It's not just about what they make but in many areas of the country, teachers are coming out of their own pockets for supplies and teaching aids for their students.

Good point. How's this for a starting point on the discussion...?

In an effort to piss off all you sports fans, I believe that a teacher should make more than ANY professional athlete. Shit they are just playing a game.

Ask a teacher how much they should make. they should determine their worth, not someone else.

The conversation I have heard many times here in Michigan is that teachers "...make too much money...", and have "...all Summer off." Those who make such statements are pretty much ignorant of the reality of the situation. In my school district in Michigan, a starting teacher had to have a bachelor's degree with teacher certification. Then they had to go on (in the Summer and/or nights), and get an additional minimum of 18 semester hours or attain their master's degree. The first 9 hours was not reimbursed by the district...it comes out of the teacher's pocket. When it comes to, "all Summer off", typically the starting date for teachers in our district was August 14-15 for "teacher's work days" through June 10 or so (snow days added), for the school year...about two months off...if they are not in grad school. When It comes to pay grades, consideration should be given to, amount of education, some get more than a master's... meaning continuing on in grad school to get an education specialist's degree or a doctorate, or other grad school classes. Also in our district, there were pay steps relative to how many years they had been teaching in the district. Therefore, what would be a fair wage for a person who typically has a master's degree or more, and has been a teacher for an average of more than ten years? More than a bar tender? I found it interesting that the lower a person's education level the more likely they were to consider teacher's to be overpaid.

The answer to the OP's question is very simple economics 101... whatever the market will bear. If you produce a product of low value, than compensation will reflect accordingly.

The deeper question that should be addressed is, why do our societies and cultures find so little value in education? The multitude of answers to that question could fill many threads. For an example of the economics of this situation look no further than an educational institution's athletics program. They rarely run into funding issues, and in fact usually help keep other departments afloat with their excesses. Once again that is market forces at work showing where our values lie. In my opinion, until our values change on this issue I expect that teachers will always be "underpaid".

Depending on local cost of living, but I’d say 6 figures, easy. Yes, I’m being serious. We should hold them in the same regard we hold doctors and others who contribute greatly to society.

There are too many factors involved to give just one number. Regardless, we live in a time where education itself is considered the enemy by many an imbecile. That in itself speaks volumes of how we need teachers more than ever.

$70,000 per year on average. They should certainly make more than politicians.

I think teachers should be one of the highest earners in the society along with soldiers and health professionals.

I started teaching in 2002, and after a previous 4 year degree in my subject area, and nearly two years on top of that for teacher ed, I earned less than I was making as a grocery store assistant manager in 1999. Even worse, as a teacher we got paid each month, so I had no income at all until the end of September. I had to get a $2000 loan from my parents to cover me for the month, and paid it back $200 a month for that year...which put me BELOW what I was making at the grocery store. (And on top of all of that, our contract is for 9 months work, but our PAY is split into 12 equal monthly payments...so that after one month's work--putting in 1/9th of my year's work--, I got paid 1/12 of my salary. People still think we get paid for doing nothing during the summer, when in fact we are simply getting the rest of our pay for work we already did. This isn't such a big deal after 15 years...but for first year people, it's a kick in the gut and a red flag that maybe you should have picked a different career.)

I now have nearly 7 years of college, 15 years experience, and am approaching what I should have been paid to start all those years ago.

One good thing is that I learned to live on a low income and saved everything else for fear of being trapped financially. My investment income last year eclipsed my salary by quite a lot (almost double), and now I'm feeling guilty for considering quiting teaching. I know there is no one to replace me. Last year they hired a guy who taught one year of 5th grade, with no high school certificate, and a journalism degree. They gave him honors classes his first year for some reason, and wanted the rest of us to help him get up to speed (as if it was that simple). I'd been teaching 13 years, with a professional certificate, a degree in my subject, a 3.9 post grad GPA, and a 4 year college honors program under my belt before they even suggested I teach honors.

I always knew I was overqualified and undervalued, but reality has kind of slapped me in the face last year and this year. (We also almost went on strike at the beginning of the year because the money the state set aside for our salaries suddenly was being funneled elsewhere. Fortunately we got our money...but not before the district told us to have our room keys ready to turn over because subs would be replacing us. I knew they were bluffing then! They don't have enough subs during the school year to cover sick days, much less cover every single teacher! Besides, the subs were on our side anyway.)

I read all the comments and have something to add. Not only do we have to consider what they do and how much education they need to do what they do we should also consider that most teachers, like anyone else who has attended college, have student loans. Does anyone think it is ridiculous that most people have to give up so much money in student loans? I think education should be based on aptitude and achievement. So many people go to college, study a subject as a major, and never get a job in their field so they decide to go for a teaching certificate. Many hate teaching but what else do you do with a history degree? So few go on to write books or curate museums or lead historical trips. So, there is allot to consider in our education system and not just salary.

It depends on where they live and the standard of living in their area. It also depends on their educational level and their time in service and their academic ratings. Unfortunately, education is falling short everywhere because the old system of funding did not take exponential population growth into consideration. My late partner was a master educator at the public elementary level. She got her masters and made a decent salary but it did not compare to other fields at her skill and education level. However, there were also perks (vacation, health care, retirement, job satisfaction) which also have a huge value.

At least as much as a professional basketball player..

Teachers should be like rockstars, they're responsible for our future, we need show appreciation

It should be high enough to make it a very competitive field. Our best minds should be working to get into the teaching profession. The less you pay, the lower quality people you will get to teach our youth, and if you look at the comments on an article on say climate change on Facebook, you'll see what's happening in our country. I have no doubt that this country can go backward very quickly, if we don't have a decent system in place to educate our children.
Teaching is one of our most important professions, and it should be treated that way.

That's actually a very difficult question for one simple reason....if you make one dollar then you will always want one more. It will never be enough money wise. On the other hand, teaching should be a privilege for those who feel the calling, then money takes a different perspective. I think we all at least can agree that no one would make a fortune by just teaching, even when it is a fundamentally important job for society.

I think the best solution for the whole problem of income equality among ALL Americans especially considering the current rise of automation is a guaranteed income first to establish a baseline for everyone to survive on. From there specific jobs can be paid based on market forces etc. In the case of teachers I think they should at least be guaranteed the median income based on their location. I also think that income should be spread through out the year so they in the summer continue to draw a salary. Of course I also think we should end the huge summer vacation tradition in America and extend the school year throughout the year but add more week to two week vacations. Especially in urban areas. I find the idea in America of noble suffering to be puritan BS. The fact that we basically take advantage of those among us who serve whether they be teachers, nurses, service industry workers while we are fine spending billions on pointless military bloat (How many times do we need to be able to destroy the world with nukes before we have enough?) is beyond me. My mom was a teacher for 40+ years before she retired and NEVER made above the median income even though she shaped generations of young people with a love of history and strong background in critical thinking. The fact that she was never complained does not discount the injustice of her effort versus the excess of the rich and those who make millions playing a game whether on the field or in the board room or playing the stock market.

how could anyone say that without knowing where the teacher lived. the cost of living is different from place to place. so whatever is a living wage at the VERY least, and if we value teachers as we should, we shouldn't even stick to the minimum.

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I'm puzzled then, at why these folks go into teaching. Here in Ohio, teachers are paid from property taxes. And their salaries are a matter of public record. So it should be no shock to anyone thinking of becoming a teacher as to what they are going to be paid.

With the shit taught in schools? That might be more a symptom of the system and core curriculum and not teachers, but even if we ignore that, the U.S. doesn't have a great school system. We rank something like 27th in the world. This question needs to consider too many components to give a general answer to the question. Kids seem to be taught how to pass tests and nothing else. I remember a post from yesterday that said they are thinking about dropping a failing grade to 39. They seem to want to artificially climb the world rankings by making the grading easier and not actually teaching these kids. They are taught to be good consumers and good workers and not necessarily thinkers. What do we base the quality of the system on? How many teachers actually teach and actually give a crap? Those are just a couple of the many components that I think the U.S. needs to look at and evaluate before this question can be answered with quality.

They should try teaching first, then we can talk salary.

In any given area, qualified teachers' pay should be on a par with that of registered nurses.

I would think it depends on the cost of living in the state. For the amount of training and continuing education required, teachers should make as much as the average skilled profession in the state. So for Arkansas, that would be about $45-50,000 starting salary. Those with a Master's should make more. As it stands, most K-12 schools start their teachers out at $30-35,000. IMO, higher salaries will attract "better" people to go into teaching as a profession. There would be more competition for teaching jobs, which means schools could be picky about the quality of teachers they hire.

They have a min 4 years of higher education. Their yearly salary should reflect that. Then they have to be tested for teacher credentials more pay because do you want your children being taught by someone who feels they are not paid their worth. Teachers are those teaching our kids to learning about life out side of the home.