?

[Looooop]

I've just read an article about a teacher (presumably who wasn't on MP1) who has to take on 2 other jobs to make ends meet.
I'm sure I'll get flamed, but ECTs start on 28k. I and other people live on way less than that, I don't understand why an experienced teacher of a few years should need 2 extra jobs?

The NEU is focused on teachers and does not give a shit about TAs. It does not represent TAs effectively. As for the other unions, they are also focused in other areas and are far too large now to have any meaningful representation of low-paid women workers. Size is not an asset to any organisation once it has begun to work for its own interests and the interests of its managers and has outstripped any knowledge of what it was meant to be for. The same process has destroyed most institutions and professions in this country.

For the responsibility and accountability we have and considering we have to do a postgrad qualification ( or spend an additional year training) teaching is poorly paid especially outside London. You now start at 30 and will max out on 46 k on UPS3

I am sorry but in this economy this is quite shite ...

Unfortunately my feelings towards teachers over the past few years has become more negative. It seems a self fulfilling prophecy to make your job harder, by continuously asking for more money, which should be contributed instead to employing more teachers to lessen the current workforces overload. There is only so much money in the pot. Spread it across greater numbers and make your job easier, would be the obvious solution, but teachers are a self righteous breed and would rather have the money in their own back pockets. Just the way a lot of parents see it I’m afraid.

I started teaching 20 years ago on a salary of £21K. House prices, energy bills etc have more than doubled since then. The minimum wage has more than doubled from an annual salary of about £12K to £25K. So a newly qualified teacher on £28K earns just above minimum wage and has far more student debt. Their pay has not kept pace. I don’t think they are alone in that. Even experienced teachers who are not senior leaders face paying 40% tax. It’s an absurd situation to have tax thresholds so lie relative to the cost of living. It’s not just impoverishing individually, it stagnates the economy and reduces job opportunities.

This is one of the stupidest analyses of the situation I have ever read.

We cannot hire enough people to be teachers on the wages currently offered because it is too low.

Making the wages lower wouldn't result in more teachers, it would result in even fewer.

Your opinion. Never said make the wages lower. I know plenty of excellent teachers who actually acknowledge they are on to a good thing compared to many. There aren’t many places of work where people wouldn’t wish for higher wages, and we are all relevant.

I guess if you have a child in a state school who doesn't currently have teachers for more than one of their GCSE subjects in the run-up to their exams, you might feel a bit differently about how well teachers are treated.

Yes and No, but I have the same opinion of most professions.

I know a few teachers and some of them work bloody hard for their money, I know they get 13 weeks annual leave a year, but some I know work through alot of that time off, plus late into every evening and weekends as well.

I also know one teacher who works 2 days a week, doesn’t lesson plan, doesn’t mark, leaves school as soon as the bell goes and is home by 3:30 everyday, doesn’t do a lot to be honest. Because of the days of the week she works, this stuff has already been done by the other teacher. She’s constantly complaining about how stressed she is, despite just needing to turn up and follow a lesson plan someone else has slaved over and god forbid she needs to take some marking home one in a blue moon. she definitely gets paid way too much!

Always makes me laugh when people say 'my mom was amazing. She worked three jobs to keep us kids....' Er yeah, probably seven hours each job

ODFOD. I have taught full time as a single parent for years. I also tutor. I also exam mark. I also run a holiday club. We can survive on my wages but I can't save without doing the extra. Have a think, eh?

Quite. It's bad out there. I work in an independent and we are currently on round 3 of advertising for a couple of roles. I qualified 15 years ago - one job was advertised that year within the distance I could reasonably travel. In the last 12 months, every local school within 20 minutes drive of my home has advertised in my subject area. 3 have advertised for HODs in addition to the teacher role. It's beyond worrying. Our children deserve so much better.