Let’s not fixate on teacher pay

My friend John, whose older brother is a teacher, frequently laments the “deplorable” state of teacher salaries. “It is much too low, he complains. “It should be raised.”

My friend John is not the only one who feels this way. Many other well-intentioned people are equally concerned about teacher salaries.

In fact, it has become quite fashionable for “decent, well educated” people to be quite concerned about “underpaid, overworked public school teachers.” It shows people that you care about the community and our entire society, you see.

Anyone who isn’t overly concerned about the deplorable state of teacher pay must be some kind of an ogre–an unfeeling creature to be ostracized and condemned.

Evidently, to be a good, responsible citizen, you must almost stay awake at night perpetually worrying about meager teacher pay. This is the PC (politically-correct) thing to do: worry about the plight of our poor public school teachers, who deserve everything and then some.

Now I am not saying that all public school teachers are bad. On the contrary, there are some exceptional public school teachers out there, no doubt about it. Valrick Welch, over at San Vicente elementary, is probably one of them. Dora H.P. Borja, over at San Antonio, might be another. I am sure there are many others. We could cite many outstanding examples.

But, contrary to popular belief, teachers aren’t the most important workers in the world. We shouldn’t absurdly fret about their salaries any more than we might fixate on the compensation of other professionals or employees in the marketplace.

What about those poor economists, for example? Where would we be without economists? Ever thought about that for a moment?

Or how about those plumbers and truck-drivers? When was the last time you worried about their pay and benefits?

For that matter, what about the poor journalists and columnists? Ever worry about that for a change? You should.

There are many other trades and professions out there. Yet we don’t hear people complain about those poor, underpaid doctors or attorneys. Aren’t they important too?

The market should decide what each of us is worth in terms of employment compensation, not the politics of public opinion.

Of course, the obvious rejoinder would be: “Well, if it were not for teachers, we would not have any of these other professions, now would we?”

But this is really a silly argument. Teachers are needed; and wherever there is a demand for something, the supply will invariably, inevitably, follow.

Where would teachers be without the other jobs and professions, for instance? Ever think about that question for a moment? It is a fair question to ask.

Strictly a personal view. Charles Reyes Jr. is a regular columnist of Saipan Tribune. Mr. Reyes may be reached at charlesraves@hotmail.com