Dissent Is Patriotic
Let’s put that old saw to the test by reading Michael Winerip’s essay on teacher salaries, featuring stuff you’ve never read in a major newspaper before, like:
“But in the late 1980s, teacher salaries took a jump across the country, and they just kept improving, to the point that now, with the economic collapse, a lot of people who sneered at teachers, wish they had it so good.”
And then move on to Daniel Willingham’s deconstruction of Alfie Kohn.
It’s fun to read this stuff, but I doubt the paradigms are shifting. There are too many people nailing them in place.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:49
the following list is from an article in the WSJ based on the US Dept of Labor Statistics pay data.
Wall Street Journal September 13, 2005
Wage Winners and Losers, Page B1
Rankings by average annual pay:
1. Economics Teachers
2. Physicians
3. Airplane Pilots/Navigators
4. Lawyers/Judges
5. Architects
6. Elementary School Teachers
7. Natural Scientists
8. Computer Programmers
9. Brick and Stone Masons
10. Electricians
11. Police and detectives
12. Accountants and auditors
13. Plumbers and pipefitters
14. Musicians and composers
15. Dental hygienists
16. Machinists
17. Social Workers
18. Secretaries
19. Truck Drivers
20. Plasterers
21. Assemblers
22. Waiters and waitresses
While the data is over 3 years old I doubt that the teachers have lost ground but instead have likely gained.