What do teachers do?
They inspire, motivate, and encourage students to bring out their potential. They act as role models, rebuild children, instill hope, and celebrate their successes. Great teachers arrive each day ready to teach, even though not every student comes ready to learn. Our teachers develop tricks and strategies to engage our children on personal levels, to connect them to the plans of the day – and that is very hard work.
Teachers embody the best of Klal Yisroel. A true teacher is a cut above; not everyone is capable of this type of avodas hakodesh.
Teaching is not a career. It’s a lifestyle.
Recently, there has been a commotion regarding what is called “the teacher shortage crisis”. This crisis is supposedly a new phenomenon that is blamed on the fact that teachers are underpaid, which causes qualified young women to look for jobs elsewhere.
First of all, this “alarming crisis” is nothing new. Those in Chinuch positions throughout our history have never earned high salaries, but inspired mechanchim and mechanchos took this responsibility because they realized that to teach is to touch lives forever.
Is There a Shortage?
Those complaining publicly about the situation claim that it is clear that there is a teacher shortage. This is not backed up by factual evidence.
Klal Yisroel has seen tremendous growth in recent years, Knh. This, in turn, has led to an exponential increase in schools. Of course, this has created many more teaching positions. This may be the reason that it seems that there aren’t enough teachers applying for jobs. Where previously the ratio of applicants to position was seemingly impossible, today the opportunities now exist for almost all qualified applicants.
Principals of large and small, local and out of town schools, even commented that this summer was the first in a while that they weren’t busy hiring teachers for the upcoming school year. Although this may not have been the case for every school, a crisis it certainly isn’t.
Are Teachers Still Underpaid?
Additionally, the situation is not nearly as bad as some maintain. They may have the best of intentions, but this mehalech of creating panic can get in the way of affecting real change.
Teachers have historically been underpaid and are still paid far less than they ideally deserve. However, the situation has improved tremendously in recent years, and the salary is far more comparable to a 9 to 5 office position than previously.
In the past few years, the average teacher’s salary has gone up from approximately $15,000 annually to the $20,000-30,000 range. Additionally, most teachers are eligible for two free tuitions in their school, which has a value of close to $9,000. They also are available to accept a well-paying option in the ten-week summer. All of this equals to a nicer package with a more robust source of income than ever before.
The post seminary Morah is not yet benefitting from the tuition breaks and higher salaries that her more experienced colleagues are enjoying. With more time on her hands before her family begins to grow, she can stretch her salary with expanded responsibilities, such as extracurricular projects, private tutoring, etc.
NOT a Public Discussion
It should be clear that this is not a conversation meant to be conducted in a public forum. It should be discussed in private, by people who are directing mosdos, together with those who can provide assistance. If this project is done with that type of hatzneah leches, it will have Siyata diShmaya. But creating the panic of a “crisis” is a terrible lack of kavod for the most choshuv and sacred profession in Klal Yisroel.
Recent events showcase the proper way to address such a situation. A group of balebatim, led by R’ Lazer Scheiner, came to the realization that BMG Kollel yungerleit deserved a higher monthly stipend. They didn’t burden the Roshei Yeshiva, fundraisers or administrators with the onus of taking care of it. They didn’t demand that parents of bochurim pay more tuition, and they didn’t publicly ask simple alumni of BMG to pay for it. It certainly didn’t become Klal Yisroel’s newest “crisis.” Instead, this group of dedicated askanim got together and made it happen. They told the fundraisers: “You continue doing what you’re doing, and we’ll take care of making the difference.”
That is the model that we can follow to make this idea a success. While teachers’ salaries may be an issue, let’s avoid turning our teachers into slogans. They are definitely much more than a slogan.
Advertising supposed reasons why people should not want to teach is definitely something the teaching industry cannot afford. It is true that the situation is not perfect, but no situation is ever perfect. We need to understand that.
While publicly discussing teachers’ salaries is a lack of Derech Eretz and won’t have any benefit, it has many detriments.
For one thing, it will hurt teachers’ morale. If they are constantly told that they are underpaid and underappreciated, it will do nothing to help them and will bring down their spirits tremendously.
And what do you think these “advertisements” and “proclamations of doom for the Chinuch world” are doing for the impressionable seminary student considering her options?
What is NOT the Solution
The impact a teacher can have on individual lives and on the world is far greater than that of great inventors, world leaders, or even CEOs of huge corporations. Accordingly, it would make sense that teachers would be paid the highest salaries.
That being said, any knee-jerk raise in teachers’ salaries will come with a real cost if it is not done responsibly. While teachers’ salaries have gone up in recent years, tuition has not gone up proportionately. There is a reason for this. At least 75% of parents of growing families have a hard time keeping up with expenses, as it is. They cannot afford a drastic tuition hike.
Parents treat tuition as a priority and do everything in their power to be up to date on payments. They are not frivolously wasting money or taking lavish vacations. They are being moiser nefesh to pay their children’s tuitions, and they cannot be expected to pay a significantly larger amount.
Furthermore, any immediate salary raise for teachers without a plan, will harm the Moros themselves, by causing them an increase in tuition fees for their children in other mosdos!
Teachers’ Benefits
There are many benefits to being a teacher that cannot be quantified by a dollar amount. As the legendary Rav Avrohom Jacobovitch zt”l, veteran rebbe of 63 years in chinuch put it, “The nachas that a rebbe feels is the secret of his energy.” That is one of the motivating factors for why so many of our best and brightest choose to become Moros and remain in the field of chinuch for decades.
Many people work to live, so the salary is pretty much all their career is about. The majority of people don’t like their jobs. Most people stay in their jobs for contractual obligation and to make money, but they are not really happy.
It makes you wonder if the stress of staying in a job you hate is really worth the money. If you read this and don’t relate to it at all, you are one of the lucky ones. A global poll conducted by Gallup recently concluded that only 15% of employees say they enjoy their work.
The claim that a corporate position is more conducive for husbands to learn is proven to be false. Consider the fact that when a mother works in a corporate position, it takes a huge toll on the husband’s learning. He is often forced to shoulder the majority of the childcare and family issues that come up during the day. Teachers, in contrast, have the benefit of sharing their children’s schedule.
There is a good reason why teachers love their job, and why children love their teachers. The stimulation, inspiration and appreciation a teacher receives cannot be replicated or duplicated in any other position. Where else do you have the immense satisfaction of empowering tinnokos shel beis rabban on a daily basis? No other position remotely provides the same gratification. Teachers have enjoyable, stimulating days, with an automatic connection to Yomim Tovim, Inyanei D’Yoma, Parshas Hashavua, etc.
Possible Solutions:
1. There are many schools who do not want to hire girls directly out of seminary, as a policy. If girls cannot find jobs as teachers when they come back from seminary, they probably won’t be around to take them a few years later. By being creative, we can tap into this pool of talent and idealism without compromising our standards by supporting post-seminary girls with mentors who can train them into the job.
2. In order to ensure an adequate supply of Limudei Chol teachers, they too should be treated with utmost respect. Why are they called “teachers” and not Moros? Why do they not receive the same tuition benefits as Limudei Kodesh teachers? These are questions that should be addressed.
3. Perhaps the teachers who are still being paid on the old pay-scale should be brought to the discussion, rather than a broad increase in salaries?
4. Perhaps we should institute a community-wide tuition discount for Rebbeim and teachers’ children, both in elementary and high school/Mesivta. If schools work together, this will generate a few thousand dollars of income for teachers.
Conclusion:
Have you ever heard of someone who worked in a mortgage company or in medical billing, being approached decades later and being told, “Wow! You changed my life! I can’t thank you enough for doing that closing for me?”
But teachers receive messages like this all the time. That sipuk hanefesh is priceless.
Every teacher has her story. Each one has seen supernatural Siyata DiShmaya, of how Hashem helped her remain in Chinuch.
Someone I know was at a crossroads in her life and had to make a decision whether to remain in the classroom. This was approximately 15 years ago with the same challenges that we face today. She will be forever grateful to a Rabbi (moderated) for a beautiful salary, which allowed her to remain in the teaching profession. And this led to many more years in the chinuch field, Boruch Hashem.
Klal Yisroel is as strong as our teachers are. Our children’s futures depend on them. Anything we can do to strengthen our teachers is of utmost importance, which is why we all want to do whatever we can to recognize their efforts on behalf of our children.
Our Teachers Care for Our Children Every Day
It’s Obvious That We Should be Doing the Same for Them
Let’s Do it in the Most Bakovideke Way Possible
Thanks for responding and showing that having it in public discussion brings about conversation on this topic where it can otherwise be ignored.
Very powerful article and many good, strong points were made.
Afew huaros that I feel rarely get mentioned when this topic is being discussed.
A) you mention there’s a shortage. If there really was than schools would have to pay the teachers more even without riling everyone up.
B) The schools have more than enough money to pay the teachers more, if they would want to! You mention that although the teachers salary has gone up tuition hasn’t. 20(girls in a class)x5k=100k 40x5k=200k so turns out there’s 100k more in the schools pocket per class even without raising the tuition.
And this is before all the Covid CASH!
C) As you did mention before that most parents are already being squeezed and can’t handle more tuition raises and besides it’ll cost the teacher more for her kids.
D) teachers/moros work half the time that a girl in an office job works Which leads to my next point E) historically not just in Jewish communities being a teacher or professor is giving over to others and never made as much money as a ceo. If you want a fat salary you go to work.
Well said. Has anyone else thought about how 10-12 year olds should not be reading about about teacher salaries and making their own conclusions about their future jobs at that age? It’s easy to talk about something bc I can’t do anything about it.
Great article I just want to add that obviously if someone is working more hours they make more money teachers don’t seem to realize that if u work in an office u don’t work 9:15 to 12:45 and have off two months in the summer plus erev Yom tov and after Yom Tov and u don’t get free tuition either. Simple math more work hours equals more money. And all teachers I speak to tell me they barely do much after school they use the same sheets year after year and speak to parents minimally so we’re talking about 17 hours a week for the average limudai kodesh lakewood teacher plus free tuition theyre actually getting a great salary! If they want more money they’re welcome to work more hours like everyone else and work through the summer like everyone else but the complaining has to stop. And making hardworking parents pay more tuition will just cause crazy stress to thousands of families. So no that’s certainly NOT the answer.
a voice of reason….
With all due respect Rabbi Elya Brudny one of the gedolim had or mentioned by the torah umesorah convention that teachers are barely able to cover their rent with their current check of 12-1400 a year! Maybe Rabbi P pays better! As for the free tuition not every school pays that! Additionally there are many teachers that are treated very poorly and leave the field! Rabbi perstien I was a teacher for 14 years and left as did many of my colleges. Please don’t cover up a issue. As for why parents are concerned they pay the bills and are seeing awesome teachers leaving the field in droves. Additionally, the expectation of the teachers doesn’t match the salary. Rabbi Perlstien u pay a plumber 150 a service call without a issue. You recognize that it’s a big skill. So is teaching.
Beautiful!! Totally agree, this whole “teachers crisis” may have started with good intentions but it only puts more doubts and a feeling of looked at as a nebech.
I find rabbi Perlstein article to be full of falsehoods and I will explain why.
1. The average starting salary in over 90% of girls schools in lakewood is $14,000.00.
2. I am a parent in a major school in lakewood who for the first time asked the parents for help in finding them teachers.
3. I listened to Rabbi Schenkolewski speak on the Torah umesora hotline where he clearly states that the quality and quantity in teachers has gone down this year.
4. Reb Lazer scheiner is doing amazing work. But rabbi Perlstein is incorrect once again. Lazer fund is now makinf parlor meetings in every area of lakewood / Toms River / Jackson.
I don’t know which schools told you this summer they weren’t searching…
I don’t know why you’re comparing teachers to a BMG initiative
It’s so nice you’re explaining to everyone why they should be moser Nefesh and enjoy the sipuk…. Who asked you?
In the town of Lakewood today yes many familiesmstruggle with tuition but many don’t… that’s who they would be talking to.
Calling Morah instead of teacher?!
If you don’t want to care about the shortage don’t but please don’t make it sound like it isn’t an issue that needs to be addressed.
Don’t forget to add food stamps to their salary. When you work in an office u don’t have money to buy food.
Hey,
You don’t need to over complicate this – The schools need to start paying the teachers more of the candidates will go to better paying jobs.. its that simple.
If a school can’t afford it then THEY need to figure it out themselves. Maybe they need to fundraise or raise the tuition etc.
In my opinion this is a problem that the schools need to resolve from within.
Hatzlocha!
This article brings a few questions to my mind.
Why would Rabbi perlstein mind the discussion if the onus was not on him too increase the salary of teachers?
Can he let us know what has been done behind the scenes in the last 10 years or 20 or 30 to alleviate teachers salary deficiency?
The correlation to the BMG initiative is false since the philanthropists won’t even hear of helping out a school since there is more than enough funding from government and tuition for a teacher’s salary increase.
Perhaps it’s because teachers cannot even try to negotiate their salary package as is the norm in every other industry since there seems to be a cartel/trust which does not allow any teachers to seek a job in any other school once they have a job in Lakewood school system. Teachers are locked in and must take whatever they are offered. Just breaking that unfair and unfair power advantage of the school administrators would do a lot to increase competitiveness and of course improve and raise the caliber of teachers willing to teach. If Rabbi is serious about the teacher’s well-being he would allow teachers to leave his school and seek better salaries elsewhere it’s a nice start.
I don’t really think there’s a shortage of teachers cuz of salary. It has to do more with the fact that the girls are totally done with school by the time they graduate they r burnt out they just spent fourteen years sitting in a classroom learning all day. Who in their right mind wants to spend all day drilling meforshim and chazals into 28 girls when they will forget it the minute their done the test. It’s way more fun to be a shaitel macher a party planner a makeup artist… the schools need to change the curriculum and make the teachers job easier and make it easier for the girl’s make the school day enjoyable and they will get teachers.
Very well written and very true.
The point of teachers/moros having “sipuk” is something that no corporate employee has or will ever have.
Getting into a Yom Tov mode by teaching your students is major. Those working in the corporate world join the Yom Tov at lecht tzinen still trying to catch their breath.
What about getting off before and after every Yom Tov (and even more before Pesach)? Doesn’t exist in the corporate world.
Getting paid for Yomim Tovim and not having to deduct it from your vacation days is another benefit you enjoy – we don’t.
But most important to the discussion is that this is not an issue to discuss so publicly. It is making the teachers very bitter and unhappy. And this all started with the TU convention theme going public. I am not blaming TU as the subject is a worthy one. But I agree that ultimately it is causing more harm than helping the problem.
I was a teacher for a number of years. I 1st want to say it’s not a 2 hr afternoon job, there is a lot of preparation and dealing with parent, report cards, meetings ect.
The issue is the fact that the schools are mostly privately owned and the owners all need that CEO salary.
Looks at every school owner in Lakewood.
while airing this in public is not ideal it wouldn’t be dealt with and it wasn’t dealt with any other way.
as to some of his points, while there may not be a shortage of teachers, the question is how many qualified older teachers are there left in the schools. most just leave.
one thing that may be looked at is the huge investment in extracurricular projects, the many staff and stuff bought, is a big drain. if you compare to a boys school, there are almost no money spent besides the Rebbe salaries. while for the girls these are all nice ideas, and can help develop the students, but if we don’t have enough money we have to prioritize where the money should go to, quality teachers in the classroom or fancy bulletin boards etc.
The solution to the Morah/teacher shortage is to tap into the highly qualified and talented pool of seniors that are moving to Lakewood.
1) Many of them have years of experience in both public and private school teaching and are more than happy to take on a part time job.
2) Many schools are beginning to hire them as assistants and they are doing great work. My daughter, for example has a Bubby who recently moved to Lakewood as her Morah and she loves her! Her Morah has extra time, patience and love to give to all her students as she isn’t burdened with raising her own children.
3) They don’t need large salaries as they are retired. They are doing this mostly to stay productive in a meaningful way, where they can love and nurture the next generation of Klal Yisroel.
4) I also know of a senior who is working for the first time in her life as a Morah and is loving her job. So even with no prior teaching experience, they can do quite well in a teaching position.
I have tons of sipuk but spend hours grading and creating new content bc you can not use the same material yr after yr, kids change and have different needs. This is also the 24/7 generation and parents think nothing of texting or calling at all hours. So no, I don’t work 3 hours a day.
I make very little and it’s not a liveable wage. And people pay their cleaning help more.
I looooove my students and live to teach them. I am not burnt out and have tons of patience. I just think the hypocrisy needs to get called out.
A good way to end the “crisis” is by offering them more hours as an english teacher, secretary admin, assistant etc from 12:30-3:00 this will help them take home more pay while adding more value to their position.
Maybe some offices that are searching for extra help in this worker shortage economy should offer hours that teachers will be available. Lets see if the teachers take those jobs…
from my experience, I believe there are two reasons teachers leave the educational system.
A. Teachers and Rabeim are no longer staying in one school for 20 or 30 years. (This is because of authoritarian style of work environment in most schools.) They don’t have the opportunity to build up their salary and reputation before it gets cut and they have to start again in another school.
B. The schools need to consolidate the workforce so each employee can have a full time job. The rebbi doesn’t have a job in the afternoon, the morah doesn’t have a job in the morning and the office staff, on slow day, do nothing.
Suggestion: The Moros can do office work in the morning, the Rebeim can do office work in the afternoon, and the one or two office staff that are needed almost full time can be a the substitute teacher when needed.
It’s a very nice written article however
Many of the “facts” you profess are simply false. There is a shortage and some schools have been hiring ALL summer long. Teachers may have “sipuk” but ultimately If the money is downright meager then they cannot live on it and will be forced to look elsewhere
My school was desperate to hire teachers and did NOT have enough applicants. I know of a number of schools who didn’t either, we were all calling each other in the summer. Some classes needed to be combined bc we were short a few teachers. And we are a “well paying “ pay on time school.
And yes, there is a shortage. Many seminary graduates are choosing to become therapists, party planners, and much more. A first yr teacher makes $12-20,000. My friend’s daughter in law does makeup and made 50,000 in Lakewood in just one yr. Cash.
As a former teacher and someone who watches many family members in chinuch struggle (yes, while enjoying a few well-deserved perks), I say THANK YOU TORAH UMESORAH FOR BEING BRAVE ENOUGH TO LISTEN TO OUR GEDOLIM AND FIX THIS!!!
Our teachers are skilled, dedicated professionals and should not be earning what you pay your cleaning help!
Most Morahs spend SIGNIFICANT time after hours on prep, marking, talking to parents…
If you think Morahs work 3 hours a day, ask yourself if you would hold back from calling your kids Morah after hours if you needed anything.
Go to Torah Umesorah’s website and you’ll see tens of passionate comments from current and former teachers – something needs to change!!!
And I also want to know – there are 30 tuitions coming in from each class (aside from all the govt funding) – where is the money going????
If i read correctly, you are blatantly accusing the schools of stealing money. Whoah! That is a big load to carry on your back Ma’am! In case you know how to think rationally (your comments dont depict that) it can easily be explained where “all” the money goes. Do you begin to know the cost of running a school. How much does it cost for school supplies (paper, tape, staples,stapler, ect. ?) What is the cost for janitorial supplies? How about lunches? How about paper goods? Did you wonder what an electric or water bill amounts to each month? How about the gas bill? Any clue what it costs for maintenance? How about the salaries for all the staff, not just the teachers? Do you think snow removal or lawn mowing is free. Maybe winterizing the sprinkler costs money too? Do I need to continue or do you get the point? And just in case you are wondering, I will give you one example. In a school of 300 students your paper goods/janitorial supplies bill will be approx. $8k – 9k a month!!! Thanks for your accusations. We really appreciate that you appreciate what we do for your children!?!?!?!?
Can someone please answer the following question:
All schools received two draws of forgivable PPP loans. To illustrate, if a school has a monthly payroll of 150K, they got 375K X 2= 750K. Due to the many Stimulus programs they did not get any less tuition. Additionally, every school got 5-19K for every single employee on their payroll. Why could the girls schools not pass on anything to the hardworking Moros who are making 15K a year?? This is indefensible.
The 5-19K per employee was for the Employee retention credit that they all got.
Things don’t usually change when swept under the rug. Unfortunately for a problem to be addressed, it is public opinion that gets it to change.
Hello – I live out of town and the teacher get paid pennies and they do not get free tuition for any kids
So go know – and no it aint cheap living out of town either
A 9-5 job would be the ideal way to make a parnassa. However, those who choose to teach do get a tremendous sipuck hanefesh. What you may not realize is that the same amount of time teachers spend in the classroom, they spend at home preparing and calling parents. By the time you finish, they are not even getting paid minimum wage.
They are our most valuable people. They certainly deserve more.
Thank you to Torah Umesorah for bringing this to light.
Sorry to all the schools who will have to pony up.
Yes, seminary girls who want to marry a learning boy are very often choosing to find a real Avenue to make a parnassa.
Without being cynical at all, I imagine this is (one of the reasons) why Hashem created the internet. Enough with the coverups, it’s not working. Ayin Roeh v’Ozen Shomaas. It’s understandable that people in power with no accountability passionately wish we would believe that they only have our best interests at heart, and they are welcome to prove it. You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide, so it’s a win-win 🙂 Even if nothing changes, it is extremely healthy for the people (and yes, for those in power too) that the facts are out there instead of us just being led blindly. (By the way, nothing in this comment is ch”v referring to the rosh mosad who wrote the article. We have no reason AT ALL to believe that he isn’t one of the purely l’Sheim Shamayim ones. I’m just putting out a point to be considered.) Hatzlacha to all!
Exploitation comes in many forms, Rabbi Perlstein.
This is one form. For too many decades, female teachers have been exploited by the schools, and they had enough.
Of course, you want everyone to be quiet and trust the almighty school owners, who are profiting tremendously while the teachers struggle.
Since you feel that teachers are paid decently, I have a great idea. Why don’t you, Rabbi Perlstein, try to live on that salary??
As for “sipuk”, anyone with a smidgen of intelligence understands that they are being taken advantage of. And any sipuk that they might have is gone.
I have a simple solution for all school owners who want to be taken seriously: be transparent and show everyone your books
Teachers/Rebeim and Morahs in Lakewood need a Union! It’s very nice they enjoy their job so now everyone takes advantage of them? Let’s focus on A morah at a CHS daycare they do not get off days other than than Yom tov, they don’t get 2 weeks of paid vacation etc. So it pretty much balances out. At other venues that have a school schedule they are told no vacation days needed we give them to you! A child sick a trip out of town will cost you $$ there’s is no making up time like you can do at many other jobs. Which means they can’t either come late and enjoy a bris or leave early for whatever and make up the time – they loose salary! They don’t receive healthcare like offices, there is no matching 401k or retirement fund or pension. They barely get a lunch break. Any girl that joined an office 5 years ago is making 55k plus the teachers get $1000 raises a year! It’s a joke especially considering that apartments, houses doubled in costs in the last few years! Many people enjoy their job and feel good about their job and guess what they also make money! You run a school and I’m sure you are starting to hear lots of grumbling from your teachers asking for huge raises. Guess what GIVE IT TO THEM! Instead of trying to quiet down the noise!! Yes, raise the tuition
And make sure the teachers raise is enough to cover their new tuition costs too!
$1,000 raise? I can’t remember getting that in years. We’re either frozen or get $500. It’s a joke.
This problem has been going on in America for more than 100 years
How is sweeping it under the rug and keeping quite going to effect change
To the contrary it is time for Klal Yisroel to step up to the plate and take responsibility
There are Billions of dollars of Jewish money sitting around in Banks and empty investments
Billions of more dollars are spent on all types of vanities and Narishkeit and Excesses
You all know what I mean
Use that money to pay the teachers a decent salary
They should not be worse than public school teachers who get good salaries and all types of lifetime benifits
Seems like there are too many teachers who r complaining that too many hours r spent at home marking tests I have an easy solution don’t give tests! The teachers will be happier and the girls will be happier win win solution! Which brings me to my next point forget about the teacher crisis we have a “too heavy curriculum crisis” it is foolish to have girls spend years of their life memorizing all kinds of facts that in all honesty they will never use. Let’s face it let’s discuss this at the Torah umesorah convention. This is the crisis today each school is trying to outdo the next with their insanely heavy workload and the girls r suffering and they do not want to become teachers after all they have been through.Now that their done school they realize the foolishness of being forced to memorize hundreds of pages of notes it gets u no where in life and so why would they want to do that for a living? They don’t want to do to the next generation what was done to them. Even if they got paid well we would still have a teacher crisis.Girls have zero interest in reading one more rashi. Take an informal survey how many woman have opened a Chumash voluntarily since they graduated? The answer lies in going back to basics school has to be a place where the girls grow in middos, yiras shamayim and learn to be a caring, good yid. Marks mean nothing at all. Teachers waste precious hours of their time marking tests that the girls wasted precious hours of their time studying for and exactly who r we impressing? We’re losing our teachers to all this craziness!!
Just wanted to point out;
1) Teachers get paid for the actual teaching hours but unlike most employees in other fields they put in at least twice as much time for prep, working with parents and other outside professionals, in addition to trying their best to reach and teach every child in the best way possible while still balancing this with the needs of the rest of the class. They are unfortunately not paid for all these hours which often surpass the actual teaching hours.
2) Sipuk from teaching is a beautiful thing and is what gives the teachers the Chizuk to continue. Alas, teaching also comes with aggravation from dealing with students misbehavior, chutzpah and often other difficulties and lack of cooperation with either parents, outside professionals or school staff. A business employee does not bring home work nor would they attend meetings outside of business hours for zero pay.
3) Last but probably most importantly, we are forgetting that our precious sons and daughters chinuch is probably the most important factor in our lives as Torah Jews. Should we not express this sentiment in the reality that it is, rather than use our money for other things and then put the onus on our teachers and tell them that if they are really sincere about being in chinuch, they should not need to be paid commensurately. We should put our money where our priorities are. Those in chinuch deserve to be able to raise their families in a bakovidike way.
It’s a sad state of affairs but truly the bottom line is. A Lakewood bas Yisroel wants to stay in a school sevivaj and the schools have their pick from the Neil I’ve wives who are above average in brilliance dedication and love for derech hakadosh. So yoi have (or had) an I credible pool of extraordinary above average teachers and a seminary grad was LUCKY to get any teaching job at all. Most worked as a permanent sub for peanuts if they were lucky. This is a tough subject but it is a sad reality. The only girls who could afford to be teachers were rich girls who wanted a “proper” job. Much like some yeshivash would only give a “shtella” to those who could pay to add a. Classroom. Etc. It’s worse for the girls cause there are many many talented girls who invite the -I can always hire aomebody else philosophy- The perks and hours don’t make up for the fact that the salaries that they get cannot pay the rent -no matter how hard they struggle and watch pennies. The article and comments are all v good but I fear that no solution has been presented
The solution to this dilemma is to pay teachers well and on time. It’s the responsibility of the school to find a way.
2) To some 1 who usually doesn’t comment: What do u spend your floose on? Please don’t indoctrinate others what to spend their floose on. Have a wonderful Shabbat.
1. If you dont like your job quit.
2. It seems like everyone who oens schools is rich.
3. I work in an office i dont get.
Paid yom tov, free lunch, off erev yom tov, free tuition, get off early on fast days, discounts becuase of my job, ability to get a summer job in a camp get free camp and rent out my house.
In short if your not getting enough money leave your job.
We should ask pepole who part of the problem and ak them how to fix it.
We want our children to have experienced quality teachers. With all due respect I believe This IS a big issue and should be addressed properly. No matter how much sipuk one gains and no matter what other perks the job comes with, a teachers salary has to be Substantial so they can live on it. While a teacher can sometimes take on tutoring jobs or other small fillers, it is important to realize that this greatly detracts from their teaching job and many times it is simply not feasible. You can’t teach half day, get a second job for the other half and also prepare normally at night. We all stand to lose when our teachers are inadequately prepared or inexperienced enough to care for and teach our children.
To all those that say that if they don’t like the pay they should just quit, there are two problems with that. First of all that’s not how it usually works. In general when an employee needs a raise the employee requests a raise. Standing up and leaving the job is not always the correct and mature thing to do. Second of all if a few teachers quit because of underpay it will not help the problem. It may help them in their own personal life but it will not help the issue at large. To the contrary the more teachers
quit the job the bigger the issue will be.
stop using others at your convince.
While I won’t comment on the facts, because the facts are different In each school. I do want to respond to all those saying schools are flooded with money. Before you say that sit down, and calculate some things. 1) a school buildings electric bill 2) janitors 3) secretaries 4) mortgage/ rent. The list goes on. It comes at a massive cost to operate a school. The PPP loans are maybe sufficient enough to take some schools out of their debt. As well all the funding schools receive, cannot be used freely. There is funding given for specific things, and not for all the things that a jewish school has to provide. So please don’t criticize our very special people that give up their lives for our children,and run a school. Any school owner is perfectly capable of running a profitable business, but instead they gave up for us. Thank you teachers, rabeim, menahalim, secrarataries, school owners. We owe you all.
1.) make a union
2.) go on strike and negotiate wages/benefits
3.) thats all your boss will understand
I went to the bank today and tried to pay for my outstanding mortgage and credit card bills with my unbelievable ‘Sipuk’ surplus.
They turned me away and said to get lost. I cried to the manager “…but…but Rabbi Perlstein said that Sipuk is better than money…”
I learned a big lesson today: Sipuk is all fine and dandy but it doesn’t pay the bills.
I may agree with Rabbi Perlstein. But firstly, it should not be coming from their employer!!!
Also, in my opinion there is a much greater problem which is causing all of this, and this is this NEW concept that schools became a private business. There should be oversight like all tzedaka see Gemara in bovo basra the first Perez and Gemara horiyos. Moshe Rabbenu had to give a din vecheshbon what happened to every penny, and these Roshei Mosdos do what they want.
Staying away from the distracting details of exactly of how to increase salaries and if teachers are being underpaid.
1.The FACT is: We are talking about YOUR children. Don’t you want the best for them? Who is with them half the day?
Everyone knows teachers are leaving their jobs right and left. There was a big local school that actually had to send out a text after the school year started to the entire parent body asking if anyone knows of any suitable teacher. R Frank and R Shenkolevski both said that the number of applicants decreased tremendously. The most capable girls are NOT going into teaching? It is an isssue! This is exactly what R Elya Brudny said-If we want proper chinuch then we need to pay the teachers more! So again, it is an issue! Don’t ignore it!
2. At the end of the day, when it comes to anything in Klal Yisroel, we follow the advice of our gedolim.
~ R’ Elya Brudny (Torah Umesorah Podcast): Said-It is an issue and it SHOULD be publisized.
~ R’ Chaim Epstein (Jewish Observer Oct 2000) Wrote-It is an issue and many problems later in life come because the teachers can’t possibly give the ultimate devotion to their students because they are overworked and underpaid.
~Many other current gedolim say the same.
3. If anyone reads R Perlstein’s article, you would clearly see how he constantly contradicts himself without even realizing!
Clearly the writer didn’t do his homework. Hard Facts: Every principal I know both in town and out of town has been seriously struggling with finding teachers to hire the last few years. This school year was the worst ever. Numerous schools are still missing teachers and it’s almost January! TU gathered REAL data…from across the US on teacher salaries. Starting salaries are pitiful…no intelligent girl in her right mind should be working for these wages. Not for the hours (yes hours!) of blood sweat and tears that go into classroom management, lesson preparation, and endless efforts on behalf of our students! For way too long -women in chinuch have been overwhelmingly been taken advantage of. Period. Don’t give me all the fluff. The Emes is out loud and clear. It’s uncomfortable and embarrassing but change requires self reflection and correction. Read the last paragraph of the article carefully. Rabbi Perlstein describes the veteran teacher who is convinced to stay in chinuch by being offered a higher salary!!! If that doesn’t speak volumes…(about putting your foot in your mouth…) wake up and smell the coffee.
Your daughter’s future depends on this. We must correct this huge injustice before it’s too late. It’s not a crisis. The Morah situation is in the ICU on life support. As a Torah community we need to step up to the plate.
the bnos yisroel shud unionize!!!
and the world will know!!!!!
vihamvin yuvin LOL
I have been teaching for over 20 years and love what I do. That said, I still speak to parents regularly, write newsletters, report cards, referrals and evaluations to the board of education when children require extra help. I collaborate with other teachers, therapists and the principal in order to best help my students, and put in extra hours of preparation each week. All that is outside of my official teaching hours! I did not get free tuition for any of my children.
In the past I have watched good teachers leave our schools to work in public school. At this point, our school is still short staffed. At the end of the summer they were desperate and hired whomever they could. Many of our newer teachers are only teaching with us while they finish up a degree or course preparing them for a better paying job.
Yes, I have made the choice to teach and appreciate the opportunity that I have to be involved in the chinuch of so many bnos yisroel. I chose to do so knowing that Al pi teva I would not have it easy financially. But today’s reality is that not many can afford to, nor want to make such a choice. My own children do not want to teach. They actually sometimes resent my choice to do so as it affects their ability to go to camp, and have other things they see other families enjoying. Hopefully one day they will fully appreciate and respect my choice and that of others who are in chinuch.
It would be nice if others would help it be more affordable to teach so that our children and grandchildren can have dedicated, capable, wonderful teachers.
I thought about this a lot. How can we get more money in teachers pockets?
If instead of a tuition raise, if each parent gave $200-$500 a year directly to the teachers this would potentially be a $6000-$15000 bonus for each teacher.
The benefit of this system instead of a tuition raise is that you money is going straight into the teacher pocket.
Granted it’s $400-$1000 per child, I still think it’s a great idea. Or the tuition raise is structured that the teachers are directly getting bonuses.
I think a full time experienced teacher salary should be $80,000 a year.
Also the pay scale needs to be transparent and so being single or married should not be a deciding factor in the pay scale, pay is based on experience and performance.
Also the fact that teachers get tuition bonuses for their kids, it’s better to just pay them more so they can afford to pay their childrens tuitions.
Bottom line,
We need to increase the amount of value we deliver with in our work capacity to make more money so we can all live with more peace of mind and abundance.
As someone who works in a public school, even public school teachers take decades to reach a salary of 80K. Most start out with a salary of around 50K. And they are teaching a FULL DAY of close to seven hours… with prep at home as well, parent communication, etc.
If you really read the article, then quite a few of the comments posted don’t make sense. The author never said that sipuk from teaching should be a reason to avoid asking for a raise. The author stresses over and over again that the teachers are tremendously appreciated and extremely valuable. The fact that changes can and should be put in place is not argued with at all.
The writer was making the point that it should be addressed in a responsible and bakovideke way. By knocking others in a public forum, and by creating a bad feeling regarding the teaching profession, we are only harming our most cherished members of klal Yisroel.
Stay focused on what was the point of the article and let’s allow those who can effect real change do what needs to be done.
Rabbi Perlstein I can’t agree to you more that this “issue” is being over blown and it doesn’t do anyone good by writing about it publicly. However you can’t argue with the facts on the grounds, the good Moras are disappearing and new post seminary girls don’t want to enter the chinuch field.
I think the point to be made here is that if Rabbeim in a cheder can make a decent (although not too large) salary then why can’t a Mora?
No one is saying that Moras should be getting a “for profit” salary and it is defiantly not good for our chinuch system if they do get such a type salary. However, at least a Rebbe’s salary.
Schools are charging almost the exact same tuition for cheder as they do for girls schools why then can’t Moras get paid a salary like a Rebbe.
The writer is an embarrassment to the entire jewish community.
Not all there, ye…you sound like you’re not all there.