Educators merit a greater remuneration

Teachers: can't live with them, can't learn without them. They are the topic of many bitch sessions between students around the school but really do they deserve such treatment? Shouldn't we be handing them awards, patting them on the back and thanking them for what they have done for us? After all they have armed us with the greatest power of all: knowledge. Knowledge is power. And another saying goes: children are the future, so how does the government repay those who will ensure in a better New Zealand tomorrow? No trophies or shiny certificates but with substandard wages that and what seems to be a cold shoulder to those who ask for more.

College teachers recently had a union meeting to discuss such issues (which meant we had a half day-yay!) not surprisingly not many students took much interest in the actual content of the meeting, they were just hoping that the teachers would go on strike like they did in April 2002 so we wouldn't have to go to school. This however is improbable which I found out after a discussion with my school's principal and my French class.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that Mr. Leach was going to be the reliever for my first period French class. Being the nice man he is he chatted with us about numerous subjects and the natural flow of conversation brought us to the topic of teacher's wages. He recalled when he first started teacher some 30 odd years ago that a teacher fresh from teacher's college got a pretty decent pay and once the teacher got to the highest level of teaching about ten years later, they were paid the same as a backbencher in parliament. It safe to say that this is no longer the same today as a teacher's wages has gone down and one of parliament’s benchwarmers gets a lot more. He said that a new high school teacher is paid the same wages as a new police officer. Of course he, and so do the rest of us, respects and appreciates the job that our police force do for us but this is comparing doing three years of uni and one year of teacher's college to a six week course.

Are teachers worth as much as police officers? Some may say that a police officer is a better contribution to society as they provide protection and safety of the community but I beg to differ.

The proverb knowledge is power basically speaks for itself. By learning and knowing you are able to understand the world around you and know where you want to fit yourself into it. By getting the biggest picture of it you can see where you want to go and what you want to do. This is what teachers provide us with. Although lots of what we learn can't be directly applied to real life situations (like being able to draw a parabola, seriously who uses this?) it allows us to see that there is so much more out there. How does this contribute to society? Teachers are an important part of a students life, whether we like it or not, and aid in shaping us into the people we will become. Because teachers aren't evil (well most aren't) they do not intentionally negatively influence their students to become bad people. Those who fall through the gap and miss the opportunities that education gives them can find themselves facing the long arm of the law. Police officers are merely the band-aid to the graze of society's criminals where as teachers are the knee-pads that prevent the injury. Where education is high crime is low and vice versa. Should we be investing in knee-pads or a packet of plasters?

If the government were to spend more money on teachers there would be a smaller need for police officers. Better educations lead to better futures. I believe high quality teachers are vital part of our society and should be paid in proportion to the job they do for us. In 2002 the high school teachers of New Zealand went on strike to make the government listen to their request for a bigger paycheck but it's obvious that they aren't listening as it is an issue that is still being raised today in 2007.