Teachers Deserve Better Pay, Respect, And A Functioning Microwave In The Lounge

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The American education system is on fire, and nobody seems to be reaching for the extinguisher. Our raw, unfiltered deep dive exposes the stark reality facing today's educators: while 44% report daily burnout, administrators with vague job titles collect six-figure salaries without ever setting foot in a classroom. 

We pull back the curtain on the absurd salary gap where teachers earn 26% less than similarly educated professionals while simultaneously functioning as content creators, social workers, tech support specialists, and emotional counselors. The modern teacher purchases their own supplies, works through lunches, and needs permission to use the bathroom – all while being told they "only work nine months a year" by people who fundamentally misunderstand the profession.

The teacher shortage crisis has reached critical mass, with states like Oklahoma issuing over 4,400 emergency teaching certifications last year. This desperate measure puts unqualified individuals in classrooms because the pipeline of passionate, qualified educators is drying up. Without meaningful change addressing both compensation and respect, we're racing toward a future where education is cobbled together through TikTok videos and AI chatbots rather than dedicated human teachers. As George Carlin suggested, perhaps this isn't a bug but a feature of a system designed to produce workers "obedient enough to test, but not smart enough to question." Subscribe now and join our mission to expose the truth about America's education crisis before it's too late.

Peace, Love & God Above! :-)

Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:00):
Welcome back to the Rock Bottom Podcast, the only
show where we take a flamingdumpster fire, call it public
education and then ask what thehell are we even doing here?
Today's episode is brought toyou by unfilled job postings,
burned out teachers and theletter F as in funding fucked
and 44% of educators feelburnout every single goddamn day
.
And if that's not a red flag,it's probably just a fire in the

(00:21):
teacher's lounge microwaveagain.
I'm telling you Get thatmotherfucker, something other
than scratch and dent.
Let's start with the elephantin the room, or should I say the
six-figure salary in the room,because while your kid's fourth
grade teacher is usingconstruction paper and duct tape
to patch a smart board from2007, the director of lunch menu

(00:43):
aesthetics and non-essentialacronym coordination is making
$160K a year to attend meetings.
About meetings If you can'texplain it to a six-year-old,
you probably work in schooladministration.
Einstein probably, if he evertaught in jersey.
Let's talk numbers.
Baby teachers earn 26, lessthan other professionals with
similar education levels.
26.
You know what else is 26?
The caffeine content ofwhatever nuclear sludge teachers
drink at 6 am to surviveanother day of unpaid recess
duty.
And can I go to the bathroomrequest every 11 seconds.

(01:05):
Meanwhile, the assistant to theassistant of curriculum design
is out here collecting checkslike it's Monopoly.
And they just passed.
Go.
Here's the kicker.
School systems love to act likethey're businesses.
Oh cool, you're a business.
Do you have revenue, customers,A product that works?
Nope, you've got standardizedtests, broken HVACs and
PowerPoint decks from 2003 withCosmic Sans font.

(01:26):
Your business model is like ifAmazon only sold used textbooks
and made Jeff Bezos wear khakisand coach JV softball.
And let's not forget, teachersare expected to be marketers,
content creators, emotionalsupport animals, social workers,
tech support and babysitters,but with none of the pay,
respect or break time that comeswith literally any of those
professions.
What other job expects you topay for your own supplies and

(01:49):
still requires you to wear abadge just to pee during the day
?
44% of teachers say they'realways, or very often, burnt out
.
That's not just a statistic.
That's a cry for help louderthan a copy jam.
Alarm in the staff room.
And if you're wondering why noone wants to go into teaching
anymore, would you sign up for50 plus hours a week.
Emotional breakdowns for middleschoolers named Braden and staff
meetings led by someone whohasn't seen the classroom since
the Clinton administration.
Fun fact in Oklahoma they gaveout over 4,400 emergency teacher

(02:12):
certifications last year.
What the hell does that mean?
That your gym teacher mightalso be your kid's chemistry
teacher, algebra sub andemotional support counselor.
But in this economy we're alljust going to wing it.
Let's play a quick game calledGuess who Makes More Than your
Kid's Favorite Teacher?
The head of the district's lawnmaintenance team?
The assistant regional managerof vague administrative
initiatives?
The guy who designed thedistrict's website that hasn't

(02:33):
been updated since Obama wascool.
Spoiler alert it's all of themTeachers still making less than
most Wawa shift supervisors, andthey have master's degrees,
loans and emotional trauma ofbeing told you only work nine
months a year by people whothink Columbus discovered
fucking America.
Here's the truth.
The shortage isn't just aboutnumbers.
It's about disrespect,devaluation and a system that

(02:53):
expects a miracle every day butwon't spend a dime on a damn
tissue box.
If we don't change this, thepipeline of passionate,
qualified, badass educatorsdries up and all we're left with
are TikTok teachers, youtubemath lessons and AI chat box
trying to explain the LouisianaPurchase.
The reason education sucks andis the same for so many people
is because the owners of thiscountry don't want a population
capable of critical thinking.
They want obedient workersObedient enough to test, but not

(03:16):
smart enough to question.
George fucking Carlin, thisepisode was brought to you by
budget cuts, paper cuts and cutsto the soul of anyone who ever
gave a shit.
I'm Eric Scott Gold, dj ESG,and if you're an administrator
got offended by this episode,good.
Now go sit in the classroom andtry explaining the Pythagorean
theorem to a group of kids whohaven't eaten since fucking
yesterday.
See you next time.
Peace, love and God above.
And I'm out, bye-bye.