Saturday, February 03, 2007
A modest proposal
There is no debate that Jewish educators are underpaid. Raising their salaries measn raising tuitions or other significant fundraising attempts, none of which are too popular. Here's a simple proposal.
In my years working in day schools in the States, I discovered that many professionals offered me discounts. Car mechanics whose kids went to the school, accountants, even doctors would sometimes waive the insurance co-pay. True, I would rather have been paid a more respectable salary and paid for my fair portion, but I was certainly happy with the savings, which did add up.
A central agency, such as The Lookstein Center, would issue 'membership' cards to all Jewish educators who register. All Jewish professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.), businesses, sefarim stores, Judaica shops, kosher restaurants, etc. agree to give Jewish educators showing that card a discount. Many of them anyway give discounts to all sorts of groups - here is a group that is dedicated to serving the Jewish community, and here is an easy way for the community to give back. Those stores that give the discount could proudly display a sign saying something like, "we proudly support our Jewish educators". That advertising itself is good for the stores, and cheap.I don't think that lots of people will rush to become Jewish educators as a result. But this is one step toward helping those who have made the commitment, and toward communal recognition of the value of those educators.
Labels: incentives, prestige
Comments:
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Why do you assume that teachers are underpaid? A recent study of public school teachers found that they get paid better than many other professions:
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Who, on average, is better paid--public school teachers or architects? How about teachers or economists? You might be surprised to learn that public school teachers are better paid than these and many other professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public school teachers earned $34.06 per hour in 2005, 36% more than the hourly wage of the average white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty or technical worker.
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See http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009612
I assume that day school teachers are better paid than public school teachers.
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Who, on average, is better paid--public school teachers or architects? How about teachers or economists? You might be surprised to learn that public school teachers are better paid than these and many other professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public school teachers earned $34.06 per hour in 2005, 36% more than the hourly wage of the average white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty or technical worker.
>>
See http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009612
I assume that day school teachers are better paid than public school teachers.
Why would you assume that? Day school teachers are supposed to be thanful that they are not teaching in public schools. Their monetary compensation is on average less than public school teachers and they have none of the benefits, eg. good pensions, great health care, that public school teachers get.
I believe that even where day school teachers are paid well, they don't receive certain benefits that other professionals might receive.
I personally like this modest proposal and would be more than happy to offer it to my clients. It would be a win-win situation for many in the service sector, I believe.
I personally like this modest proposal and would be more than happy to offer it to my clients. It would be a win-win situation for many in the service sector, I believe.
I did a double take when I saw the comments of those who thought that Jewish educators were not underpaid. Was this some sort of Purim joke?
I guess we have different notions of what being underpaid means.
The amount of training, professionalism and time dedication expected of Jewish educators is probably comparable to that of a lawyer. How many Jewish educators can afford to send their kids to the very schools in which they teach, the summer camps in which they work, or even afford homes in the communities in which they work. Many of the schools I visit have two parking lots - one for students and the other for faculty. Needless to say they do not buy from the same dealerships. As a former administrator, when I met parents whose salaries were equivalent to those of teachers there was no question that they were referred to the scholarship committee and would have little fear of being turned down. Need I go on?
Many of the best educators could have been doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, and earning as they do. I have met hundreds, if not thousands of Jewish educators throughout the years. I can't recall a single one who did it for the money.
By the way, public school teachers and other civil servants have significant benefits that most Jewish day school teachers do not: unions, funded pensions, medical benefits, etc.
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I guess we have different notions of what being underpaid means.
The amount of training, professionalism and time dedication expected of Jewish educators is probably comparable to that of a lawyer. How many Jewish educators can afford to send their kids to the very schools in which they teach, the summer camps in which they work, or even afford homes in the communities in which they work. Many of the schools I visit have two parking lots - one for students and the other for faculty. Needless to say they do not buy from the same dealerships. As a former administrator, when I met parents whose salaries were equivalent to those of teachers there was no question that they were referred to the scholarship committee and would have little fear of being turned down. Need I go on?
Many of the best educators could have been doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, and earning as they do. I have met hundreds, if not thousands of Jewish educators throughout the years. I can't recall a single one who did it for the money.
By the way, public school teachers and other civil servants have significant benefits that most Jewish day school teachers do not: unions, funded pensions, medical benefits, etc.
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