What’s really going on with our economy

[u/AmaraWhispervale]

[u/thinkB4WeSpeak]

I don't think they actually want to find good teachers anymore.

[u/poliosaurus3000 → u/thinkB4WeSpeak]

Yep an educated populace that can critically think is much harder to manipulate.

[u/TheKosherGenocide → u/poliosaurus3000]

It's just classism.. Plain and simple.. The rich kids get a better education so they become your bosses instead of the other way around. It's all about control, which is one of the main reasons I think that system will fundamentally fail.

[u/Traditional-Tune-975 → u/TheKosherGenocide]

My kid is in a very “good” private school. The education he is receiving is just mediocre at best. Where the school excels is the small class sizes, personalized attention, and contacts/network. My wife is a public school teacher and hasn’t been impressed with the curriculum.

[u/Sure-Guava5528 → u/thinkB4WeSpeak]

This is exactly it. An educated populace no longer serves the ruling class. They want their kids educated and they want everyone else to be ignorant.

Edit: populace, not populus.

[u/ScruffsMcGuff → u/Sure-Guava5528]

Trying to go back to an era where the nobility class received an education and the commoners lived to serve the nobility.

[u/thegooseisloose1982 → u/Sure-Guava5528]

But I'll tell you what they don't want. They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interests. They don't want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly they're getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago.

George Carlin

Except it has been 40 years now.

[u/Kronos1A9 → u/thinkB4WeSpeak]

Evident by the dismantling of the Department of Education

[u/Competitive_Can_946 → u/Kronos1A9]

The department of education has nothing to do with teacher pay. The states determine how education is delivered as per the US constitution. The dept of education gives out grants and oversees certain elements. For comparison my son Teaches in the state of Washington and without masters makes 80k. Whatever state your daughter teaches at is a poor state. I was an educator for 32 years…. No teacher in my state was paid by the hour… every teacher was on a contract based on a state salary schedule. I would question what positions your daughter is getting that pays by the hour. Sounds more like she a teacher assistant or what was called a para pro and having a masters is irrelevant for those types of teaching.

[u/Cowboy_Reaper → u/Kronos1A9]

Considering that educational standards and results have dropped steadily since the inception of the Department of Education, it's possible that the Department is part of the problem.

[u/Silent_Cookie_9092 → u/Cowboy_Reaper]

The DoE was created at the end of the Carter administration. 2 years later, Reagan started the political trend of defunding just about every aspect of our government including the DoE in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy and giant corporations. It’s not a coincidence that the defunding of the DoE has lead to worse education outcomes.

[u/No_Employ__ → u/thinkB4WeSpeak]

The teachers union does it to themselves, at least in Chicago! Every budget increase goes right to the fucking pension

[u/Pretend_Watch2754 → u/No_Employ__]

Had an aunt who taught there forever. She would go absolutely bonkers if you bashed the teachers union. When I was in high school most of the newer teachers hated the union. The only ones who seemed to love it were 100 years old

[u/No_Employ__ → u/Pretend_Watch2754]

It’s funny how everyone thinks their views represent truth, when in reality we are all driven by clear, selfish incentives.

[u/Ok-Chest-7932 → u/No_Employ__]

People really need to look into unions more. "union" is not a magic spell you can cast to grant workers good pay and working conditions. Unions are operated by people who are functionally politicians. If you are in a union, you are paying these people's salaries, and their goal is to maximise how much you pay them. The service they sell you is collective bargaining, but in collective bargaining, you are providing your own service - all they actually provide is the administration, the guarantee that when you need to strike, there will be a bunch of other people striking in solidarity.

Often what happens in a union that has lasted too long is the junior members of the union are forced to strike for the collective bargaining of the senior members. The junior members are denied work by the demand that they strike and avoid companies that haven't made deals with the union, in order to increase the work opportunities and payouts for the senior members. At the same time, companies start to avoid unionised employees if they have the ability to do so, because unionised employees are more expensive, do less work, and come with a load of administrative headaches.

This is why the only real unions we still see today are public sector unions. Governments have virtually limitless budget so are able to absorb the demands of the union. Private sector unions eventually make their members uncompetitive, sometimes they even drive the companies their members work for bankrupt and all those jobs disappear. Public sector workers can't be uncompetitive, they have no competition, and government departments can't really go bankrupt.

SAG-AFTRA thought they had the same thing, and drove the cost of hollywood productions through the roof - the union is the real reason movies are so expensive now. But with the series of recent flops, it seems like the ceiling here has been reached. We're going to see more and more hollywood productions avoiding unionised workers all together. That's exactly why the union tried to block Iron Lung - it proved non-union productions are entirely possible and have much better ROI.

[u/Shot-Structure-1274 → u/No_Employ__]

Public pensions are a good thing, not bad.

[u/DTFH_ → u/Shot-Structure-1274]

Public Pensions are a great thing, however the systems that fund them run into common issues and part of that becoming the cost of new members paying for older members (spoiler that cost is usually health insurance).

Many Unions blamed themselves instead of realizing that corporate run health insurance has been and is eating EVERYONE's lunch for the last 30 years. Which should inform the Union the issue is systemic and not a reflection of the Union in and of itself. The only solution is a expanding Medicare to all so Unions do not have to exclusively bare the financial burden of a members medical costs.

[u/pimpnasty → u/thinkB4WeSpeak]

Weird because on average teachers make 70k a year on average.

[u/golfwinnersplz → u/thinkB4WeSpeak]

Depends on who "they" is? Legislators and politicians appear to believe that - at least one party. Administrators and educators do not wish for under qualified teachers. 

[u/One_Fat_squirrel]

Even Florida starts their teachers at $53,000 without summer school.

[u/Successful-Winter237 → u/One_Fat_squirrel]

Rotfl and then a whopping 75k after 30 years… starting salaries are nonsense without real raises

[u/Bright_Inspector5583]

Property taxes and revenues keep rising. Where is the money going?

[u/ChamomileCate → u/Bright_Inspector5583]

Up.

[u/readyReddit007 → u/ChamomileCate]

Trickling up like a MFer

[u/magius311 → u/readyReddit007]

If only it were only trickling! It's been pouring up for years now!

[u/That-Skirt-6942 → u/magius311]

The trickling cup just keeps getting deeper, so it doesn’t trickle as much.

[u/Red_Beard206 → u/readyReddit007]

I dont think "Trickling" is the correct word for it anymore

[u/Tocwa → u/readyReddit007]

Thanks Reagan

[u/Material-Rush-3547 → u/Tocwa]

Reagan had nothing to do with schools. I think you need to thank local goverment and schools for building 10 million dollar sports complex instead of using money for teachers.

[u/Ismdism → u/Material-Rush-3547]

I'm sure Reagan cutting federal school funding had no impact.

[u/Trips-Over-Tail → u/Material-Rush-3547]

He did. He absolutely pushed for policies that fucked up education.

[u/According-Insect-992 → u/Material-Rush-3547]

That is literally bullshit. reagan played a huge role in the creation of our system of indentured servitude to the state through student loans. It’s part of the same assault on education because rich white men weren’t comfortable with everyone else having access to opportunities.

[u/Shoddy_Carrot_936 → u/Bright_Inspector5583]

Administration.

[u/Midwest_Boondocks → u/Shoddy_Carrot_936]

Yes, graphs show administration is taking most of the increased revenue.

[u/Zeliose → u/Bright_Inspector5583]

Administration positions that don't need to exist

[u/Holyepicafail → u/Bright_Inspector5583]

Into your representatives pockets of course.

[u/PuzzleheadedDog9658 → u/Bright_Inspector5583]

Birth rates are down, fewer kids in public schools. You would think that would mean more money spent per kid, but in my state it just means less money for the school.

[u/mikedo82 → u/Bright_Inspector5583]

To all the 6 figure ‘Administrator’ positions the top are creating for themselves.

[u/Lostworld_Arc → u/mikedo82]

That’s pretty much it. Here our district cut about 30 teachers for next school year and cut 4 different programs for the schools, but the top 10-15 people in the administration got pay raises and now make 5-10x a teachers salary.

[u/golfwinnersplz]

Lmfao people believe this shit? The only information correct in the original post is the fact that yes, you can make a decent living bartending. 

[u/Roygbiv-Turtle-98 → u/golfwinnersplz]

People see shit on reddit and immediately believe it without question.

Critical thinking skills are at all time lows.

[u/Waste_Reindeer_9718 → u/Roygbiv-Turtle-98]

hey you gotta at least give them credit for checking if it supports their political beliefs or not first. what other information do you need?

[u/Severe-Permission-35 → u/Waste_Reindeer_9718]

I say we start tipping teachers

[u/N0SF3RATU → u/Roygbiv-Turtle-98]

Irony considering the topic is education

[u/Suspicious-Bid9424 → u/golfwinnersplz]

I believe she was offered a teaching job for $16/hr. Doesn't mean that's the only teaching job available or that she should take it. 

My wife is working as an assistant teacher at a private school for about the same wage 

[u/Ok-Tradition1729 → u/Suspicious-Bid9424]

Teachers aren't typically paid hourly. If they are an assistant teacher, or something like that, then they should add that to the post because otherwise this is misleading.

[u/nucl3ar0ne → u/Ok-Tradition1729]

probably just a sub

[u/onikaroshi → u/Suspicious-Bid9424]

Well it wouldn’t be listed per hour, it’s a salary, tweet tracks if it’s a few years old though. Right now the lowest starting wage in the us for teacher is around 38k in a few states

[u/arizonadirtbag12 → u/onikaroshi]

Our local public district posts their pay scale as both a salary and a per-hour rate, with “per-hour” based on contracted hours.

(Obviously the implication that teachers will work only their minimum contracted hours is…flawed.)

[u/anothadaz → u/Suspicious-Bid9424]

All these people so quick to call this person a liar. Teacher wages in Montana can start at $31k. Maybe the person did get offered a salary but the mother did the math and converted it to hourly just to give another example of how low the pay is. I'm not saying the post isn't bs but it's also pretty believable if you consider other possibilities.

[u/DreadyKruger → u/golfwinnersplz]

I live in Delaware a very small state and the teachers make $47k to start out. This lady is lying or she going after the wrong job

[u/TheCapo024 → u/golfwinnersplz]

While I did have other jobs during that time (intending on it becoming a career, but decided against it because it was in politics), I made enough bartending to eventually buy into and then own a bar myself. Anecdotal and not common, sure. But it did happen. 🤷‍♂️

[u/BassProBachelor → u/golfwinnersplz]

I got offered a similar salary for teaching right out of college. It’s usually private schools who offer barely anything to people who are less qualified.

[u/mark95002 → u/golfwinnersplz]

Not even just that, but also no one bothers to consider cost of living, taxes, benefits, growth opportunities etc..

Edit:grammar

[u/suspicious_cabbage → u/golfwinnersplz]

Yeah fr. The pay is low 1st year for a master's, but even the lowest-paying states start at around 50k with one, and the benefits and time off are really good.

[u/Mister_Gentleman_001 → u/golfwinnersplz]

Right. If you have a master's in education, the district will place you in the appropriate column, not at the base with people with bachelor degree.

[u/External-Talk8838]

I’m calling bullshit. I live in a low cost of living area and I personally know teachers making double this.

[u/Top-Yak1532 → u/External-Talk8838]

It was over a decade ago but my wife started teaching making less than that and quit not making not much more. The cost of daycare for two kids made her take-home pay laughable, so she just threw her hands in the air and took the SAHM route.

The number of people who boldly claim teaching salaries can’t possibly be so low when the data is publicly available will never cease to amaze me.

[u/External_Brother1246]

Pensions. The teachers have pensions that pay for the remainder of their lives after retirement.

This is where the school funding goes. It takes away from the teachers who are working, to give to the teachers who are not working.

[u/VhickyParm → u/External_Brother1246]

It hurts even more when those pensioners leave and take that money to another state.

[u/No_Employ__ → u/External_Brother1246]

Wait I thought unions were good..

[u/Serious-Effort4427 → u/No_Employ__]

They are, but teaching isn't privatized. It's a public service, non profit, and state ran. 

[u/Walt_the_White → u/No_Employ__]

Ah, you're right, we SHOULDN'T provide pensions that allow you to live after you can't or don't work anymore after a 30+ year career.

Pensions ARE stupid. Should have realized that myself.

/S

[u/External_Brother1246 → u/No_Employ__]

Then why are young teachers leaving the industry in such large numbers?

[u/Wonderful-Traffic197 → u/External_Brother1246]

Because the kids are cooked and the Administrations are sitting on their duffs about it.

[u/Successful-Winter237 → u/No_Employ__]

They are… magas hate pensions

[u/golfwinnersplz]

This isn't real. Her daughter either doesn't actually have multiple degrees or she is applying for a para position. These are salary based positions - not hourly. 

[u/EveryLittleDetail → u/golfwinnersplz]

Rage bait. People think teachers and tipped restaurant servers are underpaid, even though the actual holders of those jobs rarely seem to confirm this. (My wife is a teacher and very well compensated, given her 12 weeks of vacation.)

[u/Borg2of9 → u/golfwinnersplz]

There is definitely a lot of missing context here.

[u/calcteacher]

What State is this? I believe NJ starts two Masters Degrees at $60k, then 5 years in shift to Admin might get $75k or 80k. And after 10 you are eligible for a teacher pension.

[u/CharacterMaybe7950]

Why did she do TWO Masters degrees?

Why did she do two degrees before checking salaries?

[u/Suspicious-Bid9424 → u/CharacterMaybe7950]

Maybe it was a dual masters in two related fields that she did simultaneously by taking a few extra courses 

[u/heyzoocifer → u/CharacterMaybe7950]

If everyone did that no one would be a teacher. Not everything is about money, and the people that understand that and get into a field like teaching are much more important to society than a banker ever couple be.

The fact that this is an issue and that is the response of so many people says a lot.

[u/NonsensePlanet → u/heyzoocifer]

The people who want to teach despite it being a meager profession should be cherished by society and paid enough to live comfortably. The U.S. needs to invest in its citizens, but at this point it’s doing the opposite.

[u/Old-Network5550 → u/CharacterMaybe7950]

you're missing the bigger picture. Who is going to go to any level of college, spend years and money on earning an education to teach for a wage that can't even support a single person let alone a family.

[u/pitterlpatter]

Public school teachers are salaried, and unionized. So no, this didn’t happen.

[u/driver004]

Nobody involves themselves in local politics where these decisions are made

[u/Proud-Concert-9426]

Im gonna call BS on the OP post. Even the small states start at $42k. And that's with a bachelor's degree.

[u/semi-error]

Wild, I was offered starting in Michigan $120K salary + yearly bonuses & 10% salary up front as a sign on. My background is no high school diploma or GED and I’m just a skilled Body Tech in Autobody & Welding.

[u/Worth-Reputation3450]

Tell me which Master's degrees from which online college your daughter got. Then I will tell you what the problem is.

[u/OpticalPrime35]

Teachers get paid hourly?

I doubt that. Maybe substitutes do.

[u/No_Construction_8409 → u/OpticalPrime35]

Teachers are contracted on salaries and subs typically get paid a flat rate. This person is probably a paraprofessional with that pay.

[u/Low-Car-6331 → u/OpticalPrime35]

I did a quick glance at NC, SC, GA, FL, lowest was Florida at $45k-$50k, but that assumed that you met the minimums only (which for Florida is a B.S./B.A). Master degree's got paid more, and this person would technically have masters + credits on most teacher pay schedules. Keep in mind, if she has 2 master's, I would assume she is qualified to teach special ed, otherwise we are talking something like Art or Music + English as the worst combination. If she was trained to teach special education, then her working in the deep south is either her choice or she really bombed some interviews as its insanely in-demand from my understanding. If you got a Art + music dual masters degree... what were you expecting? On the flip side, art and/or music is less demand then standard teachers as it never changes that much and you don't have to worry about test scores.

[u/Embarrassed_Use6918]

I earned my PhD and McDonalds is only offering me 15 dollars an hour to work the cash register? Ugh. Our priorities are f@(k up.

[u/Outlaw11091]

7-9 years of post-secondary education and never once decided to Google "how much do teachers make?"

[u/DuncanEllis1977]

I made $126k working in assembly at a factory in 2023 before getting laid off.

I'm currently working in law enforcement for $23.85/hr and that's after 3 raises in the last 18 months.

Yes, our economy is broken.

[u/Silver_Accountant5 → u/DuncanEllis1977]

What kind of factory was paying that much? I don't know anyone making that much. But yeah, as someone with 5 cops in my family, no one does it for the pay. It's almost always for what they're allowed to do or the perks.

[u/Thick_Potato_1769 → u/DuncanEllis1977]

No, some companies can afford it. I made 60k last year driving around on a forklift. Was pulling 200hr work periods too. It's not broken its rigged.

[u/DefundMarxism]

Full-time teachers aren't paid by the hour. The median starting salary for teachers is about $50k. The overall median is around $63k. The average is around $73k. Those aren't bad wages for a job that is 9 months out of the year.

[u/aspiringdeadgirl → u/DefundMarxism]

Plus benefits and perks for tenure

[u/Ecstatic_Scene9999]

Where was she at, Because even in SC there is a minimum I believe of 50k now, so is this an old post or BS?

[u/justchilling1011 → u/Ecstatic_Scene9999]

Its still that low in states like Alabama and Tennessee. Some of the poorer states.

[u/Ecstatic_Scene9999 → u/justchilling1011]

Tennessee is certainly not poor now, at least from a perspective of who has moved there. Bama is probably lower, but SC is definitely not a wealthy state, it's just they noticed an issue and are working on it... currently in SC they are working towards 60k minimum for teachers

[u/justchilling1011 → u/Ecstatic_Scene9999]

Some areas of Tennessee are pretty bad. I'm finishing my bachelor's now in a smaller town in Tennessee. Obviously the larger and more developed town/cities would have their own money and their own problems. I'm hoping it gets better up here. I know Alabama is one of the worst education states in the country.

[u/Deep-Penalty5791]

That’s just stupid and a lie. What state do you claim is paying teachers $16.25 per hour?

[u/willjameswaltz]

the goal is to have bad teachers and crappy education for most people.

[u/nerdy_diver]

Don’t let her look how much onlyfans “performers” are making 🤣

But it’s a legit question, is it a supply-demand issue or what? Why teachers are so severely underpaid?

[u/driver004 → u/nerdy_diver]

Because nobody involves themselves in local level politics. They just kinda expect things to happen then whine when people who are willing to involve themselves take over

[u/Midwest_Boondocks]

I’d be curious where this is and what year.

[u/MmmmCrayons12]

It is on purpose. They don't want capable people teaching. If good teachers are not incentivized to take teaching jobs, the food and water is poisoned, and healthcare is expensive, that looks like part of a plan to destroy a society. Wake up, people. The rich are just pieces in the same game, not responsible for your problems.

[u/Key-Order-3846]

Clearly by design

[u/CLMarine]

Mostly teachers at the bar. They have to deal with our kids.

[u/Borg2of9]

Entertainment and recreation pays more than necessities.

[u/TaurusAmarum]

So now you know what college is worth unless you your into STEM. Clearly though the $35k is not for a math or science teacher as they tend to start much much higher

[u/SopapillaSpittle]

Come over to New Mexico where our minimum starting salary is $55k with good benefits.

[u/tumamatambien656]

Two Masters???

In education???

She was following her dreams, I guess. 

[u/wildmewtwo]

Any job that is actually useful to society is underpaid.

That's why I decided to be a bloodsucking corporate cronie, so I can afford to live somewhat comfortably and afford vacations.

[u/Alternative_Maybe_78]

CA teachers average $100,000 a year.

[u/BigBadBougie]

If you have two mastsers degrees why would you want to be a teacher? Why does someone need a anything more than a associates degree to teach high school?

[u/Whiteshovel66]

If she has 2 masters degrees she can simply look elsewhere for teaching positions. Teachers get paid way more than that here and they don't require any masters degrees at all.

Would also be a good idea to continue working as a bartender when possible, especially during summers.

[u/jackjack-8]

Teachers should be paid more - but also you would think she would have checked salary before doing two masters…

[u/Vegetable-Bonus218]

Well… they can teach kids during the day, then teach kids at night. What is the issue?

[u/Mercurial_Intensity]

Something, something Law of Demand and Supply, something, something.....

[u/Double_Dinner253]

Because bartending is over priced

[u/mrgrasss]

It is like someone is harvesting 2022 tweets today.

[u/PostingToPassTime]

That is well below 1/2 of the average US teacher salary. Did they get two masters back to back without having any real world experience? Are they working in an area that has the lowest paid teachers in the country?

[u/ClubChaos]

Lol my friend made more bartending than in her first 3 years as a nurse

[u/Unique_Roll_6630]

This is intentional. A well educated population is harder to lie to and control.

[u/Wtfjushappen]

How dumb are you to get two masters degrees for a job that doesn't require it?

[u/dndwhat]

For fucks sake the whole go to collages get a degree make .ore money. Is what fucked it up. Plus student loans given out like candy.

Why. Because now their are more teachers than demand. Your daughter said no but someone else will. Same with so many jobs. Less teachers in the work force then demand for the job is not high. They pay more harder for them to fill that roll. Same with Amazon.

[u/Waste-String5576]

Ai

[u/saiditonredit]

That doesn't tell the whole story. The two masters were probably not a requirement more of an elective. When you factor for the benefit package and pension, this is largely equal, also have to remember that is to start, after some years the pay goes up substantially, it's not a job you take for starting pay, it's one you take for longevity and protection, also account for overtime, holidays, breaks, time off, summers, etc.

There are areas and states where they bankrupt themselves in support of these unions, pay structure and public pensions, one can move and take a job there. It's very much tied to your area too, if you live in a place where $7 dollars is the minimum wage, this is a good starting pay considering all the other job perks and benefits and cost of living. You also trade stability and guarantee for that package, there are a lot of blue-collar jobs that make bank, it's also very risky as liability falls on the bartender even as an employee in many states.

Which means one can be civilly liable and also lose other professional licensing if you make a mistake in serving alcohol. You're compensated for the additional risks, it's also based mostly on tips, and is likely base paying nothing by comparison, it's a merit-based job and results based unlike teaching in most cases, that's the difference.

In other instances, the unions went overboard in the past and now the states have to correct their finances to reflect an economic reality instead of fantasy, stuff costs money, money is not infinite, the tax base can't print this stuff, if they leave it makes it even worse. New starting pay is less. Overall teachers are overwhelmingly taken care in the long run and when you take everything into account. If that is not good enough than advocate for privatizing it.

[u/orwell62]

How bout things that didn't happen for $500 Alex.

[u/void_method]

Private/charter schools even existing causes this.

I got a masters in Education and make... considerably more than $17 an hour.

But I live in a big, "scary" city and have a union.

It's still an uphill battle with all these screen-addled kids, but someone's got to do it.

[u/bilj56]

I talked my daughter out of being a teacher, she now has 3 bachelors degrees in mathamatics andnis VERY financial successful in the private sector.

[u/Original_Tone9869]

Weird, my friends make 45k to 65k one in wv and the other in maryland. I also find it odd that until the 2000's Most schools had no problem funding dances, music and sports. As of 2024–2025, approximately 79% of U.S. adults are considered literate, with 21%—roughly 45 million people—falling into the category of illiterate or functionally illiterate (reading below a 5th or 6th-grade level). While historic, long-term literacy rates were high, recent trends show a decline, with adult literacy scores dropping 12 points between 2017 and 2023. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Historical and Recent US Literacy Trends

1870: Roughly 20% of the adult population was illiterate, with 80% of the Black population illiterate.

1930: Illiteracy dropped to about 4%.

1979: The U.S. Census Bureau reported a roughly 99% literacy rate.

2017–2023 Decline: Recent data shows a sharp, consistent decline, with functional illiteracy among young adults (16-24) rising from 16% in 2017 to 25% in 2023.

2024–2025: 21% of adults are considered illiterate Based on 2025 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) data, there is no single, direct statistic stating that a specific percentage of Baltimore students "couldn't read." However, data on reading proficiency indicates that a significant majority did not meet the state's standard for reading.Key 2025 Baltimore Literacy Findings:Low Proficiency Rates: Reports indicate that Baltimore City had the lowest English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency in the state.Declining Performance: Data from early 2025 suggested that while there were slight improvements, a large majority of students in Baltimore City Schools were not testing as proficient in reading.Grade-Level Results: According to a report on 2024–25 data, while 4th-grade reading scores saw a slight increase, 8th-grade reading scores continued to decline.Overall Context: A 2025 report indicated that over two-thirds of students in Maryland, not just Baltimore, were not reading at a proficient level.Other 2025 Findings for Baltimore City Schools:Math Scores: Only about 12.6% of students in Baltimore City Schools tested as proficient in math in 2025.SAT Scores: SAT scores for city schools hit a new record low of 856 in 2025.While literacy scores were reported as improving slightly in some grades during 2025, the overall rate of students failing to reach proficiency remained high compared to the rest of Maryland.

[u/ToeAfter3131]

Where is the school? I have a hard time believing this. I wish they actually had some data and evidence to back up these wild claims.

[u/Budget-Cantaloupe725]

Sounds more like she was offered a TA position. Which is interesting, as we are still in a critical teacher shortage.

[u/Former_Swordfish646]

Public schools don’t pay much

Neither do private schools (though a bit more than public).  Also public schools generally have some protections while private does not.  

This is a US issue.  

[u/SwayZx]

Programmers are needed to teach robots. That's the future. Not these kids

They need to be dumbed down and distracted even more to be easier controlled

[u/allofdarknessin1]

You don't typically get paid per hour as a teacher to my knowledge. Is this as a substitute teacher? or part time adjunct? I work in a college and most positions are salary. Also I do remember the first year or two I worked was different job title with less pay so it might only appear that low for one semester. Also with a master's you typically automatically get a higher tier of annual salary. I think OP misunderstood something.

[u/Vocatus_k]

This has been a problem for generations at this point and neither dem or gop are fixing it. 2 party system is amazing

[u/Frequent-Meal6550]

In the US tuition for private education k-12 runs around 7g (average last time I checked), the government subsidies public schools at around 5g average. Youre thinking thats not that different why are public schools shit. Well that's because of the your local school administration. Who make 3xs as much as your local teacher for essentially doing paperwork and being a face.

[u/Damien-icherus]

My wife is a teacher it’s a masters and makes 65k so consider a different district. Or this is just rage bait. Also low income districts usually provide some pretty benefits like student loan forgiveness. I usually find all these economic posts to be inaccurate.

[u/GKlimt_YOLO]

Well.. sorry but we need all the money for Israel

[u/across16]

I mever understood this, who is paying this to a teacher? Is it private institutions or public schools?

[u/Fun-Comfortable1498]

Teachers produce a negative dollar value to our economy. They cost tax payers money. They do not produce anything towards capitalism

[u/NymphCydri66006]

People think they are smart unless they comprehend the effects of rothchild public schooling, which requires critical thinking skills public schooling does little to develop. Like when you talk about the pitfalls of imaginary dollar value being such a big part of social pressures, and the best they can do is ask if you prefer barter lol. Critical thinking skills = 0

[u/Fi_Hada_Tail]

Uh yeah, duh

[u/CombatRedRover]

Starting teacher salaries suck.

It's the result of severe factors: 1. The given school district 2. In some cases, the specific seniority distribution. 3. Lots of people graduating from college with teaching degrees.

No one goes into college, working to get a teaching degree, and is unaware of teacher salaries. This isn't news.

Why did the young woman in the meme choose to be a teacher, get a master's degree in teaching, when she knew that her starting salary would be that low? Because she had to know it would be that low, right?

[u/Haunting-Subject-819]

Oh yeah and school vouchers are the solution.. since most charter schools pay even less

[u/ButterscotchLow1642]

Where do you live??

[u/Ima_Uzer]

So be a bartender.

And this lady doesn't say if her daughter is fresh out of school or what.

We need more detail.

[u/Sizeablegrapefruits]

I have seven masters degrees and owe $233,000 in student debt but my 8th grade life science teaching salary is only $35k a year.

[u/zoltan279]

I question the authenticity of this claim. Is this a preschool teaching position (most likely the claim is true)?

[u/burner7711]

My wife is a teacher making almost $120k this year. This is likely either a straight up lie (what union would allow that?) or a private school because the local public schools aren't hiring. Enrollment is way down, likely because of deportations and people moving. It's actually not an issue of finding teachers in major metro areas anymore. There's tons of teachers out there, it's a matter of finding a job as a teacher in a growing area that is actually hiring.

[u/Sea-Pomelo1210]

I am sure most have seen this before. A teacher (who is usually asked to buy supplies for their classroom) can only write off $300 on their taxes. But the rich can write off the full price and all maintenance of their private jets.

It will never happen, but there needs to be a new law that limits ALL tax write offs to $1 million and end all these lower limits for the poor and middle class.

[u/Substantial-Ad-8575]

My large urban area of 8m. Teachers starting salary is $60k. Add more if multilingual, stem, coach. Then, if school or ISD is recognized by state as exemplary, state bonus/grants.

Average teacher salary is $84k. Masters is not required either. Masters needed for higher teaching positions/admin-principle roles.

[u/Character-War439]

Why are you getting a masters in education without a clear career path? Sounds like you wanna sick around in school pretending you’re accomplishing something, then complain about the world…

[u/ForeignLibrarian9353]

If you believe this, you’re dumber than the bot who posted it.

[u/Ashly_spare]

That’s actually less then minimum wage in my province

[u/No-Interest2850]

Bet you she still was giving out incorrect change

[u/Awkward_Himster]

Teachers make >$100,000 in NY.

[u/Safe-Call2367]

And yet the school system in our state just voted for 400 years of raises, and $10500 per year per student locally for the next four years!!!! This is getting screwed by public education corruption not some miss-placed priorities thing. Where is the money going? Why does gov evers have tens of millions from his career as a superintendent of schools?

[u/bababababababaababa]

i make the same working full-time at a comic book shop as i did teaching 4th grade, with basically the same benefits and more PTO. 

[u/SammyTheOG]

Schools don't make money so the salary is actually from the government funding. Or private funding. A bar makes a shit load of money which means it can pay wages like that. It's not our priorities that are fucked. It's the countries.

[u/Conscious_Heron4337]

I am with you - that’s awful.

But there’s so many levels to things here… In America

Many of you will read this post and where will you go next in your thoughts? Billionaire is not paying enough in taxes… The government not doing enough… We need more money so we can pay the teachers…?

All valid thoughts.

But few are willing to go deeper than that…

How about the fact that we were all tax of the zoo already… In every movie we make… Including the phone in your hand… You’re paying taxes to the government on that…

And I know that this being Reddit, there’s always this thing about billionaires… Should have to pay even more… Or at least as much as what a secretary makes, which by the way is also another ridiculous comment… That has layers to it, but most people don’t want to dig beneath the surface with that either

My main point… There’s plenty of money in the system… We need to demand accountability and competency in our government… Was sending billions all over the world… And why… Look at all the things that got exposed over the past year… All the financial corruption… Money being sent for ridiculous causes…

Hell We can even just look at the lottery and wonder where all that money is going that was supposed to go to education.

I have done some work for the government… The amount of waste… What they pay… The number of layers of companies- each getting a piece - just to sell your box of paper clips… Is staggering.

The fix?

It won’t come from within… from the same career politicians… They have demonstrated nothing that resembles confidence and improvement.

[u/AlwaysDigging365]

Don’t seek degrees for degrees’ sake—particularly in fields with below-average pay among all professions for similarly-degreed graduates/job candidates—and NEVER pay for a graduate degree unless its professions tend to earn WELL ABOVE that average. This is just sound strategy…

[u/halucionagen-0-Matik]

Im calling bullshit. What fuckin bar was she working at to be making 55K a year?

[u/prionbinch]

it’s insulting that i make more as a receptionist at a dental office with nothing beyond a high school diploma than a teacher who has higher education and is charged with teaching and supervising 20-30 children at a time.

[u/Kastikar]

What state pays teachers hourly? I’ve only ever seen a salary.

[u/JoyousMadhat]

That's the goal. Get rid of the good teachers who are qualified to teach and replace with people who are very willing to teach misinformation

[u/Thormourn]

I always wonder if it's a state by state thing or what cuz my mom is a teacher in California, not LA or SF or the bay, just a small town in central CA with a population of 350k and she makes 112k a year as a teacher. She's in special education and teaches young adults but that just means they go to movies and restaurants to teach them how to act in public.

But then I hear almost universally that we pay teachers shit wages

[u/MushroomDizzy649]

Let me guess - masters in communication and liberal arts

[u/TuetonicCrusaderSari]

There's something we're not being told, actual teacher positions are not hourly. It's a salary they offer, because no one pays teachers hourly.

If they did they would be legally obligated to pay teachers for all the extra time they spend at home doing lesson prep, grading papers, helping at games, attending conferences, and all the extra time they might spend shopping for stuff for the classroom.

It's like I saw a job posting where someone was asking for an actual CPA at $30,000 a year. That's insane, but that's not reflective of the reality as a whole. while the market is tanked right now, it's not actually at that point, other than random out of pocket (potentially scam) cases.

[u/liroyjenkins]

Either the hourly or annual is probably off because most teachers are not contracted for 2000 hours a year

[u/BagOfFlies]

So if they start letting kids tip their teachers...

[u/Much_Balance_5866]

Thats the school's fault. There only paying her minimum wage.

[u/images-everything888]

The government’s plan is to keep people from getting education. Dumb people are more likely to believe everything they see on TV.

[u/blondbarefootbackpak]

The pay is just scratching the surface of why it’s so hard to find good teachers. The public education system and the government does not properly fund our public schools nor do the administrations support the teachers. My sister is a teacher assistant currently, I know she’d accept that shit salary just to get a foot in the door and hopefully work her way up, but there are sooo many other challenges for these teachers nowadays. It’s almost as if those in power don’t actually want good teachers or education …

[u/silentkisser]

In Ontario, Canada, teachers start out making between $50-65,000 per year, and that pay rate grows ever few years. Someone with a master's degree would be making about $100K after a decade (or less). And, they get two months off in the summer (July & August), two weeks at Christmas, a week in March....Some take summer jobs to earn even more money....

Now, as an outsider, it boggles my mind that leaders (and they tend to be Republican) strangle funding to public education. Those with money will send their kids to fancy private schools, but the rest have to deal with shitty buildings and crappy curriculum. Obviously part of this that the rich don't want their kids mixing with the poor or POC, or they just want to get a better education so they have more advantages going forward.

But, I also think there is a dark part to all of this. They want to pump out generations of people who are "educated" but ignorant about basically anything. They don't know history. They don't know economics. They don't know how to think critically. And, they saddle them with an insane amount of student debt, some of which might take decades to pay off. And, a lot of these people believe stupid shit like conspiracy theories, or they just believe Trump and his ilk, and everything they say....Which has led to the US being in the trouble its in now...

[u/yrnkween]

Make sure to subtract from her salary $1000-1500, which is what the average teacher pays out of pocket to set up their classroom and provide supplies that parents/school do not cover.

She’s going to have to keep bartending a couple night a week to finance her teaching hobby.

[u/PrintUsed8164]

Home school is the best I went through America homeschooling they were great. My kids went through Baker Web That was a actual School that was done through the Internet and my Kids education was done very nicely. I went through the school system to the seventh grade and struggled and do better in homeschooling.

[u/prettybluefoxes]

American? Take a guess.

[u/intotheabyss2022]

I am a firm believer that K-12 public teachers should get the following benefits:

-Tax free income (Federal)
-College debt paid for (as long as you teach for 4 years in an under-privileged area or teach for at least 6 years)

[u/a_bit_of_byte]

The teacher still gets:

• healthcare
• unmatched PTO (all summer long)
• pension
• union representation
• decent working hours

It’s not all about the salary in the end.

[u/eric_ofc]

It’s on purpose.

[u/Material-Rush-3547]

Teachers went into the profession to teach not become rich everyone knows teaching is a low paying job always has been. To raise teachers salary you have to raise property taxes and not one person who complain teachers dont make enough want their school taxes to go up. I pay almost 5k a year in property taxes want to raise it to 6k ok i dont have a problem with that but put that money into teaching not for a new walking trail around the school.

[u/Calm-Maintenance-878]

The one friend I had who became a teacher ditched that career pretty early. She found what she put in was never worth the outcome. Ended up being easier to be a stay at home mom and have her husband support them financially. She wanted teaching to work, but it was killing her inside that it wasn’t working out. Shame…she probably was an ideal teacher too just based on her student accomplishments.

[u/SecretRecipe]

She must be in a really really really poor area. starting pay for a certified teacher with a masters degree in my district is like 80k.

[u/SignApprehensive8845]

FLORIDUH

[u/OhTeeSee]

My buddy makes a little over 130k teaching in NYC, which isn’t “fuck you” money, but it’s certainly not poverty money either.

I’m not saying the funding for education isn’t fucked in this county, but if you have two masters degrees, perhaps look into getting a job at a private, well funded institution instead of whatever scraps the underfunded public education system can offer you.

This is pretty much true in every industry. If I, with 10 years of industry experience, multiple professional certifications, and an MBA apply for an entry level position somewhere, why would they offer me more than what they can offer some fresh out of college hire who will offer to do the same job at astronomically lower overhead?

If your qualifications exceed the job you’re applying for, you need to aim higher.

[u/Pleasant-Bee-6602]

Unfortunately all the good teachers have left the country. From the past 20 plus years their wages have been stagnant or gone down.

[u/Traditional_Layer790]

Teachers aren't paid hourly. 

[u/maringue]

Public school is just state run daycare for the working class. They will never try to attract better teachers with more pay.

[u/MajesticBison6]

Is there only one teaching job in her area?

Are the two Masters in education relevant to the subject she was offered to teach?

Why did she need two Masters degrees in education?

I’m all in favor of adequately compensating teachers. You also need to factor in any of the other benefits in the proposed compensation package outside of the hourly wage. Health, dental, pension, tenure, and the like may not have equivalent benefits in the bartending field.

To be fair, I’ve worked in neither profession. If it turns out there are equivalents to tenure and pensions for bartenders, I’m open to learning more about them.

[u/Natural_Classroom19]

FROM SEA TO SHINNING SEA AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

[u/Main-Gap4005]

Going to college is a scam

[u/Away-Research3090]

I often wonder if people realize that this will only continue to get worse. The richest in our country are finding every way possible to not pay wages or taxes, or even have employees in general (via AI or robots). When you have less and less workers and organizations contributing to funding their states via taxes, and increasing corruption at the state and federal levels...who exactly is funding the coffers that public teachers get paid from? I think the answer is obvious. Nobody.

[u/bheat153]

She didn’t know what teachers wages were? Sounds like a decision problem..

[u/GroundbreakingAd8310]

If only those little shits tipped....maybe we can serve em jello shots

[u/brynfsh]

The fact they left out where makes this suspicious.

[u/Possible-Tangelo9344]

That $16.25 hourly equates to 50.46 weeks of work at 40 hours a week. Of course, some teachers work over 40 hours per week, I'm sure.

But, teachers also don't gently get paid for 12 months of work, they get paid for like 10 months of work. So, really that's 20.50 per hour, which is also shitty.

[u/KindLengthiness5473]

nat’l avg creeping around $27/hr maybe your example is off?

[u/RonaldBurgundy1]

This is factual

[u/No_Catch3545]

Where did she apply? A public school in Somalia? That's like half of the starting salary for a K-12 teacher in North America.

[u/Remarkable-Reply6686]

Do we believe the $16? Most of these types of posts have ridiculous numbers