2008 Woodie Awards
Overworked, Underpaid
Courteney Uraine
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Opinion
With the start of the football season, there has been a lot of coverage on how much professional athletes are being paid. A few months ago, there was a lot of media attention on David Beckham and his signing with the L.A. Galaxy.
Most of this interest was focused on the amount that Beckham was being paid to sign on to the team. After reading these reports, I have realized how badly society's priorities are mixed up.
According to an April 22 article in the New York Times, Beckham was given $27.5 million to sign a five-year contract. First-round football draft pick Byron Leftwich was signed to the Atlanta Falcons for a two-year contract of $7 million.
All of this money is given to people who run around like decapitated chickens to entertain us.
While all of this money is being wasted on such senseless pursuits, the people who deserve larger incomes are being overlooked. Teaching is a crucial occupation that goes unnoticed. Teachers pass on knowledge that is imperative to the survival of our civilization.
If there were no teachers, there would be no doctors, lawyers or any other profession imaginable. Teachers are the building blocks that make up our world.
Imagine a world that could never surpass what we have now; a world without teachers.
The average salary for a teaching position is $59,345, according to the National Education Association. If we can give athletes millions of dollars to play a game, then teachers should be given more money to survive.
Another profession that is highly underrated is medicine. Without medicine or doctors, we would not be expected to live past the age of 40. Think back to the 1700s, when medicine was not as widespread, nor as advanced. Do we really want to deteriorate back to that place in time?
Even though doctors are paid much more than teachers, $100,000 a year is nothing compared to what professional athletes are paid. Doctors save lives, yet they are underappreciated by the public.
Most of this interest was focused on the amount that Beckham was being paid to sign on to the team. After reading these reports, I have realized how badly society's priorities are mixed up.
According to an April 22 article in the New York Times, Beckham was given $27.5 million to sign a five-year contract. First-round football draft pick Byron Leftwich was signed to the Atlanta Falcons for a two-year contract of $7 million.
All of this money is given to people who run around like decapitated chickens to entertain us.
While all of this money is being wasted on such senseless pursuits, the people who deserve larger incomes are being overlooked. Teaching is a crucial occupation that goes unnoticed. Teachers pass on knowledge that is imperative to the survival of our civilization.
If there were no teachers, there would be no doctors, lawyers or any other profession imaginable. Teachers are the building blocks that make up our world.
Imagine a world that could never surpass what we have now; a world without teachers.
The average salary for a teaching position is $59,345, according to the National Education Association. If we can give athletes millions of dollars to play a game, then teachers should be given more money to survive.
Another profession that is highly underrated is medicine. Without medicine or doctors, we would not be expected to live past the age of 40. Think back to the 1700s, when medicine was not as widespread, nor as advanced. Do we really want to deteriorate back to that place in time?
Even though doctors are paid much more than teachers, $100,000 a year is nothing compared to what professional athletes are paid. Doctors save lives, yet they are underappreciated by the public.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Brian Burke
posted 9/26/07 @ 5:51 AM PST
Teachers will start to be paid like pro-athletes when 50,000 people pay $100 a person to show up and watch Algebra class.
Post a Comment