5.1 million. That is the difference between the average salary of an NBA player and a public school teacher in Tennessee.

According to teateachers.org, the salary of teachers ranges from $38,483 to $57,242 with an average of $45,891, an alarming number when considering what the job of a teacher entails.

“We are the ones holding society together,” White Station’s AP Latin teacher Dawn LaFon said. LaFon has been teaching for thirty-six years and has never considered going into any other profession.

“My call to teach was as strong as a call to the ministry,” LaFon said.

Fortunately for LaFon, the numbers on her paycheck are unimportant.

“I do this because I feel like I am making a difference,” LaFon said.

However, LaFon does believe that she, as well as the rest of this nation’s teachers, deserves to be paid more.

“We are more than just teachers. We are therapists, we are police officers, and we are parents,” LaFon said.

Often times, teachers get paid so little because there is a large number of them, and many cities, especially Memphis, do not have the money to raise their pay. The SCS Fiscal Year 2014-2015 budget for the Teacher & Leader Effectiveness is $29,060,234, of which only 20.29% goes toward salaries.

Of course, experience and levels of education will influence the salaries of teachers. They can make additional money by coaching school sports teams and administering standardized tests such as the ACT.

Teacher evaluations are designed as opportunities for teachers to make more money, as well. In theory, this is a great way for teachers to improve their pay, but in practice, it proves to be impractical, as most students and teachers can probably tell.

America’s education system suffers many flaws, but the low pay of teachers may be the most significant. The role that educators play in society is vastly important. Teachers spend at least seven hours a day with our future generations, shaping their brains and igniting their creativity. Not to mention the hours that teachers spend outside of school, trying to create ways to better their classrooms and their practices for their students.

Unfortunately, many prospective teachers are turned away from the career because of the low pay. Many parents understand the impact of teachers and their importance in society yet discourage their children from becoming teachers as the profession is not financially rewarding.

While the role of professional athletes and entertainers is important, that of a teacher affects the future generations and all sectors of society, including the sports and entertainment industries. Perhaps if teachers were paid more appropriately, we would see fewer problems in our education system.