So I helped my brother study for the test. That was the beginning of this deep dive into the "Preparing to be a Teacher" course he enrolled in as a high school student.
I read the materials given for this course,perused them,and saw the outcomes of his quizzes; his actual quizzes.A few teaching-related topics were covered in this course that I encountered during my first year of college after high school.What bothered me most was what it didn't cover.
The fact that teachers never truly have a "work life" balance was not addressed in this course. Yes, you as a teacher can get summers and holidays off. I as a teacher found myself preparing for the following year (I don't think I'm alone in this, especially if you're changing classes, schools, and so on). Even during the school year, you can spend weekends and after hours grading papers (also you don’t get any overtime bonuses or any such extra pay.).
- This course may or may not have glossed over the fact that...
- Students can have diverse backgrounds or a learning disability, or both;
- The need for educators to be ready to handle disruptive behavior is disregarded.
- No guidance is given on how to work with any student who wasn’t a typical learner.
- “Classroom management” and “Behavior Management” are not discussed here. Neither were the words "modification or accomodation" mentioned. This thought made my stomach curdle.
I was making forty thousand dollars my last year of teaching. Right now, I make between 58 and 59 K a year, but I do get performance bonuses and other perks.
In my current role, I am reminded of other benefits that I did not have when I was a teacher. These include copay-free medical visits, health insurance that only costs $15 per paycheck, upward mobility and a $2,000 HSA deposit every January that I can carry over into the following fiscal year if I do not use it all.
According to my most recent teaching paystub, I had to pay $100 in health insurance per paycheck and no HSA or FSA account.
I was reminded that the financial package of any career or job consists ofmorethan just base pay. Base pay is just a small part of what to look at when transitioning from any job (and let me say that the retirement funds are not shabby either).
It would be an understatement to say that I gave him a lot to think about.
I forced him to think and made him uncomfortable.
How I’m going to end this article is mostly how I ended this conversation with my brother; I’m hoping I didn’t make you cry like I made my younger brother cry.
I apologize if I ever brought you to tears.
I'm sending you a virtual hug, pat on the back, if you would like one.
Obviously, we require exceptional educators. There will always be a need for outstanding educators, and they cannot be mass-produced. However, being a teacher may not be for you if it costs you your sanity and is detrimental to your health.
We crave fantastic educators. However, the profession needs to be good to educators as well. Better Pay… better working conditions… and I could go on.
With that being said,
Make the Most Of Your Day!
Jacquelyn
