Okay, expect more from me on this subject, but i just had to put it down on paper.
This is not an original idea of my own, but an off-handed comment from a teacher friend of mine. At about 9:15p, I called to see if I should stop by and chat for a while, but she said she was grading papers. I commented that she doesn’t get paid enough to give up so much of her life. She (like a true GOOD teacher) responded that she gets rewarded in other ways through the kids. I’ve heard the same thing from other good teachers, and I believe them, but I still think that teachers are -THE- least respected/least paid/MOST important people in our country. Then she said "Maybe they should just make teachers tax exempt." WOW THAT hit me hard!
Her comment about being tax exempt made me think. Teachers -generally- get paid very little compared to the amount of time, energy and effort that they put into their work. Most of us get paid for each hour that we work, or we are compensated ‘fairly’ – where teachers (mind you I’m specifically referring to K-12 PUBLIC school teachers – not – college or private schools) are paid a salary, and given "prep" time and benefits, but c’mon – over 120 kids a day, different lesson plans, different needs for each class (and sometimes each kid) plus these days the abuse, trouble and sometimes the fear that these teachers must endure surely requires more than what they are getting paid.
SO – what about the idea of making K-12 public school TEACHERS (not administration) income tax exempt?
I haven’t thought out all the details, but this could be a real issue to put on a ballot somewhere. Besides – all – of their pay comes from OUR taxes. So the government taxes US on our income, pays the teachers, then taxes THEM on the money that we already paid taxes on!
So.. give it some thought. It could be a good way to say thank you to the people who give A LOT of their lives to our children, as well as a way to bring back those people who just couldn’t afford to be a teacher – AND – be an incentive to future teachers. Hmmmm…
Like I said – I’ll write more later – this just happened tonight, and I haven’t put a lot of thought into it, but I like the idea a lot.