Running head: THE UNDERPAID AND OVERWORKED AMERICAN TEACHER

The Underpaid and Overworked American Teacher

Emily Keiser
James Madison University

THE UNDERPAID AND OVERWORKED AMERICAN TEACHER

Introduction:
Teachers salaries have been a very controversial issue since the early 2000s, especially since No
Child Left Behind has taken effect. Most Americans believe that the average teacher is underpaid
for the job they do in and out of the classroom, but many also, especially politicians, believe the
opposite. I am going into the education field despite the inequality, but it is not something that I
enjoy thinking about. As my peers and I are getting older and will be having children of our own
in the next decade, I dont want my children to have teachers burdened by their pay, or more
personally be negatively affected by the financial aspects of being a teacher. Now that this has
been a controversial topic for over a decade, it is time for a change. This impacts almost
everyone in America, because their child, grandchild, niece or nephew, cousin, or friends child
has to go through this system that is unfair to their biggest and most important resource.

Adamson, F. & Darling-Hammond, L. (2011, May). Speaking of salaries: What it will take to get
qualified, effective teachers in all communities. Center for American Progress. Retrieved
from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED536080.pdf.
This report by the Center for American Progress about getting effective teachers in every area
addressed both the issue of not having effective educators everywhere and how to solve the
problem. Though the articles main focus is not about teachers being underpaid, the reason for the
issue is insignificant salaries and therefore is also the solution to the problem. They include a fair
amount of examples and research from various areas across the country. The report is aimed at

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defining the problem, analyzing it, and then finding the solution. They state the main solution to
getting well-qualified teachers across communities is to raise and balance teachers salaries.
Adamson and Darling-Hammond both have a long list of qualifications in the educational
and political fields. While aiming to inform and persuade, their main audience are state officials,
politicians, and the United States congress. They want the states and congress to
increase and equalize salaries to improve the pool of teachers and level the playing field across
districts (p. 31). This would also persuade teachers to work in high poverty areas and stay in
their profession for a longer time. It doesnt mention opposing ideas, but the report isnt biased
because it is all based on research and statistics. The main point of this report is still very
relevant other than some of the statistics not being perfectly accurate.
Speaking of Salaries will add to my paper because it is a politically aimed article filled with
research and solutions to the lack of qualified teachers. Although it does not address my problem
specifically, the issue of teachers being poorly paid is a major aspect in the report. It is more
academic and much longer than some of my other articles. Many issues that have resulted from
low teacher pay are discussed and elaborated in this article, which makes it very useful.
Calegari, N. C., & Eggers, D. (2011, May 1). The high cost of low teacher salaries. New York
Times. Retrieved from http://nytimes.com/.
Ninive Clements Calegari and Dave Eggers discuss the problems that most American public
school teacher face, such as being underpaid and being blamed for low test scores. The article
mentions how over half of teachers have additional jobs, and are already overworked and
disrespected. They are aiming to persuade Americans that the country needs education reform by
using examples of how effective and well-working the education systems are in Finland, South
Korea, and Singapore. The article compare statistics about American educators to stats about the
educators in the three example countries, as well as using a lot of pathos. They also give a
solution to the issues in this fairly brief but concise and powerful article.

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The intended audience for this New York Times article is Americans who care for the
countrys childrens education and future. The authors are credible based on the fact that they
work for one of the most reputable news outlets in the country. The article is biased though and
does not acknowledge any opposing viewpoints, other than at the end where possible opposition
to spending more money on education is invalidated by the authors saying How did we pay for
the equally ambitious project of sending Americans to the moon? We had the vision and we had
the will and we found a way (para. 16). Although the article is from 2011, teachers salaries are
still a problem 4 years later.
The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries is helpful to my research because it provides a very
passionate but statistically accurate viewpoint. Although the article is biased, that doesnt
invalidate the facts it includes. It adds a reference to other educational systems around the world,
and how our academics and teachers compare to theirs. It gives quality background information
that is easily comprehendible for almost any reader, and draws more on pathos and logos than
most of my other articles.
National Council on Teacher Quality. (2014, December). Smart money: What teachers make, how
long it takes, and what it buys them. Retrieved from http://www.nctq.org/.
The National Council on Teacher Qualitys report of what teachers actually make at the
beginning, end, and overall in their career shows the difference in pay across the country, as well
as in comparison to how long it takes other professionals to reach max salary. The report includes
many graphs and tables showing things like trajectory of teachers earnings compared to other
professions, differences is salaries over 30 years of teaching, and years to maximum salary in
different districts. The main goal is to inform with a large range of stats from a large number and
variety of samples. The conclusion is that it takes too long for teachers to reach maximum salary
which results in them being underpaid for too long and leaving the field for something with more
compensation.

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This article is targeted towards policy makers since the NCTQ is a research and policy group.
It is a reliable source with a mission to let every child have efficient teachers and to be a voice for
teachers to be paid what they rightfully earn. They want to give reliable statistics and information
about teachers all across the country and at different stages in their career so that more policy
makers and people in general will become rightfully informed about what educators do make and
on what timeline. The report is not biased at all and mostly presents stats, not opinions. In the
conclusion, NCQT does say It is time for school districts to rethink compensation systems (p.
15), but that is completely based on the statistics presented. The article was written in 2014 and
the data was collected from 2013-2014 so the information and statistics are still very relevant.
Smart Money by far includes more statistics compared to the rest of my articles. It shows
very accurate number and research, and displays it in way that the average person may not think
of, like showing how long it takes a teacher to reach max salary. It also shows that the way
education systems pay is different everywhere, even in very similar and comparable cities. This
adds a non-biased source to my paper that is very open to interpretation and use to argue my
point.
Phillips, A. M. (2011, September 24). Film examines the challenging economics facing teachers.
New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/.
Anna Phillips gives a summary and more insight on a film that came out in September of 2011
called, American Teacher which is a movie based on a book called Teachers Have It Easy that
depicts the average American teacher who has at least one other job while trying to balance
their students and own family. It also talks about why qualified and highly educated teachers do
not stay at most of their jobs long, with the answer being the low pay. The film makes the point
that teachers in New York City make more than the ones in Oklahoma because of the cost of
living. Teachers in New York have to pay significantly higher rent or mortgages, and so they

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spend more money overall. But even the teachers in that area, feel bad for the ones cross-country
in more rural areas, because they make less even with their cost of living being lower.
This article is targeted towards New York City residents specifically, but also anyone who
cares about educators or the education system and also enjoys documentaries. At the end, a
showing of the film is mentioned in Manhattan, but it also says that there will be other screenings
of American Teacher around the country. Phillps even got a first-hand interview with one of the
teachers featured on the film. At 3:30 p.m., when the last class ends, Ms. Fidler, a first-grade
teacher at Public School 261 in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, heads to her second job, where she tutors
children until 5:30 (para. 2). Ms. Fidler gives stories from her own life, which is a very good
addition to the article. Since she works for one of the most well-respected newspapers in America,
Phillips would be considered a reliable source. Her article is biased towards supporting the movie
which advocates that teachers are underpaid, but she does mention the films opposition of
politicians and others who believe teachers have summers off and easy jobs. This article is still
very current and is still a controversial issue.
American Teacher was produced by Ninive Clements Calegari and Dave Eggers who wrote
the previous article I used, The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries. This article adds to my paper
because it uses a first-hand account from a teacher, and uses a lot of pathos. It also talks directly
about how the cost of living is different in different areas, so no single community is underpaying
their teachers, but instead all of them are.
Richwine, J., Biggs, A., Mishel L., & Roy J. (2012). The compensation question. Education Next,
12. Retrieved from http://educationnext.org/the-compensation-question/.
Jason Richwine and Andrew Biggs take the side of American teachers being overpaid, while
Lawrence Mishel and Joydeep Roy argue that the American teacher is significantly underpaid.
All four economists are very opinionated about the subject and are determined to prove their side
right. They want to persuade the reader to take their side and reject the opposition. R and B use

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statistics about pay and benefits of being a teacher to prove that teachers are overpaid for the job
they do and the qualifications they have, while M and R reinterpret those statistics and introduce
some of their own to disprove that educators are overpaid. R and B discuss salaries in
comparison to skills, fringe benefits, job security, and how raising wages would not improve
teacher quality. M and R compare wage to education and skill and discuss current wages of
former teachers, private vs. public schools, compensating differentials, benefits, and plausibility.
All the writers are economists so they are very reputable in the financial world, but do not
have as much experience in the education field. They may have family or friends in the education
system, but to be speaking so strongly about what teachers should be paid, it may be helpful if
they had a little more experience. Their target audience is readers of Education Next who are
people who are probably very interested in the subject matter. It is also very easily found online
so might be used by others who are interested in the topic. There is not bias because both sides of
the argument over teachers salaries are addressed very thoroughly. The article is only 4 years old
and still very applicable to today.
The Compensation Question is a great addition to my paper because it shows both sides of
my argument very well. It also references American Teacher at one point which was the main
subject of one of my previous sources. It adds a major analysis of the opposing viewpoint to my
paper, but I side with M and R and the fact that American teachers are underpaid.