by Nick Kostra
If you are thinking about teaching, don't. Teaching is one of the riskiest professions for today's college graduates. Romantic misconceptions about teaching cause young people to choose a career path that can be frustrating and even dangerous to their health and happiness. Here are the pitfalls:
MONEY
There is little money in teaching. The majority of school systems in the United States do not pay teachers a salary commensurate with their degree status. The other professions do. But teachers put up with lower wages and sabotage their own wage hikes by talking about their altruistic motives for teaching.
My former principal still praises outstanding teachers by saying, "They're not in it for the money." And when roving reporters visit special programs in schools, the teachers always inject, "It's all about the kids. I love teaching. I'm not in it for the money."
Well, you better be in it for the money. When the public hears teachers and principals say that money isn't important, at referendum time no additional taxes will be forthcoming for teachers' raises. You never hear your doctor say, "I'm not in it for the money, I just love to cure the sick." Hell will freeze over before a lawyer says, "I'm not in it for the money, I love helping people who have legal problems."
Of course it's about money. Teachers as a group are some of the most highly educated people in our society, but their own words and attitudes keep salaries low. You need a good salary, commensurate with your degree status, to enjoy the comforts of life, raise a family, and have security. Romantic notions about teaching and misguided loyalty to a school district will not put food on the table. Fewer and fewer are entering teaching because they can't support a family on a teacher's salary.
Conservative religious groups talk about family values and the importance of the mother to stay at home and raise the children. But these same groups rarely support higher salaries for teachers. They can't have it both ways. Men in the teaching profession must now rely on their wives' salaries in order to make it.
Teachers could take a page from the playbook of professional athletes. They like to play their game, and they are loyal, but if the money isn't right, they jump to another team. For them, it's about money. If you want to teach for low pay, you might as well slip on a habit and form an order of teaching sisters and brothers. If you want a high salary, DON'T TEACH!
In America we have always followed the motto, "You get what you pay for." But when it comes to teachers' salaries that motto flies out the window. We criticize our schools and the poor performance of teachers, but we won't support measures to raise salaries in order to attract talented, professional teachers.
STRESS
Teaching can be hazardous to your health. Many young graduates head into teaching with great energy and enthusiasm, only to find that within a few weeks they are exhausted. They come home in the evening and go to bed. Their social life suffers. They begin to take sick days. What happened? Stress happened.
Many graduates pursue a career in teaching because they remember how school used to be. High school was fun. And teaching will take them back to the joys of youth. They like kids, or at least they think they do. I like dogs, but I wouldn't want 30 of them in the same room all day or try to make my way through the halls with 1,000 (or 2,000 or 3,000) of them wandering around. It's the same with young people today. One or two of them are fine, but get a few together in a pack, and they can turn into monsters. A good teacher can manage them, a weak teacher will be eaten alive.
Several years ago there were three senior girls at our school who hung out together. Individually each one was a delight—courteous, bright, and helpful. But together they turned into mean, sarcastic, and vicious vixens, hurting other students with malicious gossip and snobbery.
Interacting with all of these students five days a week produces enormous stress. A study has estimated that the average teacher has 1,200 psychological encounters a day. These range from serious discipline problems to casual greetings. Just hearing your name over and over again can drive you nuts. "Hi, Miss Jones." "Hey, Mr. Brown." And you have to acknowledge and respond to all these greetings. Not even the busiest secretary in town experiences so many daily encounters.
Are you healthy? Probably not for long if you decide to teach. Each school is a germ incubator. Colds, strep throat, head lice, flu, hepatitis B—these and other health threats endanger teachers' health. You handle student papers and then lick your fingers; you take their hall passes when they return from the restroom; you breathe their germs and maybe come in contact with their bodily fluids if you're not careful. And students are not shy about telling you what ails them. "I was out yesterday. I have a kidney infection." Whoa! More information than I want!
Teachers are now issued several pairs of rubber gloves with their normal supplies. They receive in-service instruction about handling body fluids. They are given the intercom code words in case they have to lock and barricade their classrooms. Frequently they have to break up fights. Guns and knives are outlawed, but there are other dangers. A colleague of mine, a former career military officer, pinned a young girl with a box cutter after he had stopped her attack on another student. Luckily, he had been trained to handle the situation. Another teacher could have been seriously injured.
Still want to teach? Schools have changed. And you can't hide in some fancy private school with a religious affiliation. The risks (and low salaries) are there, too.
EXTRA PAPERWORK
Paperwork is a necessary part of teaching, but in today's school setting the amount of paperwork has increased idiotically. Besides grading quizzes, tests, essays, homework assignments, etc., most teachers face a large volume of evaluation forms and in some cases outmoded systems of grade reporting. Just because a school system promotes computer technology does not mean it will actually use this technology for school mangement.
EXTRA RESPONSIBILITIES
If you are talented and eager, you can expect to do more than just teach. You, of course, will sponsor a club or school organization. But your duties may be more extensive if you happen to sponsor Student Council or the Student Government Association. These are school-wide areas requiring long hours after the school day is over.
If in a moment of youthful zeal you volunteer for cheerleader sponsor, you have two jobs. Take on the school newspaper or the annual, and you increase your extra hours. You may receive a stipend or have a daily class period for performing these services, but they still require more time than regular teaching duties.
Talented, efficient teachers gradually are given more and more to do. They enjoy a certain importance in the school, and this flatters their egos. But over time the same teachers are called upon for extra duties. Meetings with business partners, seminars for innovative teaching methods, school leadership committees, the list expands. These talented, efficient teachers experience increased stress while most of their colleagues arrive at 8 a.m., teach, and leave at 3:45. Same pay, fewer duties, less stress.
Why can't these teachers say "no"? Well, teachers are generally nice people. They like to be helpful. They like to feel needed. And the majority of them are women. The principal often becomes daddy, and many women want daddy's approval. Year after year this relationship deepens, and teachers are trapped in a psychological prison. They can't say "no" to daddy.
LIABILITY
No profession is free of liability, but teacher liability is at an all-time high. If you teach, you need a good insurance policy to cover potential lawsuits. Lawsuits are no longer limited to physical injury incidents. You have to worry about sexual harassment and casual remarks.
Several years ago I was successful in breaking up an incident outside my classroom. Two girls were about to go at it. One of the girls was a star student from my Latin class, the other was a constant troublemaker. As I pushed them apart, I told my student, "Back away. Don't lower yourself to her level." That simple remark prompted an angry call from the mother of the troublemaker. "You insulted my daughter. You'll hear from my lawyer."
You have to be careful what you say in the classroom, and above all, you have to worry about the performance of your students. This means careful documentation of every discipline incident, every class disturbance, every corrective step you take in dealing with a student. Testing, modifications for special education students in your classes, and student progress all require documentation.
One other liability issue remains. Suppose a young student in an elementary class slips in a classroom or on the playground and is injured. The teacher may think that he or she is free and clear if the parents do not bring any charges and the incident is forgotten. But in some states the student may still bring civil charges against the teacher when that student reaches the age of 18. Not a pretty scenario. You can't stop worrying.
Life is not easy for teachers. If you have other talents and other career choices, don't teach!
You really want to teach. You want to change the world. You want to impart knowledge to young minds. You have ignored all my warnings. Fine, but at least take the following advice seriously.
GO FOR THE MONEY
Market your skills. Send out your resume to a number of systems. Pick a climate and area of the country that appeals to you, a place that's exciting, healthy, and fun. Above all, pick a system that pays well and has regular salary increments based on degree status and experience.
JOIN A UNION
Look for a system where unions are active. Even in a high-paying system, you need a union. Teachers' unions will fight for rights and benefits. A union contract usually guarantees a good teacher—liability insurance policy—at least $1 million. Don't be satisfied with a teachers' association. Associations generally fight straw issues and win benefits that teachers should already receive.
Union membership prevents the administration from overstepping its bounds. It regulates work time and after-school duties. Remember, administrators are not your friends. Administrators already have high salaries. They will find ways for the faculty to do administrative work. They call it "shared leadership" and "joint decision-making," but it requires long committee meetings and tedious paperwork. Only a strong union contract can protect you.
LOOK FOR BENEFITS
There are a host of benefits that teachers should have: sick and personal leave days, full medical and dental programs and a good pension plan. Don't sign a teaching contract without every benefit you want.
BE THE BEST TEACHER YOU CAN BE
Once you have a great contract with a high salary, then teach your heart out. Love your students and teach well. But don't let your guard down. Watch your health and stress level. Go home after the school day ends. Don't volunteer for extra tutoring sessions. When vacation times come, enjoy them to the fullest. Don't teach summer school. Any extra pay will be worthless when you come up sick during the next regular teaching session.
Remember, you earned degrees, and they are paying you for your expertise. You are not a missionary. You are a professional and should expect professional treatment. Don't sign a contract until you have the highest salary possible with the best teaching conditions you can find. Take care of Number One. No one else will.
Nick Kostra taught Latin and English in public schools for 34 years, including 17 years at Fulton High School. He's happily retired.
August 17, 2000 * Vol. 10, No. 33
© 2000 Metro Pulse
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