I am a teacher.
Most of you already know that. You have heard me talk about my job and my students. But do you know what I really put into it? Do you know what my job entails? Ms. Keane from the National Review Online presents her view of things in her article Teaching Hype. Ms. Keane, we need to talk...

First, let's look at time on the job. Ms. Keane has this to say:
"Teacher salaries may be low, but total compensation (pay plus benefits), considered together with cushy hours and vacation, make the work lucrative."
Cushy hours and vacation, huh? Here in Temecula we have school from the end of August, usually around the 27th, to the middle of June, about the 17th. Nice to have "three months off", right? Actually I have 2 months off and I am NOT paid for it. I get a paycheck, sure, but that's because the pay for my 10 months of work is divided by 12 instead. Now let's look at a my daily hours. Technically, I am required to be at school from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. That sounds pretty cushy when you consider that I get a 15 minute recess break and a 45 minute lunch break, doesn't it? But wait. I am actually at school from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm or later most days. Why not stick to my required hours?

Because I can't do the planning and prepping and organizing and recording and checking that is absolutely necessary during the hours that my students are there. From 9:00 am to 3:15 pm I am entirely focused on the needs and wants of 20 children. I have to be ready to go from one topic to another, from one project to another, from one thought to another at a moments notice. I have to have my day planned in such a way that I can get in every academic thing I am required by state mandates to teach, as well as dealing with the emotional, physical and psychological needs of each individual in my class.

Not only do I put in 10 hours days during the week, but I often go to school on the weekends, as well. During the summer, when Ms. Keane seems to think we are lounging around enjoying a paid vacation, I am gathering ideas, planning next year's curriculum, and working a second or third job to pay the bills. I spend many summer hours wracking my brain for ways to make schoolwork interesting to children who's attention spans have been cut down to 15 minute chunks.

And remember those recess and lunch breaks I mentioned? Those are breaks for the KIDS. During these "breaks" I am either covering some school duty (playground monitor, hall monitor, parking lot monitor) or dealing with some emergency that has come up. Little Johnny jumped off the swing, landed wrong and broke his arm (yes, there IS a rule against that, but kids these days feel no need to follow the rules). Little Jane forgot her homework AGAIN and I have to stay in the classroom while she finishes a makeup assignment. There are a million things to do and I do them during my breaks so that I have a chance of going home at 5:00 pm rather than 6:30 pm.

So those are my hours. (Not counting the sleepless nights as I worry about whether Little Jimmy is getting enough to eat or Little Janice will make it to school more than 2 days this week.) Not quite the lackadaisical routine Ms. Keane thinks.

Next, let's look at job security. Ms. Keane says:
"Even during a hiring shortage in the 1990s, the number of teacher hires still rose faster than student enrollment. More importantly, those hired still have their jobs, unlike their dot-com counterparts. "

I would guess that is true...somewhere. But not here in California. This year every first year teacher, every aide, every intern in the district got a pink slip. For several weeks I had no idea if I would have a job next year or not. The aides and interns had to go. I got lucky and kept my job. But I will probably go through this same thing next year, and there is no guarantee that I will be so lucky again. I wish I had the job security Ms. Keane mentioned.

And finally, a couple of random responses to statements made in the article.
"Public-school teachers leave their full-time positions at an average age of 59, as versus over 63 for those in the private sector. At that age, finding a job to add to their retirement income is easy and common." This begs the question - why are teachers retiring early if it means they just have to go find a second career? And how many lawyers or doctors or have to seek out a second job to supplement their retirement income? I think this statement says a lot about teaching and it isn't what the author intended.

"According to Vedder in "Comparable Worth," only lawyers and judges earned more per week than teachers did. The additional years of schooling, workload, and weekly schedule easily account for the difference in pay. " I don't resent the doctors and lawyers and judges who are paid more than me. I respect the work these people do (with the possible exception of some lawyers) and I understand that their contributions to society are important. However, I take issue with the fact that actors, baseball players and pro wrestlers are payed better than all of us. This, to me, represents a major problem with America today.

So there you have it. A full blown rant. You don't get that here very often. Now, I'm not complaining about my job. I love what I do and every hour is worth it. I teach because I know how important it is. I will continue teaching no matter how underpaid or underappreciated my job is. It just ticks me off when I read things like this written by people who wouldn't last a week in an elementary classroom. You don't see me writting about how cushy her job is, do you? Because I know it entails more than is obvious to the outsider.

So I invite Ms. Keane to visit my classroom someday. I invite her to follow me for a week and see just what it is that I do. Then she can decide whether I am overpaid.