Teachers say: Pay us more money and respect

Click below to see what teachers had to say in the ScholasticTeacher Voices 2000 Survey Source: Scholastic, Inc.

May 9, 2000
Web posted at: 11:35 a.m. EDT (1535 GMT)

In this story: In the political spotlight Need for tools 'The choicest of professions' Interactive map: Demand for teachers RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Beth Nissen
CNN.com Correspondent

(CNN) -- A new survey of the United States' leading teachers has a suggestion for every school struggling to recruit and retain the best classroom teachers: Pay them more money -- but pay them a lot more respect.

The survey, by Scholastic, Inc. and the Council of Chief State School Officers, asked 400 winners of national and state Teacher of the Year awards for solutions to America's growing teacher shortage -- the worst since the baby-boom years after World War II. According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 2 million new school teachers will be needed by 2002.

Eight out of 10 survey respondents cited the need for more competitive pay and better benefits. But an equal number wrote -- many at length, filling the margins and backs of their survey forms -- about the need for greater respect, from school administrators, legislators and society at large.

"Education needs to be held in higher esteem by the public," wrote a Pennsylvania geography teacher. "My best students openly admit they don't want to be teachers because they see a lack of respect for teachers."

"Instead of being denigrated at every turn, the teaching profession should be held up as something noble and respected," wrote a New Jersey high school social studies teacher.

VIDEO CNN's Pat Etheridge talks with Florida's teacher of the year and others. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     INTERACTIVE: Help Wanted: Launch the interactive map to see which U.S. regions report the greatest teacher demand, and in which fields     MESSAGE BOARD What are your thoughts on the treatment of teachers?     RELATED RESOURCE: 1999 National Teacher of the Year: Read Andy Baumgartner's e-journal, 'The Unsung Heroes'     SEE ALSO Scholastic.com: Teacher of the Year page

In interviews with CNN, several of the surveyed teachers said respect for their profession -- and for them personally -- has eroded with the increase in news stories and political speeches about falling test scores and failing students.

"There's a real spotlight being put on us politically," said Andy Baumgartner, an Augusta, Georgia, kindergarten teacher who was the 1999 National Teacher of the Year. "Part of that, unfortunately, has been turned into teacher-bashing -- an attempt to place the blame for all that's wrong with our public schools at the feet of teachers."

At the same time, most teachers surveyed said they were closed out of key discussions and decision-making on education reform.

"Look at the make-up of the problem-solving committees -- very often, there are no teachers there," said Norma Jackson, who was the 1999 Texas Teacher of the Year. "Respect is about valuing someone's opinion."

Respect is also about on-the-job treatment and working conditions, according to the teachers.

"If you respect a job, and the person that's doing the job, then you provide them with the tools to do that job well," said Stephanie King, an 11th grade history teacher in Miami and this year's Florida Teacher of the Year.

"While we have managed, in this country, to technologically advance the work of secretaries, even check-out clerks, teachers still work with No. 2 pencils," she said. "We still communicate by runners, from room to room and to the main office."

Several teachers wrote of having to pay for vital school supplies out of their own already-pinched pockets; of having no basic office equipment.

"They are not granted the adult privilege of using a phone if they need to make important calls during their work day," said Georgia teacher Baumgartner. "That's a respect issue."

Even traditionally low teacher pay is seen by many teachers as a respect issue.

"Our society rewards the people they respect -- rewards them financially, with certain kinds of perks," said King. "Low pay shows lack of respect."

Her students notice. "I have had students sit and talk with me and say, 'Look at your car compared to our cars,'" said King, with a laugh. "They say, 'Why would anybody want to be a teacher?'"

Many of the surveyed teachers argued that anyone who is a teacher deserves basic respect -- for doing the most important work in any society.

"This is the choicest of professions," said Faith Kline, a 4th grade teacher in inner-city Philadelphia and this year's Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. "Because everybody who is anybody was taught how to be somebody by a teacher."

From CNNfyi: Cheating Teachers
May 4, 2000
Chicago looks abroad for qualified teachers
April 13, 2000
Teachers offered incentives to move into poorer communities
March 13, 2000
Microsoft, Intel donation to help train 400,000 teachers
January 25, 2000

Scholastic, Inc.
American Association for Employment in Education
U.S. Department of Education
National Education Association

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.