Teachers Have Reached Their Breaking Point

It’s a thankless profession

There is a running joke within the teaching community.

Marry up.

Go find yourself a nice partner who can easily make six figures (or more) and start adding zeros to your *ahem* joint bank account.

It’s either that or living in a cramped apartment with roommates. This is especially true in a major city. The other option is living in the outskirts of town and having a long commute.

I’ll never forget the day I saw my history teacher at Panera Bread. He was the person behind the counter. It was a pleasant surprise.

“I can’t survive on a teacher’s salary,” he later told me.

There are many other teachers like him. Some resort to bartending while others walk dogs on the weekend.

I get it. You don’t pursue teaching for the money. If you want to make millions of dollars, teaching is probably not the first thing you consider.

People become teachers because they want to make a difference. They want to play a direct role in fostering our country’s next generation of leaders and trailblazers.

With that said, teachers should at least be paid a livable wage. They can then focus their undivided attention on the students instead of thinking about how to pay for this month’s rent.

Some teachers have had enough.

Some teachers decided to leave the profession altogether. They are burnt out. They feel more appreciated as a bartender. The tips are nice. There is also less stress.

You need to pay for talent. You need to give people a reason to stay. If you don’t, then they will walk.

Teachers are not respected.

“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.”

This is the infamous saying that gets on my nerves. Teachers in America are not valued. They get pushed around.

Teachers get pushed around by administrators who work for the Department of Education. Teachers are told how to teach as if they don’t know what they are doing. They have limited flexibility in the way they run the classroom.

Teachers get pushed around by parents. The parents think they can do a better job. Some of them have since changed their minds. Kids have been forced to take online classes from home as the pandemic rages on. Not everyone can handle being around a group of highly energetic children for eight hours a day.

It’s different on the other side of the globe. Teachers in Asia have the same social status as doctors. Parents and children alike actually listen to what teachers have to say.

That’s the way it should be everywhere.