A VETERAN TEACHER’S MESSAGE: THIS IS A JOB WITH A MISSION
I met a promising young teacher who may already be disillusioned. My message: Keep the faith — the world needs you
As many of us who are educators return to school and prepare for the influx of anxious, excited and some disgruntled students into the buildings where we work, I am thinking about an encounter that I had not long ago with a young teacher.
I first met the young man when he was fresh out of school, certified to be a teacher in Pennsylvania. He was a long-term substitute in our upper-middleclass suburban district, where students are high-performing, there is a wealth of resources, and jobs are prized. He worked diligently and proved himself to be a competent and capable teacher, but once his tenure was up, he was unable to secure a permanent position. This was disappointing to those of us who recognized the young man’s skills and passion for the job, but of course, it was more disappointing for him.
Just a few months ago, I saw him in the community and excitedly asked how he was doing and how his job search turned out. He had found a job at a charter school in the area, teaching similar content that he may have taught in our district, but with a different demographic of students and, of course, a different institutional structure, which would include pay, etc. So, he was teaching, and probably still passionate about certain aspects of the profession. But his conclusion, when I asked if he liked what he was doing, struck me and saddened me. He looked at me and, with no excitement, said, “It’s a job.”
From his lackluster, glib response, I perceived a young man who had been slapped with the reality of what education has become for many: just a job like any other. But in a classroom, young lives are in your care. Parents and students alike are dependent upon you for the future success of those in your class.
It’s even about the very stability of our country. The job is different than working on an assembly line, or picking up people for Uber rides, or working a call center for a huge cable company. Teaching, no matter where you teach, is supposed to be more than just a job, more than just a way to survive and provide income.
So, after this brief encounter, I began to question how teaching became just a job for this young man, who once was excited and passionate, and had seen something in the teaching profession that made him want to devote his life to it. Having taught in public schools for 18 years, I have come to some conclusions:
1) Our society is divided into haves and have-nots, and our schools reflect this economic reality. Some schools produce an environment that is more desirable for many to work in because of the student body, administration and salary, just to name a few variables. Those who are able to secure jobs in those schools tend to have a more pleasant teaching experience and enjoy their jobs more.
2) Public schools (charter and traditional) are microcosms of our society and reflect the vast differences, the brilliance and loathsomeness, the gifted and disabled, the hopefulness and the despairing. No matter what the differences are, the public schools are all expected to produce the same outcome — students who are ready to become productive contributors to the society. Needless to say, this outcome is much harder for some than others to achieve.
3) Teachers have become scapegoats for society. They are scapegoats for struggling students and struggling state budgets. As the stark differences in success levels of different groups of students have become more apparent through standardized testing and the spread of information, more and more scrutiny has been applied to the public schools and teachers especially. So much pressure has been applied on teachers in general, but especially those in “underperforming” schools, that many teachers have left the profession altogether or are merely coping, and many would-be young talented teachers are pursuing other career paths.
Similarly as states are grappling with ever-increasing costs of maintaining services and civilization, education has become one area where politicians and concerned citizens are looking for savings. It’s no mystery that teachers’ salaries and pensions are the most costly items in school budgets. Naturally, “breaking the bank” and causing taxes to increase have been blamed on teachers themselves and the unions that represent them, depending on the state. Teacher strikes, public maligning and a growing effort to defund or shift funding from the schools are all signs that the view of public education and those who work in the schools is changing.
4. TTT — Tough, Tiring and Thankless. When I was 21 and an intern teacher at one of the now-shuttered Pittsburgh high schools, I knew that teaching was not for everyone and that you had to be tough to do it. Seventeen years later, I believe that the same is true. Even if you have compliant, motivated students — as I do — instructing, guiding and molding human beings all day is challenging and tiring work. On top of this, across the country, many teachers are undercompensated, lack union protections and are viewed with suspicion and even animus.
So, to my young colleague and anyone like him, I have only this to say: Hang in there and don’t give up on the optimism and joy that you had about teaching when you first started out.
You may not find the affirmation of your career choice in your salary, your administrators or even the students whom you teach, but you must believe in the uncanny ability of a good teacher to positively impact the future and to leave lasting, indelible marks on those who will one day be our leaders in all facets of society.