Reply #8: We actually pay our teachers more than in Finland

[exboyfil]

The difference is that our other college majors earn even more than those in Finland. That in general is driven by market forces in this country. Part of the market force would be the lower numbers of degreed individuals on a percentage basis when compared with Finland (27% versus 40% in Finland).

You have to look no further than a Math teacher which recently started at our High School. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Naval Academy and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Western Michigan. He has over ten years of industry experience. My employer in the area would hire him for $80,000 at a minimum, but he is teaching at the High School for less than $40,000. He was certified under a special program and has been teaching at a Lutheran High School before obtaining the public school position. I guess he loves it, but his family is paying a price for his commitment. His wife is a professor at our local university so it is also a lifestyle decision (convenience of schedule which matches younger childrens for example).

You argue to pay them more (let us say an additional $20,000). We have approximately 370 teachers in our school system and a population of 40,000. This works out to be $740 for a family of four. I would argue it is a good investment if I get some say on which teachers we retain. Some our worth more than $60,000 while others aren't worth a dime.



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/education/16teachers.html

According to O.E.C.D. data, the average salary of a veteran elementary teacher here was $44,172 in 2008, higher than the average of $39,426 across all O.E.C.D countries (the figures were converted to compare the purchasing power of each currency).

But that salary level was 40 percent below the average salary of other American college graduates. In Finland, by comparison, the veteran teacher’s salary was 13 percent less than that of the average college graduate’s.

In an interview, Mr. Schleicher said the point was not that the United States spends too little on public education — only Luxembourg among the O.E.C.D. countries spends more per elementary student — but rather that American schools spend disproportionately on other areas, like bus transportation and sports facilities.

“You can spend a lot of money on education, but if you don’t spend it wisely, on improving the quality of instruction, you won’t get higher student outcomes,” Mr. Schleicher said.