The Law of Averages
Probably the most popular product turned out by both NEA and AFT is the average teacher salary rankings. Both unions use the figures to argue for higher teacher pay, and they receive a great deal of press coverage each and every time they are released.
So it's absolutely fascinating to see the reaction in Louisiana to a report by the Education Estimating Conference that the average K-12 teacher salary in the state is $42,100. The EEC computed the statistic using figures supplied by the NEA and AFT salary rankings, then added recent increases ($1,500 per teacher across-the-board this year).
The Shreveport Times went to the state unions for a response, and got this:
Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said the problem with averages is "if you have $2 and I have none, we average $1 each, but I can't still buy a candy bar."
Monaghan added that the average teacher salary is higher because there are fewer young teachers, and that averages only cause problems because they present a "theoretical situation."
Tom Tate, government relations director of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said "setting an average is somewhat misleading," because the state's larger parishes, where a majority of teachers are employed, pay better than the many smaller parishes that have fewer teachers.
What's next, an explanation of how a 5 percent increase is a smaller raise for a new teacher than it is for a veteran teacher?
Hey, union dudes, what do you think averages are? It can get a little tedious to publish the actual salaries earned by each of the 4 million individual teachers in the U.S. So your parent unions use averages to ease comparisons. Here is a little refresher.
So it's absolutely fascinating to see the reaction in Louisiana to a report by the Education Estimating Conference that the average K-12 teacher salary in the state is $42,100. The EEC computed the statistic using figures supplied by the NEA and AFT salary rankings, then added recent increases ($1,500 per teacher across-the-board this year).
The Shreveport Times went to the state unions for a response, and got this:
Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said the problem with averages is "if you have $2 and I have none, we average $1 each, but I can't still buy a candy bar."
Monaghan added that the average teacher salary is higher because there are fewer young teachers, and that averages only cause problems because they present a "theoretical situation."
Tom Tate, government relations director of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said "setting an average is somewhat misleading," because the state's larger parishes, where a majority of teachers are employed, pay better than the many smaller parishes that have fewer teachers.
What's next, an explanation of how a 5 percent increase is a smaller raise for a new teacher than it is for a veteran teacher?
Hey, union dudes, what do you think averages are? It can get a little tedious to publish the actual salaries earned by each of the 4 million individual teachers in the U.S. So your parent unions use averages to ease comparisons. Here is a little refresher.
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