16-Year-Old Earns a Higher Salary at a Pizza Joint Than Teacher Mom With a Master's Degree

Photo byYan Krukau

A man took to Reddit to complain about how his 16-year-old son, who works at a pizza joint, earns more money than his teacher wife who has a master’s degree.

His wife is employed as a preschool teacher at a private Christian school. The school is connected to a large church located in a wealthy neighborhood and has many generous donors.

Still, this man’s wife only earns $16 an hour teaching at the church’s preschool. Yes, this is true even though she has a master’s degree!

His son, on the other hand, just got his first job at a pizza joint. Sure, he only makes $12.30 per hour, but with tips he ends up making $18 to $19 per hour. The kid is still in high school!

Teachers have always received notoriously low pay in this country. The average public school teacher salary in 2021 was $65,090.

The salaries of preschool teachers are even worse. The current average preschool teacher salary is $37,690.

And yet, the teacher's job is very important. This is especially true of preschool teachers.

While some people may argue that the duties of a preschool teacher are just to lead storytime and help young children learn to share, research shows that preschool education in the first 5 years of a child’s life has a significant impact on their later success.

The Center of Disease Control reported that early childhood education programs were associated with improvements in a child’s cognitive and emotional development. Kids who went to preschool are less likely to be unemployed and in poor health as adults. They’re even less likely to smoke!

The Center for American Progress reported that our government benefits from preschool education as it results in economic benefits in excess of $83 billion per year.

Children who attend preschool are less likely to be arrested or need government assistance as adults. They are more likely to go to college.

Although there is a clear indication that early education benefits our society and economy, preschool teachers continue to earn terrible wages. These wages are so low that preschool teachers often live below the poverty line and are reliant on government assistance.

The man who wrote this post shares that while he supports the family, he's still astounded that his wife with a master’s degree earns so little.

He was flabbergasted to learn that his 16-year-old son who’s still in high school was actually earning more than her.

Seriously, should a kid earn more money at a pizza joint than a teacher at a preschool? Absolutely not!

And it seems extra disgusting that a church in this wealthy neighborhood, which receives massive donations from its congregation, would pay its teachers so poorly.

Things clearly need to change when it comes to how we pay teachers in this country. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.