Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

Pay More to Those Who Teach 9th Graders

June 09, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Regarding your June 4, 2008, article “Phila. 9th Graders Found to Get Least-Seasoned Teachers”:

I’ve been teaching 9th graders in the Philadelphia public schools for 11 years. Although I find this age group innocent and endearing, many of my colleagues view high school freshmen as they would a bad case of hemorrhoids.

Ninth graders have notoriously high levels of energy and can be incredibly immature. They burp out loud, poke each other, giggle over the opposite sex, and have uncanny ways of finding double meanings in just about everything. And 9th grade classes are frequently very large.

Schoolteachers are not martyrs, despite society’s idealistic (and, to my mind, unrealistic) vision of education. Those of us with the most skills and experience are going to seek the most satisfying—and yes, the most comfortable—positions available to us. Often we are looking to teach upperclassmen, students who have already survived the first years of high school, those who are focused, mature, and have gotten most of the ants out of their pants.

If we are going to organize public education around student needs rather than adult preferences, then it’s time for the Philadelphia school district to create incentives for teaching freshmen. For starters, it should cut the size of 9th grade classes from 33 to 24. Next, it should be more aggressive in holding accountable the parents of 9th graders who are consistently truant. Lastly, the district should institute a “freshman pay bonus” to help attract the schools’ best educators.

High school freshmen are a lovable yet tough group to handle, and educators should be compensated for the extra effort.

Christopher Paslay

English Teacher

Swenson Arts and Technology High School

Philadelphia, Pa.

Related Tags:
Opinion

A version of this article appeared in the June 11, 2008 edition of Education Week as Pay More to Those Who Teach 9th Graders

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar Navigating the Rapid Pace of Education Policy Change: Your Questions, Answered
Join this free webinar to gain an understanding of key education policy developments affecting K-12 schools.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz ICYMI: Moms for Liberty Launched Its Own University And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Moms for Liberty annual convention in Washington, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024.
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Moms for Liberty annual convention in Washington, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Education Briefly Stated: April 16, 2025
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Quiz ICYMI: Do You Know What 'High-Quality Curriculum' Really Means?
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of curricula.
iStock/Getty
Education Quiz ICYMI: Lawsuits Over Trump's Education Policies And More
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Image of money symbol, books, gavel, and scale of justice.
DigitalVision Vectors