Well...I've pretty much had it. I've tried channeling all the compassion and empathy I could but I'm over it.
After the third or fourth email/social media post from a parent suggesting they should get paid my salary for the last three months of homeschooling/remote learning and that I should not get paid because the parents are doing my job for me, I just couldn't bite my tongue any longer. Now - keep in mind that I, too, am a parent of three school-age children. I get the struggles of keeping kids on task with remote learning and trying to help them complete the work and attend the daily meetings, etc. while also trying to complete my job (though - apparently - some parents would argue I actually haven't done my job. But that's not the point).
But I feel the need to address the pervading underlying issue that is a plague of our educational system. The system was designed to be broken.
Read that again.
The system was designed to be broken.
The establishment of our educational system was and is not sustainable. It does not keep pace with our ever-changing society. Our tax structures weren't built to fund the expanding system (and, thanks to our Secretary of Education, the expanding private school system as well). But through it all, teachers and support staff try to make it work.
But since the parents want to get paid, let's do it. Here would be the breakdown. Note that I'm using the high school level as the example since that is my personal experience.
As a teacher with six years experience, I make around $45,000 per year. I also have my Master's degree, which adds $2000 to that. So a total of $47,000. If we break that down per month (on a 12-month cycle since I opt for that), it is about $3900 per month. Now, this is before taxes and union fees and insurance costs, etc. So let's deduct those things and that leaves me at right around $2900 per month.
Now, since it has been /will be almost exactly 3 months since we closed down, we'll use that as our base number. I also have a student load of 90 students. So if I figure the amount paid per student per month, it would be $32 per student.
So for the last three months, our parents have made $128. Multiply that by however many students in the home. For example, I have three school-age children, so that would mean I deserve to get paid $384 total for the last three months.
However, I have also acted as an educational consultant providing materials for our new parent-teachers to use. Since this is America and our President truly believes in all avenues of business and entrepreneurs and getting paid what you are worth, I gladly will change my job title from teacher to educational consultant. So - my (former) teaching salary can go to pay the 90 parents of my students. I will also receive money since I've educated my own children (the $384). But, in addition, as an educational consultant, I will also earn the starting salary (since this was my first experience with it). This is between $59,000 and 65,000 per year so let's take the average from there.
If the average is $62,000 per year, that means I would make $5166 per month. Deduct money for insurance, taxes (but not union dues since I'm no longer a teacher!), and we'll say about $3875 per month. Multiply that by the three months I've been doing it, and that'll be $11,625.
Direct deposit is fine.
