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HomicidalHushPuppy t1_jbt3ufb wrote

Increase pay, reduce the cost of college and remove unnecessary courses from college requirements, give teachers avenues to push back against problem kids and parents, and do something about the toxic work politics you see within school districts and the unions. Also make it easier to get into teaching without having to be a sub or some other egregiously-underpaid position for years on end.

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PinsAndBeetles t1_jbtnleu wrote

I have my MA and am Elementary certified and haven’t entered a classroom since 2011 because the starting salaries in my area are in the low-mid $30K range. There are several other teachers at my current job who also can’t take a pay cut to enter the classroom again.

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Old_Moment7914 t1_jbuldam wrote

I’m a ham and live on northern border , talk to Canadians everyday who bitch there teachers are making $80k , I’m like do you want an educated child who grows into a well reasoned adult or do you want the average American ? You can pay your teachers well now or you can pay with idiots later , it’s that simple , I am very proud to be well educated by some amazing teachers , I easily became a life time learner because I had teachers who inspired the best in us , unfortunately within a few years of my graduation many of these teachers were replaced with inferior models who work cheap and the the whole abortion of No child left behind happened and ended all electives in school ( I had wood shop, metal shop, automotive , small engine repair, pottery, photography , year book , home economics , Spanish, French , drivers education , swimming , sculpting , archery among the many that I took ) that sadly don’t exist anymore . I had such a great experience in elementary school that’s also no longer done ,the entire school participated in hunting turkeys ,growing vegetables , picking apples , peeling and chopping apples potatoes and then cooking the meal in fire pits in huge cast iron Dutch ovens , some of my best memories even after more than 50 years . Back in those days your teacher was determined by your last name so I had the same teachers as my older sister and brother , so there was a strong family bond already when I got to school . A good or bad teacher can make or break a child’s future. TYFYS to all the educators on this thread , you don’t feel the love in your paycheck , but there are many who love you and respect your service and sacrifice .

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Yankiwi17273 t1_jbueg48 wrote

Also, increase opportunities for salary increases over time. Due to the school district just deciding to not play nice with the teacher’s union, my mom’s last 5-10 years of teaching was at the same rate, and about half of that was without an active contract.

But don’t worry. They had enough money for a brand new turfed up football stadium

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ltahaney t1_jbv44p3 wrote

Reducing college requirements in general is a good idea. Many many many places a bachelor's is only 3 years, and society still functions. This applies to more topics than just teaching though, and it will also never happen.

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underwear11 t1_jbxl7hx wrote

Pay is a huge one, but also the lack of additional supports for special needs has made teaching terrible. I know several teachers that quit because they struggled with dealing with difficult kids in the classroom that could have been dealt with by having aids or additional options to support those students. Instead, they just put them in the class and expect the teacher to have the normal classwork, plus modified classwork to address special needs, and be able to provide everyone the amount of support they need. Add in frustrated parents and politics and the pay becomes 5x too little.

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SeptasLate t1_jbuygtl wrote

I agree with some of what you said but what are the unnecessary college classes/requirements and the toxic parts of unions?

The need to build up a resume by substitute teaching was from before the shortage when there was too much competition for limited openings.

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hellyeah227 t1_jbw7cgk wrote

Colleges claim that you need a "well rounded education" and it's their way of adding classes that you don't need as a required part of your degree. For example, I was a journalism major and still had to take multiple math classes, science classes, and a foreign language class - none of which was applicable to being a journalist in the slightest. The first two years of my four year degree were these general education requirements.

There are many degree programs that could be simplified and take two or three years. In Europe, many business school programs are only a year, for example. That way, you spend less money in loans, can enter the workforce earlier and it's less expensive to go back to school for further training.

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SeptasLate t1_jbwacow wrote

Yeah I can see an arguement that some career training programs dont need to be a bachelors degree but simple certification. Although I will say everyone really should learn a foreign language, if only to be aware other cultures exist.

I'm just not sure if educators do not need a well rounded education especailly with how k-12 tends to teach all of those subjects and those subjects tend to intersect.

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