Teaching is a calling, but it’s also a job

The idea of a teacher likely brings up a range of emotional reactions. You may have loved a teacher who brought a subject to life for you. Or, perhaps, there was a tyrant of a teacher who killed your passion for learning. You’ll probably think of words for teachers, however, such as:

altruistic
caring
generous
giving

Our profession is viewed as noble, a calling more so than a job.

These assumptions about why teachers teach are, at times, correct, but they also become a noose around our necks. Mainly when we are at the negotiating table for wages and work conditions, there is an assumption that if we are in a noble profession, we will do so for free. Therefore, whatever we receive as payment is enough. We’re lucky we are getting paid at all for something we love to do, to live out our calling. But, we can’t pay our mortgage on goodwill. I’m pretty sure if I said to the bank, “I’ll pay $2000 in cash and the last $1,000 in that gooey feeling I get helping kids” I’d be told to cough up the rest of the fee. My artistic friends who can do fantastic photography and artwork are asked to work for “exposure” at times. Again, exposure and Insta likes don’t translate to a mortgage payment.

The reality is, your Doctor is in a noble profession and living out their passion, yet you expect they’ll be paid a fair, living wage. A wage reflective of their years at university, dedication to continual professional development, and the high-quality service they provide.

There is a lot of pressure being in a profession that has an unwritten job application criteria of “the candidate must believe teaching is a calling and will not lose this altruistic enthusiasm”. Let’s stop putting that pressure on each other in the staffroom and maybe it will trickle through to the community. When someone next suggests your job isn’t about the money, ask how they pay their bills? We need to nip this myth in the bud. It is dangerous to teacher wellbeing and encourages teachers to be taken advantage of by just about every sector of society. When teachers leave just on the bell, they are committing themselves to self-care. My mother is a retired Principal who had a mini-stroke at her desk, thought she had fallen asleep, drove home and went back in the next day. I often tell people I won’t have a mini-stroke at my desk – I’ll have my mini-stroke at home thanks!

This expectation of teachers to give, give, give until their cup runneth dry extends to the world of tutoring. People are prepared to pay $200 for a pair of designer shoes but expect to get tutoring for free or for a nominal cost. Teachers don’t have enough left in the tank to do more teaching after school for free. We’ve been at work all day and are tired. The tutoring services around have highly dedicated teachers who are excellent at their craft and prepared to share it beyond their classroom. The HSC has become so competitive that the tutoring industry is booming. Students couldn’t get the expert assistance if not for teachers working past the school bell.

When you engage a tutor, you’re seeking their expertise for something you can’t navigate alone, much like when you engage a plumber. I could give changing my taps a good go, but it won’t be a professional job. I could probably hack away at my hair as well, but it won’t look as good as my talented hairdresser does with her years of experience and training. You could probably help your child with their school work, but a trained professional can more easily and swiftly navigate the syllabus demands and ensure the criteria of the task are met.

I’ve had a teenager contacting me for a few months, asking for free tutoring. I have been firm about the price, but every few weeks, despite being blocked on social media, he finds a way to contact me. I told him once that with my own Yr 12 child and paying students and teachers, I didn’t have time to do freebies. The little smart ass asked if I make my child pay…equating my son with a random teenager on the Internet. This response though, isn’t unique. Many teenagers think teachers should be doing emotional labor for free, after all, we give it away at school for “free” why do we suddenly want to get paid after 3pm? I wish I had an infinite amount of money and energy reserves so I could help every kid. The reality is their parents wouldn’t provide a service for me for free. Teaching needs to get the respect it deserves. Exposure and goodwill don’t pay our bills.

It’s almost taboo for teachers to discuss money. To admit they teach and tutor to pay bills. Yet, other industries talk money a lot, wheeling and dealing at the negotiation table. I wonder if the female domination of the sector also propels this reluctance to discuss financial reparations for our time, energy, and talents? As more men enter teaching, there are forecasts that the income will increase as men won’t settle for the lesser income AND men arriving in female-dominated industries legitimises them as professions that need to be compensated accordingly.

The saddest thing is we feel guilty for wanting to be acknowledged through payment.