Untitled Flashcard Set

At some point, you will need to figure out if teaching is right for you. And here’s the hard part: Only you can do that. Consider your friends’ and relatives’ advice, but realize that in the final analysis, it is your life, not theirs. You undoubtedly have met people who are doing work they love, and they are joyful and fulfilled. You have also met people who have made an unhappy choice, perhaps followed someone’s advice that sounded good at the time—but wasn’t. For them, every day is a grind. Your goal is to find the career that puts you in that first group: a career that brings you joy and meaning. Where do you find such a vocation?

People think “vocation” is all about choosing and preparing for a career: learn about different careers, consider the external rewards and downsides of each career, weigh the pros and cons, and finally choose the one that makes the most sense. But life often defies such logic and planning. The clue about choosing the right vocation is hidden in the word itself. Vocation comes from the Latin root for voice; your voice. What career is your inner voice telling you to pursue? What, you don’t hear an inner voice? Not surprising. In our society, schools teach us early on to be quiet and listen to others, to take notes on what others say, to study hard, and to do well on the test. But finding the vocation that is right for you is not about knowing what others believe; it is about learning about yourself. Theologian and Pulitzer Prize winner Frederick Buechner put it nicely when he said that finding your vocation in life is discovering the place“... where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”’ We hope you find reflective, quiet times in this course so you can listen to your heart and discover where your deep gladness leads you.

As you read through this text, stop every now and then and ask yourself: “Does this speak to my heart? Am I enjoying what I am reading? Does teaching feel right for me?” We know, this heart talk is not what you typically read about in textbooks, but this is not a typical textbook.

In a Peanuts cartoon, Linus comments that “no problem is so big or complicated that it can’t be run away from.” Charles Schulz succinctly highlighted a human frailty shared by most of us—the tendency to put aside our problems or critical questions in favor of day-to-day routine. In fact, it is amazing how little care and consideration many of us give to choosing a career. It is always easier to catch a movie, surf the net, or even study for the next exam than it is to reflect on and plan for the future. That may be one reason why questions such as “What are you going to be when you grow up?” and “What’s your next career move?” make so many of us uneasy. The big question facing many of you is: Is teaching right for me? Some of you are in college or university programs and will be teaching in the next few years. Others of you may already be in a classroom, teaching as you work toward your license in one of several alternative teacher certification programs. For some of you, teaching may become a decades-long career filled with joy and satisfaction. For others, teaching may be limited to only a few years spent in the classroom, one of several careers you explore during your working years. And still others may reach an equally useful and important realization: Teaching is not the ideal match for your interests or skills. We'd like to help you decide whether you and teaching are a good fit.

Over the years, we have heard many students ask a question that sounds something like this:

I’m going into teaching, but almost everyone says don’t do it. I’ve heard lots of reasons like the paperwork, the administration, money, and the current culture of education. But I am still confused. Why would you recommend that I not go into teaching, or why do you think I should ignore those warnings and go for it anyway?

See if any of these responses from teachers and former teachers resonate with you:

Teacher A: It’s tough. It’s really hard when you start. Your principal will want to help, but half the time, won’t know how. You'll never be able to provide anything nice for your family beyond the basics. It’s a heck of a life. But given the choice, I’d choose it again.

Teacher B: | needed to buy supplies for my students, and even food for some who are hungry. I don’t make enough money for my own family. I left teaching. I earn more in retail.

Teacher C: Teaching is definitely not for everyone, mostly because of classroom management. I want to teach, not police.

Teacher D: A construction worker can look at their work at the end of the day and say “Man, that’s a good-looking house!” Teachers don’t get that kind of instant gratification.

Teacher E: Every teaching job is different. My wife hated teaching in one community, but loved working in a small, rural school community.

Teacher F: | think teaching is one of those fields that you just can’t really “get” until you're inside. My advice: Email teachers and ask them out for coffee so you can pick their brains. Find out the good, the bad, and the ugly as much as you can.

Teacher G: It is an internal struggle mostly. The stresses and pressures of being a teacher versus the joy I get being with the kids. In general, it is a challenge that warms my heart.

Teacher Salary Controversy

While only a few of these teachers mentioned inadequate pay for teachers, for many years, the news has highlighted discontent with teachers’ salaries from local community members, national organizations, and the teachers themselves. Understanding salary potential is an important factor (but arguably not the only factor) when choosing a profession. What if that profession is underpaid? How would we go about understanding an appropriate salary and advocating for higher pay if necessary?

National education and labor organizations often report teachers’ salaries by state, but even that can be misleading. Teachers’ pay can vary dramatically within the state. Wealthier communities pay teachers more—sometimes much more—than poorer ones. Sometimes salaries depend on the grade level or subject being taught. Cost of living in different regions can make the same salary seem wonderful or terrible. It helps to get some idea of what that salary might actually feel like to pay bills.

What if instead of location, we compare the salaries of teachers to college graduates in general? While public school teachers’ salaries have decreased on average from 1996 to 2018, the weekly wages of other college graduates—that includes all types of professionals from aerospace engineers to zoologists—have risen by an average of more than $300.” The authors of the study took into account inflation, benefits, and the fact that many teachers have summer breaks. If you argue that some occupations deserve to be paid more than others based on the skills and risks associated with the job, then you will need to decide where teaching falls in its demands for skills and risk.

Maybe comparing teachers’ salaries to all college graduates is not a fair comparison. What if we compared public school teachers’ salaries to the salaries of professionals in a similar field? Public schools are nonprofit organizations. Teachers, much like other nonprofit professionals, are in a service organization designed to achieve a specific goal for society: educate its youth. The average annual salary in the United States for a professional working in the nonprofit sector is $50,000, with a range of approximately $32,000 to $70,000. For teachers, the average annual salary is $61,730, with a range of approximately $32,000 for some starting salaries to $85,000 for more senior positions, according to the National Education Association.*

In comparison to salaries of nonprofit professionals, salaries for teachers look good. One could certainly argue that all of these professions deserve more compensation for the good they do for our society.

While raising teachers’ salaries across the board might well be warranted, the plans that have emerged tend to select and reward some teachers and not others. Based on classroom observations or student test scores or some criteria developed by a school board, the “better” teachers get substantial raises, and the others do not.

Pay-for-performance, often called merit pay, attempts to reward the best teachers. Many teacher merit pay programs use student test scores to identify the most effective teachers. The idea is to link strong student test scores and teacher salaries. As test scores go up, so would the teacher’s salary. The logic is that better teaching leads to better test scores. But it is not that simple. Does a high test score measure effective teaching, or student attendance, or the wealth and stability of the student’s family, or just that the student had a good test day? Can you attribute rising or falling student test scores solely to teacher performance?

Many teachers feel this is an example of bad policy from those who do not work in a classroom.

Here’s another merit approach some advocate: Pay teachers who teach challenging subjects like physics or math more money than other teachers. Perhaps teachers who work at under-resourced schools in high-poverty areas should be paid more. (Does that mean we pay less to those who teach the gifted or work in wealthy communities?)