Preaching to the Choir

So, this blog will most likely come across as preachy, but allow me a few moments on the soapbox.

Many who read this blog are of a teaching persuasion, or have someone in the family who teaches. I am reaching out to the people who don't know much about teaching or for those who do...pass the information forward. I learned of this book from a PBS talk show interviewing the writers, and I ordered it when I finally had a break. While most of the information was not new to me, the authors' key thesis was profound: the lack of professional perception towards teachers.

A key part of the book that really stuck to me was an interview with a really inspiring, tough teacher who left the profession:

This teacher "routinely worked seventy- to eighty-hour weeks because that was the only way he could come close to feeling successful. Despite it all, he says, he never felt more than 70 percent effective." I have felt like this for the past 4 years of teaching. I work mostly 60- to 70- hour weeks depending on my grading load, yet I always feel like I am not really successful. I know I am a good teacher, but I still have students who cannot get the material, cannot stay organized, cannot read or write, cannot focus and refuse to think. How do you reach them?

Now, my mate feels the effects as well. I am guilty of not being home very much and when I am home, working or sleeping to prepare for the next week. My mind constantly seeks out better ways to present material. My mate thinks he is not supportive enough, but really it's me not putting the time into us.

"So...what's your point?" you may be asking. Many of you work very long days and can understand the lack of home time. However, most of you are considered a professional in your field. You are respected doctors, nurses, business men/women, and managers. When you tell someone your job, he/she will most likely view you as well-educated, hard-working and productive. When someone explains to someone else that he/she is a teacher, he/she will get the remark "how noble" or "why would you do that when you are so smart?"

Many of my friends have professional jobs and wonder why I am teaching. Now, I will admit that the credentialing program was a bit easier than my undergraduate degree in biology, but nevertheless, I completed 60 hours of graduate work (credential and master's in education) in 2.5 years while working full-time. I researched and completed a 30-page literature review on the effectiveness of science education on high school special education students (an area very overlooked). I took four very difficult subject-related tests to prove I am "highly-qualified" to teach ($80/test). Similar to the idea of the boards for doctors and nurses, you must complete these tests within a certain time frame with accurate, vocabulary-rich responses. I had to write three 2-page essays in one hour from topics ranging from the difference between conduction and convection to how dialysis works to supplement kidney function. I also had 2 multiple-choice tests ranging in topics from biology, chemistry, physics and geology/earth science. These subjects are so broad that you are not sure what questions might be asked.

And the kicker...with a master’s degree and 4 years experience, I make $55,000/year. A very good salary for a teacher considering in San Francisco Unified District (only 10 miles north of here), a similarly qualified teacher is most likely making $40,000/year. When the average rent in San Francisco is $1200/month for a one-bedroom and mortgages are $3000/month, this salary seems insignificant. Likewise, think about your area of the world. Most teachers make $15,000-$20,000 less than what I make and they have been teaching for 6 years! In the book, one teacher makes more money selling televisions at Circuit City than his day job as a teacher.

So, as I am about to step down from my platform here (it is starting to wobble), please think about how teachers are viewed. Why are we expected to be poor? Why are we expected to work a second job in the summer when we already clocked over 2000 hours of work throughout the year including the time during the summer prepping for the next school year (for those in the dark about teaching hours, teacher salaries pay for 7 hours of work per day and vacations are not paid)? Why are we expected to not receive raises and bonuses for the good work we do?

There are some bad teachers out there but there are also fantastic teachers who are leaving the profession. I am a fourth year teacher and based on the statistics I may leave the profession within the next year because of burn-out and low pay. I am asking for people to think and spread the information. Please don’t martyr teachers, treat them like professionals.