Indiana schools are not failing us. They are being forced to do what they should not be doing: producing automatons ready for the workforce. They should be preparing citizens ready for the real world of this 21st Century.
Our public schools, the bulwark of civil society, are endangered by radical privatization and aggressive commercialization of education. The result is a full-on attack from failing religious institutions that see public monies as their fiscal salvation.
But let’s talk about what we all know, the relatively low level of compensation for Indiana teachers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us, the annual average wage in 2021 for all Indiana workers was $50,440, the 37th highest — or 14th lowest — among the 50 states. Our median wage was $38,330, or 33rd. Half of those Indiana workers made less than that amount.
Without the space to discuss this travesty in detail, let’s note that Hoosier kindergarten teachers, leaving out special education teachers, rank 40th in the U.S., with a median income of $48,210. Elementary and middle school teachers rank 42nd.
Secondary school teachers, leaving out those special ed and career/tech educators, rank 44th in the nation.
By contrast, teachers who offer career and technical education in Indiana’s middle schools rank 26th in the nation; at the high school or secondary level they rank 21st.
However, our special ed teachers from K-12 rank 44th or 45th in annual median earnings. Thus, compared to other states, our teachers are not well-paid unless they are teaching for the gullet of the business whale.
We’ve heard it for decades and our political leaders always say they are addressing the problem. But they are focused on job training, not education for citizenship.
Thus far this year in 24 states the Brookings Institution tells us, governors are going to their legislatures and asking for more school funding to increase teachers’ income. That’s true in Indiana as well.
If we need more and better students enrolling in our schools of education we should create more and better scholarships for that purpose. If we need more of our ed school graduates teaching in Indiana, then a bonus for such behavior should be financed.
More of our experienced teachers might remain in the non-vocational classrooms if two things were done: first, provide more funds for retirement as a teacher reaches various advanced milestones in a career; second, reduce the financial benefits of becoming a school administrator. The median earnings of a school administrator in Indiana is about $36,300, or 75%, higher than the median earnings of a K-12 teacher.
If we are to strengthen education, we need more and better teachers at all levels and in all programs. That requires more competitive compensation as well as more money for learning to teach and then teaching.
Morton Marcus is an economist. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow his views and those of John Guy on “Who Gets What?” wherever podcasts are available or at mortonjohn.libsyn.com. Send comments to [email protected].
