Most everything is a matter of perspective. While many Chicago public school teachers feel they have been shortchanged by the new contract, many of us see the following:
– Pay comparable to many others jobs requiring a college degree.
– Pay raises that are guaranteed once a contract is set, regardless of economic uncertainties.
– Benefits, particularly vacations, holidays and employer health-care contributions, that far exceed those of other fields.
Even more important in these uncertain times, teachers have more job security than most other professions because teachers are not subject to mass layoffs in tough times, jobs relocating to other cities or states in corporate restructurings or jobs being moved overseas where labor is cheaper.
For years we have been reading about teacher shortages, due in part to perceptions that teachers are not paid well. We are now aware that great strides have been made in teacher compensation since the early ’80s. I hope that more people will now consider teaching as a career or second career and a few years from now teacher shortages will be old news.
