Spring Break
Letter to the Editor: Economy unrewarding for teachers
Issue date: 3/31/09 Section: Opinions
As a graduate of some years of the school of education, I would like to advise those of you planning to be teachers:
Don't do it. Lord, don't do it.
There are a glut of unemployed teachers in every state in the Union. In Florida, California and other states, existing teachers are getting pink slips for the new school year.
Here in Tampa, new teachers start at about $31,000 and yearly increases are small at best. Many certified teachers are working as subs at $11 per hour. That's right, $55 per day.
Tell me, can you pay off your school loans, own a car and eat on that kind of money?
Parents want the best education for their children, they just don't want to pay for it and they never will. They want low property taxes and they want you to work for peanuts.
In Florida, they are effectively taking away tenure and they already have a 96-day law that says you can get fired for no reason given in the first 96 days of your "contract."
I hate to tell you this, but this is no joke.
Change majors for the new school year, find something that will not keep you in debt for 30 years and where you can get a job — something in health care.
I graduated as a teacher and it has been the biggest mistake of my life. Yeah, I love teaching children, but it's like marriage: It takes more than love.
Phil Weissburg, Palm Harbor, Fla.
Don't do it. Lord, don't do it.
There are a glut of unemployed teachers in every state in the Union. In Florida, California and other states, existing teachers are getting pink slips for the new school year.
Here in Tampa, new teachers start at about $31,000 and yearly increases are small at best. Many certified teachers are working as subs at $11 per hour. That's right, $55 per day.
Tell me, can you pay off your school loans, own a car and eat on that kind of money?
Parents want the best education for their children, they just don't want to pay for it and they never will. They want low property taxes and they want you to work for peanuts.
In Florida, they are effectively taking away tenure and they already have a 96-day law that says you can get fired for no reason given in the first 96 days of your "contract."
I hate to tell you this, but this is no joke.
Change majors for the new school year, find something that will not keep you in debt for 30 years and where you can get a job — something in health care.
I graduated as a teacher and it has been the biggest mistake of my life. Yeah, I love teaching children, but it's like marriage: It takes more than love.
Phil Weissburg, Palm Harbor, Fla.
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