Writing.Com General Discussion

It's been a while, but on the weekend I spoke to a US teacher. She's been teaching children under 10 for over 15 years. She gets $57k a year ($85kAUS). I stopped teaching 10 years ago, and had been teaching for 11 years, and I was earning $88kAUS ($56kUS). My son (who is studying teaching) told me I'd be on $98k ($61kUS). So we get a little bit more. However, she said that they get the equivalent of around $50/child in resources for the classroom. Teachers are expected to spend their own money on resources. In Australia, teachers get $1000 plus $150/child in resources for the class, plus whatever money the school itself has, plus donations, plus council allowances, plus allowances for children with special needs, plus, plus, plus... We are not exactly under-resourced.

She also told me that many schools she has worked in in the USA do not have what she would consider a library. So many people complain about so many books that some schools just have the bare minimum to prevent issues. She also told me that school boards have rights of hiring and firing teachers and that teachers have to respond to the whims of committees in the school. She said being a teacher is a constant state of panic and worry. Our libraries are large, with some schools sharing libraries with the local community. Parents have no say in hiring or firing practices. Both of these things resulted in me not understanding the system in the US. I do not get it.

Anyway, I think this is an interesting comparison between our countries - teachers get paid similar amounts, but the amount of money given to classes here is so much higher.