What’s wrong with this picture?

What’s wrong is that many athletes, movie stars and even elevator installers get paid more than teachers in the United States of America—and it’s because Americans are more willing to pay for entertainment than for better education.

America cares more about entertainment and sports than the quality of education its children receive. For instance, according to Forbes Magazine, Tom Cruise made $67 million from June 2005 to June 2006. According to www.espn.com, Alex Rodriguez, third baseman for the New York Yankees, has a $252 million, 10-year contract, which turns out to be $25.2 million a year.

Even dead celebrities make more money than teachers. Elvis Presley “made” $52 million dollars in the last year from publishing rights to his image and music, according to Forbes Magazine.

In contrast, teachers were paid a national average of $45,000 last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Furthermore, teachers barely make more than the average cost of living for a family of four in certain U.S. areas.

The bottom line is that if teachers were paid more, there would be better teachers and more of a selection for schools everywhere.

Many people qualified to teach choose not to because of the low annual salary that makes it difficult to support a family. Just as sports teams and Hollywood studios get quality athletes and actors because of the high pay, schools would get better-quality teachers if they were paid more. There would be less of a demand and more choice for the educational system instead of just choosing whomever they can get.

Harry Wong, one of the most sought-after speakers for teacher-training conferences, said in his book The First Days of School that research shows “differences in teacher quality account for more than 90 percent of the variation in student achievement.”

In other words, an effective teacher can make the difference between a student achieving beyond or below his or her grade level. To have effective teachers in schools and well-educated children, America must raise teachers’ salaries in order to attract quality, well-trained people.

One way the state of Idaho is trying to make this happen is through Proposition 1. The initiative proposes a sales tax increase of one percent to raise more money for K-12 public education, which includes raising teacher pay.

Other states such as Louisiana, Massachusetts and California have had similar propositions in favor of teacher incentives to attract qualified teachers.

One of the reasons these propositions have failed in the past is because raising teachers’ salaries usually also means raising taxes. Instead of seeing it as investing more money in their own children, they think they are just giving more money to the government that is always asking them for more money.

However, when it comes to movie tickets being raised from $7 to $8, they simply dish out more money to feed their need for entertainment.

What Americans don’t think about is if they did raise teachers’ salaries, they would not only be investing money in their children’s education, but also their moral development.

“A growing number of observers, in surveying the moral state of our society, are concluding that professional educators have a role to play alongside parents in contributing to children’s moral, social and behavioral development... One way or another, a teacher’s responsibility (and opportunity) is to help children become not only good learners but good people,” said Alfie Kohn, an educator and author of the book Punished by Rewards.

Not only do the children of Idaho and the nation need a quality education, they also need qualified teachers who can help mold them into the person they will become. This can only happen if there are incentives for good teachers in America.

It’s time for America to re-evaluate its priorities.

Should athletes and entertainers really get paid that much more than the people who are most influential in the development of children besides their parents? Are the sports and entertainment worlds really more important than making sure that the children of America are taught by qualified teachers?

Teachers deserve more money, not only in the form of a paycheck, but also in quality training programs. One way to make this happen is to vote yes on thoughtful propositions in any state that will provide more funds for education in general as well as give teachers competitive salaries and support.

If there is no such proposition in this year’s elections, encourage your state to create one. Even if propositions fail, there is at least more awareness about the issue afterwards that may pass the next higher-teacher-pay initiative.

According to the United States Department of Education, “Research confirms that teachers are the single most important factor in raising student achievement. Highly qualified teachers can maximize every child’s potential to meet high academic standards. Good teachers are essential to closing the achievement gap and ensuring that no child is left behind.”

As President David O. McKay said, there is no compensation for failure in the home because of ill-trained parents; is there any compensation for failure in the schools because of ineffective teachers?