Dear Future President,

I am the daughter of a first grade, public school teacher and I would like to talk about a problem that hits home to not only me, but to thousands of families across the U.S. For the past twenty years, my mom has witnessed firsthand the lack of respect for our teachers. Pay has steadily decreased over these years which make living with a family, especially as a single mom, increasingly difficult. From multiple articles I’ve read, teachers are struggling to pay for their children, forced to go to food pantries, and having to sacrifice some of their own things just to make ends meet. This is a real problem that is costing people their homes, jobs, and families.

The lowest average beginning salary for a teacher is in South Dakota at $29,851 a year and the highest being $48,631 in New Jersey. All other states have salaries ranging between these two amounts. This is according to teacher portal.com. I’d like to point out that the average starting salary for a lawyer is $160,000 according to a new survey from the National Association for Law Placement. This difference shows the truth to the injustice we do to our teachers. 20% of new public school teachers leave the job by the end of the first year talked about by aspen institute. This is starting to cause a teacher shortage in states all over and even in my own school. Some people wouldn’t care about this and wouldn’t want to give it the time of day, but I’m here to tell you why you should.

These new teachers that thought they would love the job are now quitting because they are realizing how thankless of a job it really is. They would much rather spend their time at a place where they are well respected and get paid what they deserve. In addition to the new teachers leaving, people that have worked in this profession for many years are also making a switch. No one takes the time to acknowledge that they provide the foundation for all other jobs. They give everyone the knowledge to have a successful path but still get over looked. As we are losing these teachers, what do you think is going to happen to our young people? Do you think they are going to get their proper education? The same education you received that is allowing you to be president? Our children will suffer and it’s at the cost of you to change the way we view our teachers.

Before people come up with all these ideas to increase benefits and offer more pay, we need to think about how this will affect the hiring rate. This solution has already been used and has already failed. It may attract a few teachers but after a while, hiring will have to stop because the funding isn’t there. That’s where you come in Mr. President. Funding needs to be increased for our teacher so we can hire more and make them want to keep their jobs. If people can see how important our teachers are, taxes may be sought to go to them.

I’ve been lucky enough to receive a proper education with quality teachers. I’m sure that you and your children have also received this luxury. If we can’t stop this issue, it’s sad to say that I’m not sure if our next generations will receive this. Teachers put up with injustice, disrespect, and a lack of thanks every single day but also provide the foundation for everyone else to be successful. If we don’t bring more attention to their needs and recognize their hard work, it’s hard to say where our world will be in a few years.

Sincerely, Rachel