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Nicholas Bytendorp
Professor Jorgensen
English 1010
12/3/14
Educators and Professionalism Final Draft
Ask yourself for a moment where would you be without the teachers you have right now
or have had? We all want to be treated like a professional and paid like a professional when it
comes to our jobs. Without an education, no one could or perhaps would become the best person
they can become and achieve their full potential. Education is to help everyone fulfill their
dreams of becoming whatever they want to become which is why educators play an important
part in our futures. Educators should get paid like the professionals that they are as they need to
have a Bachelors and or Masters Degree in order to teach. Educators should be paid more
because they have a lot of responsibility, their salaries are very low, and many have to get a
second job to survive financially
Educators have so much they have to do with their job in order for their classrooms to run
smoothly during the school year. Teachers do a lot, just to help their students so they can pass
their classes and to be able to help them figure out what they are good at. Mr. Miller a high
school history teacher who has been teaching for 20+ years said, We come in early so that the
classroom is already for our students. Then sometimes a teacher will stay late after school is over
so we can grade papers, put grades in the compute and make sure our lessons are planned for the
next day. Sometimes we dont get everything done that we need to get done so we have to bring
our work home with us and spend our personal time which should be with our family just to get
everything done for the next day. I know its not for me but for my students and it take a lot of

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energy and sometime all my strength to do all of my responsibilities. (Miller) Not only do
teachers teach, but they also have meetings, trainings, and the responsibility to make sure their
students are learning and understanding what they need to learn to help them graduate but to also
help them feel like they can succeed in their life and in the future by preparing them the best way
educators know how.
So why do people want to becomes teachers? Or, why did the teachers we have want to
become teachers? One of my favorite teachers in high school who not only taught my health
class, but, also impacted my life told me during a personal interview People go into teaching to
help the future generation succeed in life and help them become something great in their future
and to see them grow and develop exactly what they want to do and see who they become
(Williams). What she is saying is look at the amount of impact we have on the future because
without us what would the future hold for our students? Who would be there to help our future
generation and how would they gain the knowledge to help them build up the nation and help a
lot of people who need it so much and how would they grow the way they do with being taught
in school and gaining the education that they will need.
Lets look at the income of an educator for a moment. Teachers dont make a lot of
money for everything that they do for us. For all the time they spend helping us be prepared for
life. The average salary of a teacher without experience is about $35,000. An experience teacher
with a master degree can make $69,000 (See Graph 1: How much teachers get paid state by
state) but the most a teacher will start at is about $30,000 to 35,000 a year. You will gain more
with the experience you gain. Still thats not a lot for a teacher to raise a family and to pay for all
the expenses that you need to have like a mortgage, cell phones, cars (maintenance, insurance,

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and gas), medical insurance, and food just to name a few. Thats not including the amount your
spouse is making if you have a spouse or not.

Fig. 1. Teachers Salary, from Valarie Strauss, How Much Teachers Get Paid --State by State, (The Washington Post,
2013)

Personally I know a lot of educators who had to get another job just so they can support
their families. Even though now a days, it takes both parents working to be able to afford a
home, kids etc., teachers put up with a lot just to get their paycheck and that is not fair. Since
educations seems to get cut more and more, many educators are using their own money to
purchase items for their classrooms. Thats less money they have for their family, bills and
everything else that they need. While observing a few teachers this year, I found out that the
heath teacher bought an item to help her show her students what one pound of fat looks like. The

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cost, $200.00 dollars. That is a lot of money for a teacher to take from their families budget.

Fig. 2. Whats a bachelor's degree worth 08-09, from unknown, Typical Starting Salaries of Physics Bachelors
(www.aps.org)

Lets take a look at a few other starting salaries of careers that require a Bachelors
degree. Out of the 15 jobs listed, 12 had a higher starting pay than a teacher and those that have a
higher salary than a teacher where about 45,000 to 60,000 depending on the state you live in (See
Graph 2: Whats a bachelors degree worth 08-09). Thats really saying something isnt if they
are low on salary compare to what other careers are making that have the same degree that an
educator needs. If you put the effort in with a degree why should some jobs get paid more than
the other for the same amount of hours spend at school to earn a degree. Why should
professional athletes make around $3.5 million dollars and they do not really make an impact of
the community or nations (I know this could be debated) while a teacher who does make an
impact on the community and nations makes nothing. .Mr. Miller also said this Since these kids
are the future shouldnt we have the very best teachers? But, those who would be great teaches

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are being taken away by the higher income jobs because money is everything right now and we
need money. (Miller)
If it wasnt for the teacher that we have had or will have, where would any of us be?
Think about it for a second! There would be a lot less professions because no one would have
the education that they need to be doctors, surgeons, computer programmers and the list can go
on and on. Lets take doctors as an example, if they didnt have any teachers then they wouldnt
have gained their knowledge to be able to perform their task of helping people get better. There
would be no surgeons to perform surgeries or diagnose diseases and disorders. If it wasnt for
their teachers who helped them gain that knowledge then the doctors would have to rely on herbs
and natural medicine for everything, just like in the olden times.
I had a teacher who has and still does impact me a lot. Her name is Emily Williams and
she was my health teacher and also my track coach. She helped me a lot while I was in high
school by seeing who I was and pushing me to become better as a student, runner. She even
helped me becomes the person I am today. If it wasnt for the influence she has in my life and
knowing that she will always be there to help me succeed. After I graduated from high school
and preparing to serve an LDS mission, she allowed me to come and help work with the track
team. My sister was going to have a baby while I was gone and this was hard for me. She took
the time to talk to me and allowing me to be an uncle to her daughters. She helped me realize
that I wanted to become a teacher and to be able to touch my students heart and to help them
become the best student and person they can become. I am not sure that I would be going to
school to be a teacher if it wasnt for her example. Im grateful for all the hard work that she did
for me and also for all of her students.

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I can see where people may be oppose to educators being paid like the professional that
they are since some people may argue that educators are not professional. According to the
dictionary, it states a professional is someone relating to a job that requires special education,
training, or skill. I would say a professional is someone who is getting paid and is acknowledge
for what he or she is doing and is making a career out of it. Teachers have requirements that they
need to do before they can become a teacher. First, all teachers need to have a Bachelors degree
and if you are going to teach secondary school, you need to specialize in a subject. Before you
get your degree, you must complete 3 months of unpaid student teaching or in other terms
teaching without being paid. During this time of student teaching, you become the teacher. You
are in charge of preparing lesson plans, testing, correcting papers and grading. After your student
teaching is complete, you have to take a test to become certified to teach. As you can see
educators do a lot for us and sometimes at their own sacrifice. So lets help them out by giving
them pay that they deserve because they are really professional.

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Works Cited
Miller, Steve. "Professional Interview." Personal Interview. 23 Oct. 2014.
"Professional." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Strauss, Valerie. "How Much Teachers Get Paid State by State." Washington Post. The Washington
Post, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. (Graph 1)
"Typical Starting Salaries of Physics Bachelors." Typical Starting Salaries of Physics Bachelors. N.p.,
(Graph 2)
Williams, Emily. "Professional Interview." Personal Interview. 21 Oct. 2014.