Survey: Morale low for Texas teachers
April 19, 2008
More than one in four Texas teachers moonlight at second jobs to make ends meet, putting in an extra 12 hours of work a week outside their classrooms, according to a survey released Friday by the Texas State Teachers Association.
Written by Terrence Stutz, The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – More than one in four Texas teachers moonlight at second jobs to make ends meet, putting in an extra 12 hours of work a week outside their classrooms, according to a survey released Friday by the Texas State Teachers Association.
The random survey by researchers at Sam Houston State University also found that 44 percent of teachers are seriously thinking about quitting their teaching jobs.
Asked why they are considering leaving the profession, twice as many (42 percent) cited poor working conditions as cited low salaries (21 percent).
"This year's report is especially disturbing because it shows an increasing need for teachers as an aging teacher corps moves closer to retirement," said TSTA President Donna New Haschke, who also noted that as many as 50,000 classrooms in the state are staffed by teachers not certified in their subjects.
The 28 percent of teachers who moonlight work at a variety of jobs, according to the study, but just over half of them have school-related positions such as tutoring students after school. About 25 percent have service jobs and 14 percent work in sales.
Nearly 34 percent of teachers in the survey said they have summer jobs when school is out.
The average annual salary of teachers who were surveyed was $47,545 and the average additional earnings of those who held second jobs during the school year was $8,288.
Teachers were also asked by Sam Houston researchers whether they support current state requirements that call on students in grades 3, 5 and 8 to pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills to be promoted.
Only 4 percent of those surveyed said they support the requirement.
That figure is consistent with a study last year that indicated many teachers are finding it difficult to flunk their students for failing the TAKS even though passage of the exam is a requirement for promotion in those three grades. Students who fail the TAKS can still be promoted under a waiver provision that allows a student to advance with the agreement of the teacher, parents and principal.
A study profiled the average teacher in Texas:
A 44-year-old female with a bachelor's degree.
Earns $47,545 a year and has a working spouse.
Is the primary breadwinner in the family (study says nearly 56 percent fall into this category).
Spends $719 a year out of her own pocket for school supplies.
Puts in 13.4 hours a week at home doing additional schoolwork.
Source: Sam Houston State University
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