From Math for a Change, a mathematics textbook written by Kevin J. Mistrik and Robert C. Thul, who teach at Catholic high schools in Chicago. The workbook, published by the Mathematics Teachers' Association of Chicago and Vicinity, contains "thirty-one situations of injustice that need mathematics in order to be fully understood":

In 1992 Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs made approximately $7,000,000. He played 158 games. An average Catholic-high-school teacher makes approximately $30,000 per years working eight hours a day over a 180-day school year.

1. Calculate how much that teacher gets paid per day, and compare that with what Ryne Sandberg was paid per game in 1992.

2. Assuming that a ballplayer's workday is six hours, compare the average teacher's pay per hour with that of Mr. Sandberg.

3. How many years would it take a teacher to make as much money as Ryne did?

4. Is it fair for Ryne Sandberg to make so much more than a teacher? When answering this question, be sure to take into consideration the good each person contributes to society, the amount of time and money each has to invest in order to prepare for work, and other factors that may be pertinent.

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