An Educational Renumeration Lament

In a column for MotherJones.com, Dave Eggers laments teachers needing to take on second jobs to make ends meet, as if the teaching profession is the only profession where individuals need to take on second jobs, and states the following as a comparison statement.

”... We pay orthodontists an average of $350,000, and no one would say that their impact on the lives of kids is greater than a teacher’s..."

A couple of things.  First, the orthodontist is paid by the market, not the state run machine.  The orthodontist is paid by how many smile challenged butts can be run through the dental chairs in the office.  One who worked on my kids, had eight chairs, filled with butts at all times, eight hours per day, and could put a fresh smile challenged butt in the chair every fifteen minutes.  Payment expected at time of service, or, per your orthodontal installment contract.  As for whom has a greater impact on kids lives, look around you, what’s more important, appearance, which can be seen, look at those smiles, or education, which cannot be seen, or measured, until someone opens their mouth and begins spouting off, with a nice smile?

Are teachers under compensated?  Maybe, but they cannot expect to get rich off the public’s nickels.

“Reading, Writing, and Landscaping."

Via Arts & Letters Daily.

Update: There’s always Vegas.  “Crossing the Border Into the Middle Class." No degree required.

"With the food server’s course now under her belt, Ms. Diaz has made an impressive leap in status and income. Busing tables, she made $500 a week, or $25,000 a year, but as a waitress, her wages and tips total about $20 an hour, or $40,000 a year.

Ms. Diaz is doing so well that her husband, Manuel, a burly six-foot construction worker, says he jokingly tells friends: “She’ll be earning so much that I’m going to be able to quit my job and take care of the house. So when she arrives home, there will be steaming food on the table."

Posted by on 06/03 at 02:19 AM

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