In the writings of both Gloria Durka and Marianne Novak Houston I was struck by the concept that in order to embrace teaching as a vocation we must recognize that we are “called” to education. A teacher who does not or cannot appreciate teaching as a spiritual endeavor is far more likely to lose heart and succumb to the many obstacles, hardships, and challenges that teachers face daily. The process of recognizing “the call” requires reflection and careful examination of our life experiences. Seeing God in all things and viewing life and all of its interactions through this lens is how we come to accept the grace of teaching as vocation.
I must admit that I am still in the process of discerning if teaching is my vocation. Although I recognize multiple occasions in my life when God was calling me to a life in education, I would be lying if I said I am without doubt. Lately, one question has been gnawing at my mind and I hate to admit it, but it has to do with money. Will I or can I ever earn enough money to properly provide for a family? This past school year two close friends and colleagues left my school to pursue more lucrative professions. Both of them are excellent teachers, respected by their students and recognized by their colleagues as skilled and gifted educators. In my discussions with them, both confessed that though they loved teaching and truly felt fulfilled by their relationships and interactions with students and colleagues, the financial constraints the job placed upon their growing families could no longer be ignored. Whether they will be happy and fulfilled by their new jobs remains to be seen. The point is that both of these men acknowledged that they had been "called" to education and seemed to have embraced it as their vocation yet still chose to leave the profession because of financial constraints.
I ask you my fellow classmates; do you or have you struggled with this same issue? If so, how have you fought the temptation to leave for greener pastures? Is the sense of fulfillment or wholeness that embracing teaching as vocation brings enough to sustain you when confronted with the hardships and sacrifices’ involved with a career in education?
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The Stewing Pot
- "The unexamined life is not worth living." St. Ignatius of Loyola
- " The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there."- John Buchan
- "Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance."- Will Durant
- " How do I work? I grope." - Albert Einstein
- "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." - William Shakespeare
- "Originality is the art of concealing your source." -Thomas Edison
5 comments:
Brendan:
My first year a Lourdes I made no money as a volunteer, just a $125 a month for food. When I was hired as a paid employee five years ago, I made $17,000.
After finishing my masters degree and adding the technology and 21st century programs to my job title, I was able to add to my salary. I make almost as much as the principals now, which is not a lot. I have surpassed the teachers because I have 4 official job titles that takes me 70 hours a week to complete.
I cannot support a family, and up until this point, I have no life outside of school.
But I can certainly use Boyd, our head of maintenance, as an example of someone who has sacrificed greatly to stay at Lourdes. He makes very little money, and has to drive three bus runs a day to make ends meet. He has been asked to take over maintenance at Little Wound School for double the money he is making now. He just says, "there is no other place I want to be."
I think of Boyd whenever I hear teachers and staff complain that they do not make enough money. Boyd never says a word. He has just as many children as the other staff members and just as many financial obligations. He simply finds a way to make it work, and understands that he will retire with very little money.
I am sure this does not help, but I think it is important to understand if what you do is worth it enough to be broke.
I want to be at Lourdes forever, but how long can I do 4 jobs and have no life outside of school? If I took a teaching position, I might make $30,000 at the most. Could I support a family like that?
Thoughts?
TJ
I understand your dilemma. My older sister taught in a Catholic school for 10 years. When she got married, she transferred to a public school for a bigger salary, however, she said she was not satisfied. Even though she is still teaching, she still considers teaching in a Catholic school a better place.
Thank you Brendan for sharing this challenging situation as well as personal concern. It well may be that teaching in the public schools will earn you more money to support a family. That's obviously possible. I do not have your experience but I can at least share with you some of my thoughts and suggestions. But if you and your future wife will both be working, then even if you're employed as a teacher at Gonzaga High School, Washington, D.C., it is still very possible to raise a family. Certainly once you get a master's degree in education from our school here at USF, your salary at Gonzaga should increase dramatically. Planning and strategies in raising a family are key. Since you're a teacher, you may be able to get a discount for your children attending any parish school in the D.C. area for example. Your future boys can probably attend Gonzaga High fro free since you work there. And your girls can attend another Catholic high school at a discounted rate since you work for a Catholic school.
Once they go to college, have them go to excellent public universities so that they can get a very good education at a cheaper price than public universities. Or if they choose to to attend private universities, your children can certainly work and take out student loans which will be paid once they get jobs. Or have them attend a community college for the first 2 years (for a cheaper price; now at $21/unit - 2008 prices) and then transfer to a 4-year university. These are only suggestions, as I said. And you can raise a family with a bit of frugality, planning, investment in your children's college funds slowly, saving money and still be a teacher at a Catholic high school like Gonzaga, doing the work that you might just love, since God may be calling you in this vocation. God's blessings to you always and all the best.
Brendan
Being a priest, I don't have the same monetary and financial constraints that our lay faculty/staff have. As principal, I see it as my responsibility to get as much as I possible can for our employees. I am often deeply saddened and dismayed by how inadequate that is for some. I have with heavy heart seen a few of my cherished faculty leave, but I could only sympathize with them. We must find more creative ways to keep the best that our schools have within them. They have no less a commitment to their vocation and the mission of the school, but they have responsibilities. I fear for the future as the economy gets worse and the need to raise tuition arises in order to keep faculty members solvent.
Brendan,
I have found that the sharing of my vocation with my family has helped in their understanding why we must make certain financial decisions. Now that I have spent so much time in Catholic Ed. I can demand a higher salery but it has a demand which is that I must work where there are more affulent families which is not allways as satisfiing.
Bob
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