Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools, by Steven Brill, discusses many problems within the traditional public school system, as well as some proposed solutions. Though much of Brill’s exposé is tainted with the bias of his sources and himself, there are many statistics provided regarding American schooling. One piece of data from the McKinsey consulting firm that especially stuck with me was that in 2010 “just 23 percent of new teachers came from the top third of their college graduating classes” (44). Brill contrasts this by citing that countries like “South Korea, Singapore, and Finland…recruited nearly 100 percent [of teachers] from the upper end [of their college classes]” (44). Brill calls these three countries “the world’s top-performing school systems,” further stressing his frequently raised point that teachers are the most important factor in student success.
So why do the highest-achieving college students tend to stay away from careers in education? Brill theorizes that top graduates would rather work in higher-paying industries with the opportunity for professional growth and without the strict rules made by school districts and union contracts. This leads, he believes, to graduates who are unmotivated and uninterested in teaching, but who want to profit off of an income of livable wages, low personal accountability, and little to no chance of losing their job (43-44).
While few could doubt that there is a group of teachers who fit these characteristics, there are also many who genuinely enjoy teaching and who hope to better their students. Teaching is a hugely important field and those who choose to enter into the profession rightfully expect some benefits. Doctors spend years in school and residency, and frequently expect large salaries once established. Teachers, on the other hand, often spend years getting their own education and training, work long hours (usually far beyond the time regulated by their contracts), and deal with unruly students and parents on a daily basis. For this effort, they receive decent pay and decent benefits. So what is a motivator to enter the field? Public school teachers know that they work in a profession that will never disappear, that is not hugely effected by recession, and in which they cannot be fired for frivolous reasons. For many people, this job security makes up for the hard work and relatively low pay. But this desire for a secure future does not intrinsically make a teacher unmotivated, lazy, or stupid. Though Brill brings up interesting points about the recruitment of educated teachers, he seems to skim over the human aspect of the situation. No matter what percentile a graduate is in, their passions (for law, for medicine, or even for teaching) and their needs financially (in salaries as well as benefits) also play an important factor in determining their career path.
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6 responses to “Why Become A Teacher?”
OK, now tell us what your really think. (Just kidding.) I think you make a good argument here and it is one to which I am very sympathetic. I wonder what might be done to enhance the teaching profession to make it more interesting to the “best and brightest.” This is where Wendy Kopp has really succeeded. TFA is viewed as a highly prestigious thing to do. Why can’t we get people to view traditional routes into teaching as having the same kind of esteem?
I have a very personal connection with your post! I always grew up wanting to be a teacher and came to Bucknell with the goal of gaining my teaching certification. While as senior I’m finally achieving this goal, I have come to realize that teaching will not be a realistic profession for me (at least not now). The sad truth is, a teaching salary wouldn’t compare in the long-run to a salary I can earn in the business world- and with Bucknell tuition bills, salary is a huge concern for me! Like you, I wish there was more incentive (monetary and social) to become a teacher. Even though I have the passion to make change in children, teaching still isn’t realistic option for the “best and brightest”.
I think one of the reasons that TFA is so attractive to individuals with prestigious academic backgrounds lies in the fact that is is a short-term position. It allows graduates who do not know what they want to do yet to gain experience in the real world, add something to their resumes, and give them something to do for a few years while they figure out their real profession. A teaching profession will not pay nearly as well as many other jobs will and high-level graduates know this. Because the important of a well-paying job will not change in a modern-day society, I do not think that the level of graduates who become teachers will increase significantly any time soon.
One reason might be that teaching is extremely tough, with very little payoff. Just like what you said in your post, other professions that require longer schooling tend to have much larger salaries. However, teachers are not as revered as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. As a result, graduating students see teaching as a profession that requires so much, with such a small salary that doesn’t garner them any respect from their peers. As much as we wish it weren’t so, people look down on teachers (even if they acknowledge how difficult it is). McKenzie also brought up the point that she has student loans to pay off, as do most graduating students, so starting with a small salary makes that difficult. It comes down to money and prestige, and the teaching profession is lacking in both.
As an economics minor, I have discussed successful education systems in nations like Sweden, where teachers are actually highly revered. Unfortunately, due to the history of teaching as being a predominantly female profession, along with the relatively low pay, teaching is not as highly esteemed in the United States as in some other nations.
This lack of respect of teachers is blatant in a school like Bucknell University, where very few students are on track to becoming a teacher. On the other hand, many of my other friends, who are attending less competitive public universities, say that they know lots of students who are on track to becoming a teacher. In fact, many of my close friends who are attending public schools are now beginning the process of student teaching.
Teaching is a great and rewarding profession, but unfortunately the question remains ‘Why waste an esteemed, private education on becoming a teacher’?
Reading your response was a sad reminder of what someone once told me; “Why use a diploma from Bucknell to become a teacher?” I am reminded on a constant basis that teaching is not a prestigious career in the United States. How ironic. Those who are to fill up the “prestigious” careers are being taught by teachers from pre-K to college and beyond but yet teaching is not a profession. What does it take to convince the US population that teaching is indeed a profession and a prestigious one at that?