History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Do teachers care about pay? Yes, but not as much as you think.
- 12-09-2011
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By Laura Bornfreund/New America Foundation
I used to be a teacher: I wanted to excite children about learning and help shape the minds of the next generation. But like nearly 50 percent of teachers, I left the classroom before my fifth year. And while a higher salary would have been nice, it would not have kept me in the classroom. A recent report from the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute have spurred yet more shouting matches in an already hopelessly ungrounded debate about today's teachers. The report claimed that teachers are overpaid and raised the ire of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "Money is not the reason that people enter teaching," he said. "But it is a reason why some talented people avoid teaching – or quit the profession when starting a family or buying a home." I'm no fan of the Heritage/AEI report, but Duncan's criticisms left me shaking my head, too. Both sides are missing the bigger picture. (more...)
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