Essay on Why Teachers Should Be Paid More

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to sign a petition that will help teachers get a raise on their average salary compared to athletes

Thesis: Instead of paying pointless athletes millions of dollars, Teachers deserve to be praised in the best way possible due to their financial struggles, the ability to instill qualities that students will use in their daily lives, and the countless work hours in and out of the classroom that goes unnoticed.

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I. The Attention Step

• Attention: A. Wouldn't it be amazing to make nearly $120 million a year simply to play a sport? Lionel Messi, along with many other professional athletes, certainly agrees. But do these players really deserve all that money?
• Significance: B. We continue to see professional athletes sign contracts for millions of dollars a year. I have yet to comprehend how any athlete is worth that kind of money. I’m not jealous, but I’ve always been struck by the unfairness of it. How can we pay professional athletes that type of money to play a game, and those who teach and mold our future be paid such an insignificant amount in comparison?
• Relevance: C. Teachers should earn a higher salary. Teachers are molding and educating our future generations, which has a much more lasting effect on our nation's existence than a professional athlete. Doing a difficult job, such as properly educating students, requires a lot of patience and hard work. The future of our nation depends on teachers to teach the next generation of Americans.
• Credibility: D. After extensive research on the salaries of teachers versus Athletes I feel strongly that Teachers are unvalued in the field of education. As a student, I value a teacher that will go out of their way to guide me in the best way possible toward my future goals. Most of the teachers throughout my high school journey never fail to spend countless hours to make sure I am on the right track and I truly believe they deserve higher pay for the amount of work they do that goes unnoticed.
• Thesis: E. Instead of paying pointless athletes millions of dollars, Teachers deserve to be praised in the best way possible due to their countless work hours in and out of the classroom, financial struggles, and the ability to instill qualities that students will use in their daily lives.
• Preview: F. Teachers aren’t being recognized enough and don’t make the amount of money they deserve compared to athletes. This poses a significant and lasting threat to our education as students. With that general statement of the problem, I would like now to comment in more detail on three matters of concern: the financial instability of a teacher, the countless hours of work they do that go unnoticed, and a solution for a better education system.

II. The Need Step

A. First Main Point As I see it the first component of the problem is that teachers barely make enough to satisfy their needs.

1. First I will briefly describe the financial issues teachers go through.

• a. Many people know that teachers are underpaid. No one wants to have a job that underpays and devalues them. Some teachers have to work a second job, just to make ends meet. Teachers impact our society tremendously. If we underpay them, we are not valuing their importance. They teach students, inspire them, and look after the well-being of students. We as a country need to take initiative in our education. To do this, we need to start by paying our teachers more and giving them recognition for all that they do.
• b. The average teacher salary in the United States is $57,719 as of January 20, 2020, but the range typically falls between $50,390 and $66,631. (salary.com)
• c. Inflation has also decreased teachers’ salaries. According to the NEA (National Education Association), the average classroom teacher's salary has decreased by $1,823.
• d. Kobe Bryant is able to make at least $18,000 for every minute played in the NBA during 2015–16. In just 3 minutes of playing the game, athletes come close to the amount teachers make a year. (Sports Illustrated) Teachers do more than just simply dribble a ball and make baskets. As we look at these players who we pay millions of dollars to in order to watch them play a sport, I wonder if we could just give a small percentage of the money, time, and enthusiasm to the people who really deserve to get paid more and who actually, most likely, make a much bigger impact on your life – your teachers and mentors– the people who prepare you for really living your life not a game that is used for entertainment.

2. Second, I will describe how teachers shape students into mature adults later on in life.

• a. Teaching is a profession that makes an impact. Teachers make an impact on students' lives every day. During my years of schooling, there have been many teachers who have made an impact on me and helped me get to where I am now. I do not think that inspiring teachers should be underpaid. They make a huge impact on each and every one of their students and they need to be acknowledged for it.
• b. According to the Teacher Salary Project, 77 percent of adults felt that teaching was one of the most under-appreciated professions in the U.S.
• c. Studies also prove that a great teacher can instill a year and a half’s worth of learning in a student in one year. (Teacher Salary Project)

B. Second Main Point The second component of the problem is that we don’t realize the countless hours that teachers spend during and outside of school.

1. In most other professions, employees do not have to take their work home. Teachers, on the other hand, have to take their work home. They have to spend hours coming up with lesson plans that will engage students. They also have to spend time grading their students’ assignments, tests, and quizzes and because they do not have time out of their day to spend doing this, they have to take their work home. It is important to take into account the average teacher's salary and the hours they spend at work.

• a. Teachers work an average of ten hours per day and 1,927 hours per school year. (Teacher salary project)
• b. Many believe that Teachers are well paid because they have summers off.

This is not the case, Students are the ones that have summers off. Teachers spend summers working second jobs, teaching summer school, and taking classes for their renewal of certification or to pursue higher degrees. Teachers are only paid for the days that are in their contract to work. (NEA)

[Now that we have a clear understanding of the problem, let me share my solution with you.]

III. The Satisfaction Step

• A. First Main Point An effective solution could have two components. We first need to look at the first component to solve this issue. We should urge the board of education to support the raise of salary among teachers. Paying teachers what they should be paid can completely transform the education system.
• B. Second Main point The second component of the solution is to urge legislators to stop destructive policies that hurt public schools and suppress salaries. These policies include: diverting much-needed funding to charter schools. If our country is serious about helping students, then teachers should be well taken care of. Their professional work deserves professional pay. If we want to attract and retain top-tier talent in the teaching career so that we can build a world-class K-12 public education system, we have no choice but to forcefully raise teacher salaries.

IV. The Visualization Step

• A. First Main Point Teachers have a great deal of stress already due to the amount of work they have involving planning, grading, etc. On top of this, their financial status does not help in any way either. Teachers deserve to be making millions and millions of dollars because their work will be used by millions of students around the country. Visualize this: If teachers were paid like athletes you would see the smartest people wanting to become teachers and other Kids would want to grow up wanting to be teachers just like kids grow up wanting to be pro athletes and that would have a positive impact on future generations. Teachers would also be motivated financially and seen as prestigious driving the latest cars, having huge houses, and living worry-free. They could also be featured on television just like famous athletes and be featured as the top teachers. This would completely change the way we view our education system.

V. The Action Step

• A. Brief Summary In closing, I really believe that the education system for teachers can be majorly improved. These statistics should have shown how we take our education for granted and the reasons teachers deserve higher pay. It amazes me how we give so much recognition to athletes when in reality without a teacher these players wouldn’t be able to make it to the playoffs and be as successful as they are today. We owe our teachers a huge thank you and what better way than to raise their pay?
• B. Physical Action Today, please sign my petition to help raise the pay of teachers. Without their guidance and hard work, none of us would be where we are right now.
• C. Facilitate Action Won’t you help me effectuate this change? You can all take out your phones and use the link to support and take a stance for higher pay for teachers. I sincerely hope that all of you will come together and encourage one another to take the steps towards a better life for teachers. If the board of education and students worldwide show their value for teachers, it will not only benefit us but them as well. It is time they shine like a true athlete and get the pay they deserve. Our knowledge is in the hands of our mentors!