In the U.S., not only is North Carolina ranked 46th in average teacher salaries, but it has also cancelled Master’s pay for teachers. As you can imagine, most teachers with six or more years are outraged.
“I feel that Master’s pay is an incentive for teachers to go and get additional degrees, which makes them better teachers. So without Master’s pay teachers are not going to go and get those degrees, and they’re not going to learn how to be more effective in the classroom,” Wake County teacher Emily Murdock said.
On Feb. 10 it was proposed that teachers getting base pay, teachers since 2009-10, will get a $4,400 pay increase. However, nothing is being offered to teachers with six or more years experience.
“I understand why they are trying to give a raise to teachers with base pay. They are trying to encourage new teachers to come into the profession, and right now we don’t have competitive salaries for new teachers,” Murdock said.
Although there will always be a need for new teachers, we feel that teachers who are being declined a raise or Master’s pay will feel inclined to look for teaching jobs out of state. Losing qualified teachers can greatly impact students, as well as the school system.
Many students need direction in school, and if the school system is lacking qualified teachers, they are also lacking morale in both students and teachers.
Teachers who are experienced and have the degrees that make them effective teachers cause their students to have the drive that makes them successful learners.
“I think that we need masters pay because we need to encourage teachers to continue to get better and further their education, as well as their students education,” Murdock said.
We think that teachers who have worked longer than six years and who have their Master’s degree or above should be paid more to insure that their desire to educate will stay intact. Once these teachers have been given a raise, then teachers receiving base pay should be given the appropriate raise.