http://gradschool.about.com/od/medicalschool/f/MedSchoolCost.htm
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2004/TiffanyYam.shtml
I agree with the class that teachers should be paid more than they are, but I stick with my statement last night that we are all aware of the lack of salaries that teachers get paid, and we are sticking with it. Yes, in the long run, doctors may make more money, but starting out, residents, interns, and even young doctors receive a great lack of respect from patients and even other doctors. My roommate is pre-med and last night we had a discussion continuing the class's discussion. She brought up a few valid points (though I don't know if it still validates the pay gap for myself yet...the debates still out...):
- Once pre-med students go on to Medical School, they are no longer taught by "teachers" but by actually doctors, in a hospital setting.
- The cost of schooling for the pre-med student is double, triple, quadruple, or more, than the cost of schooling for that of teachers; every state varies. (2nd link)
- The test that pre-med students have to take, the MCAT, starts out in the hundreds for a PRACTICE test. The cost is upward in the thousands depending on other cities/ universities that offer it--for a PRACTICE test, not even the final one. This supercedes the cost of the GRE and Praxis combined. (1st link)
- The shows on tv, "ER", "Scrubs", "Gray's Anatomy" are not real life. It's not that fun (or so my roommate says...).
- When interning and in their residency, doctors make little to no money.
- Looking at that last link made me sad; as teachers starting out in some states, we make the same amount today that doctors made in the Great Depression. That's the sad reality.
- Final point, I know we are all highly educated, so here is my personal opinion: I am not becoming a teacher for the money, I am becoming a teacher for the kids I will teach. I don't know if the Fundamentalists, Radicals, Marxists, or any other group would agree with me, but if that's the case, I am okay with not being grouped with any of them.
2 comments:
Let me try to comment as a functionalist.
The entry barriers to medicine are so high because of 1)the technology involved in medicine (which grossly outpaces that in education) and 2)the margin for error is smaller. If my doctor messes up and gives me the wrong prescription, I could die. If a teacher fails to teach someone how to multiply, then, well, they won't die. And there is another teacher waiting to try again.
Another factor is that medicine requires highly specialized knowledge. Teaching does not.
The fact that people like Audrey are willing to teach with limited rewards further justifies my (functionalist) position. The intrinsic benefits of teaching apply to a wide enough set of people that further extrinsic rewards are not necessary to attract people to teaching.
Excellent post.
I missed class this week, but I was wondering if anyone brought up the fact that teachers only work 9 months out the year? I am certainly going into teaching for the intrinsic rewards, but I am also looking forward to my summers off!
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