On Mar 26, 2007, at 6:50 PM, Matt wrote:
> No offense to your sister-in-law intended, but important how? More
> important than ???, less than ??? In kindergarten I learned the skill
> of coloring within the lines. Beyond that not much else, other than
> becomed socialized to the fact that when I chose to eat, sleep, drink,
> or use the restroom would be at the whim of some random authority
> figure.
>
> Kindergarten teachers still make more than the median US income, no?
I don't think your personal memories of kindergarten count for much in measuring the social importance of early childhood education. I've heard her discussing her work with colleagues - she teaches fairly poor kids, who are far from problem-free - and it's complicated. They think about the kids, their personalities, and their difficulties.
And no, they don't make more than the median US income, nowhere near it. It's a female-dominated profession, and a "caring" one at that, so it's got two strikes against it in any wage equation. According to the BLS doc I cited earlier, the average U.S. worker makes $651/week; the average woman, $585/week. The average pre-K and K teacher makes $521 a week. (The field is 96% female, so there's not enough data to say with statistical significance how much males make in the field.) A pre-K/K teacher makes 20% less than the average worker, and 11% less than the average woman worker.
Public relations specialists, however, make $860 a week. And we all know how socially useful they can be!
Doug