Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Taylor Swift Versus Middle School Music Teachers


Music plays a huge role in my life. Although I lack the talent to play an instrument or sing in key, I love listening to artists that possess those skills. One artist that I have always loved, despite some ridicule, is Taylor Swift. I listened to her albums when they were still considered country and have stayed a fan ever since. After reading Nate’s blog and the list of salaries some major athletes received per year, I started to think about how much celebrities made a year, especially those who are extremely popular. So, I went online and searched for Taylor Swift’s net worth and holy moly was I surprised. Through album, ticket, and merchandise sales, Taylor Swift makes more than 60 million dollars a year, making her net worth around 200 million dollars. In comparison, as Nate pointed out in his blog, an average high school teacher makes about $45,000 a year.
Now, as I previously stated, I love music. However, if I had to choose which was more important, education or music, I would have to go with education. It is astonishing the differing sums of money between popular entertainers or athletes and educators. The variation between salaries goes to show how cultures praise and reward certain talents. The popular idiom, “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach” represents the issue quite nicely. In society, those who are graced with a certain talent and are considered superior to all the other people with the same skill are regarded extremely highly and receive not only incredible popularity, but also financial rewards. However, those who couldn’t please agencies or scouts and turn to teaching a particular skill are not only paid poorly, but are also seen as a kind of failure.
My middle school music teacher was in a band that was signed to a label and they put out an album. For whatever reason, whether it was their music wasn’t catchy enough or the members weren’t attractive enough, the album flopped. Students made fun of his failure and ridiculed him because he was teaching in a basement of a school in Vermont instead of selling out Madison Square Garden.

Why is teaching a skill worthy of millions looked down upon?  


http://www.celebritynetworth.com/dl/taylor-swift/ 

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