Letters: Want good teachers? Pay them like ballplayers

In 1962, when I was employed by the Boston Red Sox, the minimum salary for a major league baseball player was $7,000; for a teacher, depending on the state and district, the salary was about $3,200.

Today the minimum salary for a major league baseball player is around $500,000 (plus $120 meal money per day when the team is on the road), and a teacher’s minimum salary is somewhere in the mid- to upper-$30,000 range, again depending on the state and district. The former is responsible for entertaining us and selling all manner of merchandise, while the latter is responsible for teaching our children, shaping their future and maintaining the American ethos.

Does the salary disparity answer the question as to why it is so difficult to attract and retain teachers? Where are our priorities? Where is our commitment to children, and where are our true values?

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 1:22 PM.