For eighteen years, I've worked in middle schools and in high schools as an English teacher. Eighteen years of my life have been devoted to teaching, reteaching, and preparing students to succeed in reading, writing, thinking, and speaking. Some years have been good. Some have been, well, thankfully over.
Anytime I meet new people, I dread telling them what I do for a living. I'm not embarrassed by my profession, but so many people have hang ups about teachers, especially if for those of us who teach a subject they hated. Responses include, "Man, I hated English in high school;" or "Do you still make kids read Beowulf? I hated that book!" There are also comments such as, "Must be nice to work 10 months a year and get paid for 12." Finally, there are those "God bless you" folks. "God bless you for working with our young people; I bet you're a good teacher and our kids need good teachers; God bless you for working with high schoolers, I don't think I could stand it." The last comment is usually about how teaching is such a noble profession and "we just don't pay our teachers enough."
Why do these comments bother me? Several reasons, actually. It's hard to remember what a noble profession I'm in sometimes when a parent is in my face, telling me how I've ruined a child's life or a student is cussing me out for not awarding a 'better' grade, albeit an unearned one. I cringe when people criticize my profession. I was once a student and remember what it was like; however, times have changed, and so much more takes place behind the scenes than anyone knows. What really chafes me, though, is the comment about how teachers aren't paid enough or are paid for twelve months but only work ten.
Actually, I'm only paid for 10 months of work, which is stretched to twelve months. I am paid a low salary in comparison to other fields and professionals where my level of post-secondary education is required. There's a great deal of pressure on teachers to improve test scores, to not leave students behind, and to ensure a quality education for each student. Of course, many neglect to mention the workload teachers carry...31 students per class, for example, or extracurriculars they are expected to lead. Teachers easily could spend 60 hours or more per week on school-related work, reducing time with their families, and all for a nice, low price.
I'm always shocked at our values: how we're willing to pay entertainers and athletes exorbitant salaries to provide us with a little entertainment, but those who nurture our children, spend hours teaching our chldren, and spend more time during the day with our children than their parents can spend are paid ridiculously low salaries. There are countries that revere their teachers, giving them respect and decent wages. In our country, we seem to loathe our teachers and education in general, taking pride in our own ignorance.
To some, teaching might be a noble profession. To me, it's what I do, who I am. I just wish teachers were better compensated.
