A new poll shows that the majority of teachers in the United States feel underpaid and wouldn’t encourage their children to follow in their career footsteps.
The PDK International survey was released Monday and found discontent from teachers on a broad swath of issues. Of those polled, 55% of teachers said they would not want their own children to follow them into the teaching profession. The statistic is up one point from last year’s survey, which found that 54% felt that way. The 2018 poll was the first one since 1969 where a majority of teachers said they wouldn’t want their children to be teachers.
The survey also found that 60% of K-12 teachers felt as though they are being paid unfairly, with two-thirds noting that they thought the public schools in their community are underfunded. A majority surveyed — 55% — said that they would go on strike for higher pay. 74% of parents of K-12 students polled said they would support teachers in a theoretical strike for higher pay.
Further, half of public teachers surveyed said they “have seriously considered leaving the profession.”
There are distinct regional differences in how teachers perceive they are being paid. In the Northeast, 60% think they are being paid fairly; in the West, 47%; the Midwest, 30%; and only 28% of teachers in the South believe their salaries are commensurate with their labors.
