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Inservice

H2Daddy

Shared on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 16:22
As a teacher, I must go to inservices each summer to make me a better teacher.  Todays inservice was spent touring two of the local industries in my small town.  The first makes rubber automotive parts.  Here we toured the plant.  Didn't seem like a bad place to work.  After lunch we toured a Wal-Mart distribution center.  Again doesn't seem a bad place to work.  Most of the employees have a high school diploma or a ged.  I guess what disturbs me is the kind of money these people were making.  I was always raised to get the most education  that I could.  I was always told that people with more education made more than those without.  Now before I begin, let me say that I love my job.  No complaints there.  I have a Master's degree.  I have been teaching for 15 years.  I learned today that I can work in either of these places I visited today and if I had been there for 15 years, I would be making a lot more than I am as a teacher.  Now I am not interested in changing careers at this point in my life but it does get me to thinking.  What in the world was I thinking getting into teaching?

Comments

Big0ne's picture
Submitted by Big0ne on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 16:32
The necessity of higher education is an agenda/myth pushed by colleges and universities in order to continue to make big $ off of sky rocketing tuition costs. Most jobs require skills that can be either learned on the job or in a trade or tech school. Ask most college grads and they'll tell you they learned more the first year on the job then all the time spent in college. Of course this doesn't apply to specialized fields like medicine or rocket scientists but you get the picture.
TDrag27's picture
Submitted by TDrag27 on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 16:38
H2Daddy - There is definitely something wrong with the system in terms of how teachers are paid - no doubts about that. Your job is probably 15 times more rewarding than Wal-Mart employees and that counts for something...But I know what the starting salaries are for teachers in my area, and they're far too low. And BigOne - Yes, there's a lot that you can learn on the job...But college is a place where you get what you put in. So if your coworkers didn't get much out of it, I would guess they didn't put much into it either.
NotStyro's picture
Submitted by NotStyro on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 18:03
H2D, it is easy to say that if you had worked at company X for 15 years you would have a much better salary, benefits, etc. The reality is that it would be extremely unlikely you would have been able to stay with company X, Y, or Z for 5 years, much less 15 years. I think it would be very difficult to get noticed, promoted, and play the corporate politics games. Beside, like TDrag27 alluded, a successful teaching position is much more than any corporate stooge job will ever be. It is quite a poor reflection on our society that we don't reward our teachers with proper pay, benefits and respect.
NotStyro's picture
Submitted by NotStyro on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 18:06
er, a successful teaching position is much more rewarding, even if intangibly, than any corporate stooge job will ever be.
H2Daddy's picture
Submitted by H2Daddy on Thu, 07/26/2007 - 18:39
I agree with everything everyone is saying. I love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything. I guess we are always thinking the grass is greener on the other side.
supergg2k's picture
Submitted by supergg2k on Fri, 07/27/2007 - 08:15
I'm guessing you were thinking about doing something you love instead of doing something for money. What I wish for my kids...and for anyone really...is that they have a job/career that they love that allows them to support themselves and their family.

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