Are Teachers Expendable?
Yes. Of course. Hells, yeah.
It’s not
that we don’t think education and teachers aren’t important, it’s just we don’t
pay or respect them very much. As a profession, teaching is often overlooked, after
doctor or lawyer, and when we think of the word profession - we think
“white collar,” but teachers are really blue collar workers, with university
professors closer to the “white” spectrum.
I’m not
entirely sure why this is the case. Perhaps because teaching was one of the
earliest professions, if not the earliest, that was considered acceptable for a
woman to do.
"God
seems to have made woman peculiarly suited to guide and develop the infant
mind, and it seems...very poor policy to pay a man 20 or 22 dollars a month,
for teaching children the ABCs, when a female could do the work more
successfully at one third of the price." -- Littleton School Committee,
Littleton, Massachusetts, 1849
It’s also
considered a profession that anyone can do. The popular expression a “trained
monkey could do it” comes to mind, although monkeys are valued for their
entertainment, which is something society pays a lot for. And if there is
anything I’ve learned so far, it is changing people’s preconceived notions or
original ideas, can a very difficult thing to do indeed.
When I was
working on my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education at Chaminade University
in Hawaii, I remember there was a teachers strike. In 2003/2004, when the
strike occurred, Hawaii teachers were the lowest
paid in the country. Now, you might not be aware of this, but Hawaii is one
of the most expensive places to live in the country, AND teachers there have to
work with a growing migrant population (mainly Pacific Islanders).
Throw in
government standards and testing, and that Hawaii actually consists of eight
major islands with their own flavor and challenges, and you got yourself a lot
of work for very little livable compensation. But the reason I bring up Hawaii
is, during the strike there was this infamous bus driver who was televised as
saying something like, teachers are not as important as bus drivers.
And here we
have a mentality that teachers have to deal with. Now you might argue, “Oh, but
that’s a bus driver’s opinion,” but honestly, it’s a thought that many folks
think, but don’t usually voice out loud - a teacher’s job is an easy one.
Recently, I
started watching the super popular TV series, Breaking Bad. I watched
the first episode with conviction as Walter White, a high school chemistry
teacher, tries to make ends meet by working at a car wash after school. A
classic moment occurred when he was caught washing the sports car of one of his
students.
And if
that’s too fictional to be true, there’s a popular Facebook page called Surviving a Teachers
Salary. Sure, there
are plenty of feel-good/feel-right movies depicting teachers making a
difference from "Kindergarten Cop" to Dead Poets Society, and I’m not saying
there aren’t mighty fine teachers out there doing just that, but part of the
problem is - we’re martyrs.
We work,
often okay conditions, almost always for a deplorable salary. We spend our free
time marking and grading, planning special events, attending special events, and
cleaning up after special events. We spend our money on materials and resources
for the classroom, often thinking of our students when out shopping. Our
students are never far from our minds. We’re constantly switched ON: lesson
planning, talking shop, jumping through bureaucratic loops and swimming in the
gossipy halls of education.
Why?
For the students, of course.
This is why,
when I was fired as a Waldorf grade school teacher, the slap, “You’re not good
enough” stung so paradoxically sweet. I worked unbelievably hard to win the
approval of the administration and parents. I toiled and toiled over lesson
planning and prep work. I really truly wanted to be a GOOD teacher, and I loved
my students.
But that so-called
slap across the face was a good one. I haven’t made those mistakes ever since.
I rarely work at home, and I’ve stopped spending so much of my time and energy working
“for free.” I’m acutely aware of the time I devote to lesson planning without
compromising my work.
But many
teachers, the ones who leave the profession due to burnout (1 in 4) never learn
to survive, and frankly, perhaps this is best as the ever faithful churn of new teachers
keeps buttering the wheels of education.
We teachers
are our own worst enemies. Did you know that the 2003/2004 teachers strike in
Hawaii ended because the teachers “gave up”? I remember this because I was so
frustrated when I heard the news. As a graduate student, I thought, what’s the
point of striking if you are going to cave in and stop? There was most likely too
much pressure and probably loads and heaps of guilt too. We’re martyrs.
We spend our own money on the students, we sacrifice our time and energy, we do
it thanklessly, and we keep our heads down and keep on doing it.
The world
has gone upside down, but instead of speaking up, we are keeping quiet. And if
we do speak up, we are seen as trouble-makers and often standing alone while our colleagues quietly wait for judgement to fall. Remember success is a group effort! We have to support the teachers who
are brave enough to fight for wrong-doings, and better conditions for the
students, schools and teachers. We have to stop being so fearful of losing our jobs, because like it or not, teachers are seen as replaceable
and - expendable.
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