Teacher’s Pay

Teachers have an imperative role in our society, they play a major part in the lives of children by assisting them to acquire the knowledge they need.Teachers have always been shaping the future by educating their students with passion and providing support. In our society today teachers don’t get the appreciation, respect and money they deserve.There is a major misconception in our society where we seem to overlook the teacher’s duties and the amount of pressure they face each day. Teachers deserve to be paid a reasonable rate and given appreciation for their hard work .Many people would agree that teachers are relied on to educate and guide their students to the best of opportunities. We extremely depend on teachers to shape children into bright and well educated individuals. People don't get into teaching for the higher pay rates ,but instead they enter this field because of their passion to pass on knowledge and make a difference in children’s lives. Teachers in victoria earn about $60,000in their first year compared to a electricinist who makes up to $80,000 a year which is a very shocking amount. Teachers are expected to teach, provide, support and work outside hours.

As our generation continues to grow the demand on teachers skills increases, they are expected to prepare students for the future and counsel them.Teachers use counseling techniques daily and our society fails to realize that they are, an example of this behavior is when students misbehave teachers approach with respect and discuss how they can respond to the situation differently, that is a basic form of cognitive behavioural therapy. Teachers are not trained to counsel students, however they are expected to deal with issues outside their field without proper preparation. As fellow citizens of our country we want the best education for our children, but fail to see the amount of responsibilities teachers are expected to fulfil and how little they are paid, by showing support and understanding of the relevance of teachers in our children’s lives we could make a difference. Teachers are extremely involved in our children's lives they are anticipated to teach students skills that will shape them into well educated and responsible citizens of our society. A Recent study conducted by the Australian Government in 2014 on the latest figure from the Australian bureau of statistics suggests that 53% of people who hold a teaching degree do not currently work in an education field. This is an outrageous number of teachers leaving the field due to many reasons such as unsatisfactory pay rates, we do not have to make teachers choose between their passion and income.

Teachers are not only expected to educate, but also work an absurd measure of hours outside their work hours.Teachers in Australia work approximately 60 hours a week according to a recent survey by the AEU,compared to a physiotherapist who typically works 37 hours a week and gets paid $64,416 annually. We tend to rely on teachers to complete tasks and plan lessons outside their work hours to give our children the best opportunities which in other professions would not be tolerated. Majority of professions in Australia get the appreciation and money for the time spend working over their job expectancy, while teachers feel the duty to work overtime without pay.

Teaching isn't as straightforward as it is made out to be, many people assume that teachers have it easy and finish early, but fail to see how teachers go above and beyond their job expectancy to meet students needs and spend countless unpaid hours marking, planning, and counseling students with issues. A large percentage of our society assumes that becoming a teacher is a simple task, requiring few years of training and you're on your way to changing many lives, but the reality is that becoming a teacher requires a lot of time and investment. To become an Australian qualified teacher it requires at least an overall 70 study score and 4 years in Uni. Universities in Australia are extremely overpriced and require a payment of $27,900 it is approximately half of what a qualified teacher would generally make in their first year of teaching. After a person completes their Uni course they are also required to undertake a police background check.A teacher's role in our society is extremely important; they educate, support and provide support for our children and their importance needs to be valued and esteemed. As fellow citizens of our country we need to support their hard work and demand for the pay rates they deserve.

Cite this page