A Teacher’s Salary, Top Bracket, in 1767
Fixed salary in money (cf. “Retirement”) | 148 |
Grain, 96 lb | 96 |
Wine (!), 20 lb | 20 |
Rent (to help pay for the official teacher’s residence) | 60 |
Legacies | 6.5 |
Money paid by students, three silver coins a year | 40 |
Hourly fee for the free periods at school (private lessons) | 45 |
“Accidentien” (mandatory gifts of money from the students!) | 24 |
Annual salary (sum in pounds) | 439.5 |
The hourly fees and “Accidentien” depended on the number of students, which was why a teacher of younger students could earn more than a teacher of older students – a cause for frequent complaints.
This income was barely enough to keep body and soul together. A teacher’s death spelled grinding poverty for his family, because the meagre income did not allow for any money to be saved. Teachers’ poverty was a reason for contemporary society’s disdain for them.