Teacher Salaries Should Be Higher If They Are Effective

Doctors are responsible for treating patients in life-threatening situations. Lawyers protect citizens from arrest for a crime that they may not have done. These two jobs have very high salaries because of the importance that the occupation carries, but what about teachers? The people responsible for passing on the knowledge of many subjects to our future generations deserve to be paid more than they currently are.

Teachers are paid well under 100,000 dollars a year. Even though that is a very high salary, the good teachers are well deserving of that income. These people are in charge of leading children down a successful path in their futures. A good teacher can be the difference between a child failing, or reaching his maximum potential. 

One study experimented with the affect that teachers have on a students learning. Identical twins were taught the same material, in the same school, with different teachers. The study showed that one had much lower grades than the other twin because the teachers were of different quality. However, the teachers were paid the same because of the system that school ran. 

Teachers that post good exams grades by their students should be paid very well. Right now, pay is mostly based on experience in the job, but why should a bad teacher get paid the same as a good teacher due to longevity in the field? A considerably higher pay should be given to teachers who consistently help students achieve higher grades on state and national examinations.