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On this page, we will show that affordable teacher housing is ethically good because it improves teachers' lives, strengthens communities, and benefits students, making it a policy that should be supported.
Teacher Thomas Rebman trying to make a statement
Ethical Dilemma
Ethical Dilemma
Let's approach this issue in two ways. First, let's ask ourselves if education is a human right– are Students entitled to a good education? Yes, students are entitled to a good education. Lets then follow where this premise takes us. It is clear that good teachers are necessary for a good education. It is also obvious that less stressed and more focused teachers make good teachers. Therefore less stressed and more focused teachers are required for a good education. Since students are entitled to a good education, students are therefore entitled to less stressed and better treated teachers. The lack of affordable housing for teachers, means that teachers often have hour-long commutes each morning, while still commonly becoming rent-burdened. These conditions are the stress and difficulty of teaching. Therefore, the lack of affordable housing for teachers in the bay area, violates students' right to a good education, therefore it is wrong.
Secondly, let's ask ourselves, are workers entitled to just compensation? If the answer is yes, then we must define what just compensation is. The UN declaration of rights defines that “Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity”, essentially that everyone has the right to a compensation that allows them to live an existence of human dignity. The lack of affordable housing for teachers, means that many teachers are required to sacrifice on other necessities to afford housing, or in one case went homeless. This is not an existence worthy of human dignity, therefore teachers’ compensation is not enough to be just, therefore it is ethically wrong.
The U.N Declaration of Human Rights
The U.N Declaration of Human Rights
The UN Declaration of Human Rights was created in 1948 which labels all the human rights that every human being in the world should be able to have. There are 30 rights that were written down that help protect rights of religion, freedom of speech, education, and equality. Many world leaders agreed to this Declaration to advocate for fair and equal treatment for all despite their race or beliefs. Despite many world leaders agreeing on this Declaration, they still lack the action to put these rights into law in their own country but they use the Declaration as a model to create laws in their country to avoid contradicting with it.
Below, you will read how the articles inside the declaration relate to teachers and their rights to better compensation.
Declaration of Human Rights
Article 23
Article 23
"(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection."
Article 23 outlines the human right to a wage or other compensation that allows one to support a life worthy of human dignity for both himself and his family. With the current state of teacher wages and housing prices in the bay area, this is not possible. In more than half of California's school districts, a beginning teacher is forced to pay more than 30% of their salary on housing, more than enough to qualify them as rent-burdened. It is obvious that despite teachers' hard work, their compensation is not enough to afford a stable lifestyle for themselves, let alone enough to allow them to stably support a family. Unless teacher's compensation is greatly increased, or more affordable housing opportunities open up, as a state and community we will continue to deny our teachers the human right to just and favorable compensation.
Article 25
Article 25
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Man looking at the Declaration
Article 25 guarantees that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, housing, clothing, medical care and more. The lack of teacher housing in the bay area means that many teachers are not able to live in adequate housing, or that their housing is so expensive, they struggle to afford other necessities such as medical care etc. By extension of the right to housing, food, and other necessities, teachers, as humans, have a right to financial stability. With the unaffordably high housing costs in the bay area, teachers are forced to spend so much on a roof over their heads, they are one medical emergency, one car breakdown away from falling under. The lack of affordable housing in the bay area, violates Teachers’ right to an adequate standard of living as outlined in Article 25.
The United Nations having a meeting
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
Article 26
Article 26
Since education is directed to fully developing the youth in the world, teachers are strictly needed worldwide. The quality of education received can be dependent on the financial stability of teachers. If a teacher doesn’t have stability because they struggle to afford housing, it can immediately impact the quality of education students receive. Article 26 addresses the idea that everyone should receive the right education so each person can equally develop and grow into a scholarly person and have a role in society. But for this to happen, states like California need to focus on these issues on creating affordable housing for teachers so they are not forced to live far away from their place of work or spend the majority of their salary on renting a house.
Philosophy
Philosophy
By London Stereoscopic Company - Hulton Archive, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30913285
John Stuart Mill was a 19th-century British philosopher and one of the most influential supporters of utilitarianism, an ethical doctrine that evaluates actions based on if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority. He argued that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness,” meaning that the right, ethically good, action is the one that maximizes overall well-being. Mill’s utilitarianism argues that actions are right when they promote happiness, and wrong when they produce the opposite. Applying this to the issue of affordable teacher housing, we can see that such policies are good because they provide broad social benefits, increasing happiness across the board. Obviously, more affordable teacher housing improves the well-being of teachers by ensuring they can live comfortably, without struggle, in the communities they serve, but it also enhances the educational experience of students and fosters a better community. When teachers are able to live near their schools, they teach better, students learn better, and neighborhoods become more cohesive and unified. Since affordable teacher housing policies maximize overall happiness, Mill's utilitarianism would judge it as a morally justified solution.
Works cited
Works cited
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"Ethical Technology." MIT Sloan Management Review, 2021, https://sloanreview.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/EG-Ethical-Tech-1290x860-1.jpg.
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"Image 897136." The Wall Street Journal, https://images.wsj.net/im-897136/?width=1280&size=1.33333333. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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Mill's Utilitarianism. “Mill’s Utilitarianism.” Google Docs, 2025, docs.google.com/document/d/1ovieivtEJ6bFlJavmPZCYGw6uKBSL8RBZHuNhFgBl9s/edit?tab=t.0. Accessed 14 May 2025.
"Teacher in Classroom." First Coast News, 24 Feb. 2015, https://content.firstcoastnews.com/photo/2015/02/24/635604028425656418-635574369374234469-teacher1_1412182_ver1.0.jpg. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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