In it for the money

J. Kevin Tumlinson

When people find out that I'm a teacher, one of the first questions they ask is, "What got you into teaching?"

Well, to be honest, it was the money.

At the time, I was working in a job where I was never sure when my next paycheck would arrive, and when it did I was forced to stretch it. Stretch it like spandex around Oprah Winfrey's waist. So when an opportunity to teach came up, along with its steady paycheck, I went for it.

Now don't get me wrong. I had noble aspirations. When I was in school, I'd thought about teaching a great deal. I had thought about what I would do different from my own teachers, and what I'd do the same. In effect, I had thought about being a teacher for most of my life. But just like invention, necessity is the mother of career changes.

For the past couple of years now I've been in the classroom, and this job that I took for the money has turned out to be a career. I'm happier than I ever thought I could be. And though there are rough days, there are plenty of good ones.

And the money? Well, I've come to realize that teachers aren't being paid enough. I'm not just saying that from a personal stand point (though a raise wouldn't be turned down!), but I've also seen teachers in action. They're incredible. I've seen people give up time, money and sometimes even personal happiness just to do this thing we call "teaching." All that for one of the lowest salaries a professional with a degree can be paid.

Ironically, I have friends and family who've barely set foot on a college campus that make twice as much as I do (in some cases, three times as much!). And yet my particular profession is the one charged with training those people. Teachers have been given the very honorable task of preparing minds, guiding young people to a point where they can be successful. We get to watch as the kids we've dedicated out lives to - both the grateful and ungrateful, the enthusiastic and the resentful - often go on to careers that provide them with greater security than we ourselves possess.

Something is wrong with this picture.

There's an imbalance in this country. We, as a nation, are demanding that our children receive the very best education, but we don't want to pay. We expect that the role of teacher will always be filled by qualified, outstanding professionals, but we do not give them their due.

What other profession asks that you continue your education practically your whole life, yet compensates you with so little? Teachers go through a yearly regimen of professional development courses. Doctors and lawyers also have to continue their educations, but they tend to make a great deal more money. And if you asked them how important education was in their lives, I'm certain they would praise it to the mountain tops.

Fortunately for everyone, teachers aren't in it for the money. We're in it because we genuinely care about the students. We do the job because if we don't, the kids are the ones who suffer. Unfortunately, the altruistic nature of the teacher has been abused for far too long. Now it is common for teachers to work for less than half of what they're worth.

The only way that's going to change is if everyone decides to take action. If we all made a noise - a letter to our congressman, for example - then maybe we could make a difference. And believe me, it'd be worth it. Better pay for teachers would make teaching more attractive and would help bring more teachers into the game. More teachers means that schools can have their choice of highly qualified professionals to do the job. Having teachers who are highly qualified means that the quality of education increases.

And ultimately, that means the world is a better place.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is a writer and a schoolteacher living in Lake Jackson, TX. Please send him money.