As a teacher myself, I would like to see us pay starting salaries for new teachers that are higher. Sure, the average teacher may make 69K in some CA districts, but in my CA district, that takes 17 years. With a bachelor's degree plus one year for your credential, you will start between $35 and $38K. That doesn't include the significant amount that beginning teachers spend to stock their classroom and buy supplies the first two years.
I would also propose that it should be significantly easier to get a teaching credential for those that have numerous years of work experience in their field. I had a fantastic candidate apply for a high school science position. The candidate had been teaching at the University level, held a Ph.D. in his field and was really looking to inspire a love of biology at a younger age. I could not hire him because he didn't have the "correct" units. He needed to go back to college for another year to teach high school. That's just absurd public policy.
