One of my former colleagues (Hi, Mista C) shared this article: Stop Making Teachers Feel Guilty for Asking to Be Paid for Their Work (https://www.weareteachers.com/wont-work-for-free/?utm_content=1576178876&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1Tk9Kq4yxCciKZ0PUEyxqGDB7Fjublgm0qWANO-TtQnVd7U1LLvzO6nuQ) and I’m kind of worked up about it. I am in my 12th year of teaching. Over this time I:
- ran clubs
- stayed late to meet with parents
- graded papers at home
- met, emailed and texted with co-teachers on my own time
- fielded calls and emails from concerned parents and students
Now, one might argue that these things are part of the job. And they are. But if they are part of the job, why are some schools so reluctant to pay teachers adequate over time to do these things? As it said in the article, “I care about my students but I also care about being able to pay my mortgage too…” And this is true. Some teachers make so little that they need to take on other work just to make make ends’ meet…and yet they’re expected to do extra things at their schools for no compensation? That’s utterly ridiculous. Teaching is intense enough that teachers can use all of the down time they get and shouldn’t need tow worry that their full time job doesn’t pay the bills.
When teachers have kids of their own, it adds a whole other layer to this dilemma. While I am invested in my students, I did not give birth to them. Any extra time I spend with them is time that I am not spending with my own kids. Unfortunately, I can’t do this without getting paid. It is simply not fair to my own kids.
Meditations on Literature and Literacy...Continued 