MISSIONARY POSITION

While sitting (and sitting) in the doctor’s waiting room recently, I started reading an old U.S. News and World Report from last September. In the Money and Business section, there was one of those articles about someone who has left a lucrative career in business, to become a teacher.

I generally love these stories—and welcome those who grow weary of chasing the big bucks and hopping on jets to the world’s most rewarding profession. I thoroughly believe that second-career teachers bring more than applied content expertise to teaching; they bring invaluable life experience and the kind of self-confidence that you simply can’t acquire taking Teacher Ed 101.

The piece was poignant. Cliff Stevenson, now 52, was inspired to give up mortgage banking when his terminally ill business partner challenged him to follow his long-time dream of teaching. He completed two years of evening coursework in education before resigning—then spent a year interning, earning $5000. It took another two years of subbing before he found a job teaching social studies, which pays him about one-sixth of what he made in banking. Stevenson says he’s happy and fulfilled, with a renewed passion for his work. 

Because this was a story in the Money and Business section, we got lots of details on how Stevenson was able to swing this career switch. His wife makes a “solid income” in her managerial job. They have no children, and made a tidy bundle when they sold their lavish home and scaled down into a townhouse, eliminating their mortgage. The article notes that—“surprisingly”—Stevenson works many more hours now than he did in banking, frequently staying at school around the clock, then putting still more time into lesson planning and responding to student work at home. This may have come as a surprise to Mr. Stevenson and U.S. News and World Report, but it would be no revelation to anyone who ever taught school for a living.

I wish Cliff Stevenson all the best, and sincerely thank him for sharing his transitional story—but I am bothered by the underlying assumption that teaching is missionary work, a personal sacrifice one makes to “give back to the community.” Teaching is a complex professional vocation, a practice to be built and honed. It’s not the academic equivalent of Doctors Without Borders. 

When we portray teaching as a starter job, an interesting thing to do before graduate school or after retirement, a particular form of occupational charity, we marginalize both its intellectual challenge and its social impact. Teaching should never be seen as a step-down career, nor should choosing to teach doom someone to second-income status. Shouldn’t teachers-for-life be able to own homes, support families and take vacations?

And it’s not just the money. We have an urgent, critical need for effective teaching in the American political economy. How can we make it possible for lots of smart, vibrant, dedicated citizens to prepare for and pursue long-haul careers in education? Does it help to describe teaching as downsizing the good life in exchange for satisfaction of the soul?

Comments

[TeachMoore]

Thank you again, Nancy for your wonderful way with words and your powerful insights. I say we take those last two paragraphs, enlarge them to billboard size and send them to every state legislature in the U.S.

[Ellen Holmes]

I agree with all that has been said but I also want to point out a more subtle issue lurking behind second career teaching. There is a prevalent notion that anyone can teach. If one has had a successful career, why then come teach - for surely your skills acquired in the "real world" were far more than needed to manage the different needs, behaviors and abilities of 30 young people. I am very bothered by the attitude of many- not all - alternative route, second career individuals. In my experience with these folk I have observed two patterns of belief - school as a mission field and school as a rewarding place to wait out retirement. Just because someone has been successful in their field does not mean that they can teach and just because someone is desirous of making an impact before they die does not mean that they can teach. If anything, the person described in the article actually had to learn how to teach before being offered his lowly "poverty plus" paycheck - and for that I am thrilled. But, Nancy is dead on, how are we going to attract the best and brightest, require them to undergo expensive and expansive prerequisite training, and retain them for a lenght of time on the sorts of pay being offered in American schools?

[Shari]

I completely disagree with your interpretation of this man's story and of adults switching careers to teaching. Did you ever stop to think that maybe they should have/or wanted to teach all along but pursued the almighty dollar instead of doing what they were created to do. Going into teaching is not stepping down or missionary work; however, it is one of the most important jobs a person can do. Knowing that this job is extremely important and wanting to impact children's lives in a positive way for their future, does not mean that career switchers think teaching is missionary work. Wake up and realize that many people are coming back into teaching for the love of the kids, and want to be mentored by you, and also help you educate the children in your school.

[Nancy Flanagan]

I am mystified as to why you "completely disagree" with this commentary--since I agree with everything you said, especially this: "going into teaching is not stepping down or missionary work. It IS one of the most important jobs a person can do." I personally am grateful for people like Mr. Stevenson, who relinquish their former careers and pursue teaching to make a difference to kids.

It's not Mr. Stevenson (or other dedicated teachers)who think teaching is missionary work: it is the those who believe teaching is something anyone can do, a temporary job to try to "give back to the community," rather than a full-blown professional practice, built over time.

I also believe teachers should make wages commensurate with those professional responsibilites, and be fully accountable for their results in the classroom. I am troubled when teachers say "well, you knew how poorly teachers were paid when you went into teaching"--as if teachers shouldn't be well paid, or things will never change. Teacher leaders can and should lobby for new ideas about teacher compensation.

[mcswain]

I recently left a lucrative career and became a teacher. "Does it help to describe teaching as downsizing the good life in exchange for satisfaction of the soul?" For many who choose to become teachers mid-life, this is an accurate description. Pretending the situation doesn't exist won't help, but doing something to change things might. In my case, I've found it frustrating to enter teaching after a successful 20-yr career as a professional in another field, and to find myself in the same place on the salary scale as my 21-year-old colleague who has never held another job before in her life.

Perhaps teachers who have taught for many years and moved over on the salary scale have forgotten what it was like to live on a beginning teacher's salary. As a 42-yr-old single mom, I gave had to give up ALL income for a year to complete the student teaching necessary to complete my credential, then I started at the bottom of the salary scale--at less than half my previous income. Does it FEEL like missionary work at this point? Youbetcha. That's just a fact.

[Nancy Flanagan]

I agree! I agree! I'm sure it feels like missionary work--and my point was that we should do something to change that perception, as well as working conditions and compensation for teachers. Several of the teachers on the Teacher Leaders Network, which sponsors this blog, came to teaching "sideways"--from other careers or the military. Their insights into how the world sees education are invaluable.

I spoke with a 30ish National Board Certified math teacher yesterday who is now the cooperating teacher for a 55-year old student teacher. He said it took him a couple of days before he could even call his student teacher "Bill" instead of "Mr. Jones." He also thought it would be a great working relationship--they have lots to teach each other.

We need better ways to bring new competencies and talents into the teaching field without making these new teachers feel impoverished. For some more new ideas on paying teachers with particular skills and knowledge more fairly, see the new Teacher Leaders Network report:

http://www.teacherleaders.org/teachersolutions/index.php

[Cliff Stevenson]

I just stumbled across this today while "googling" myself. Interesting comments about me from those who don't know me. FYI, I was in the teacher ed program at Penn in the early 1970's. I dropped out in 1974 when only 3 out of 32 grads that year with masters in social studies education got jobs. The number of those going into teaching to avoid the war made getting a job near impossible. I also taught junior achievement for many years in the Pittsburgh city schools with great success - teaching is not something that I thought I could do wihout having done it. My school thinks enough of me that I now teach honors and AP courses and I'd be happy to include e-mails from the many students in college who tell me of all the teachers they had I was the one who best prepared them for college. (you can also go to www.ratemyteachers.com and get uncensored student comments) I agreed to do the article for the author who is a friend of a friend and free lance writer and was looking to make a paycheck. I hestitated for a long time because I knew that there were other teachers who would resent the article.

[Nancy Flanagan]

Hi Cliff.

Thanks for reading and responding. That's what happens when you google yourself (smiling). Having people make judgments about you based on one article is probably the price you pay for fame, and fame is anathema to many people who choose teaching. There aren't many famous teachers out there.

I also got my teaching degree in the early 70s--and currently live in a state where we export (you read that right) nearly 70% of our teacher graduates to states where they still hire new teachers. Getting my first job was nearly impossible, too, so I have some understanding of why many people who were drawn to teaching eventually chose other paths. If you carefully read what I (and most commenters) wrote, it's not you or the choices you made we're questioning --it's the idea that one should have to "give up" a decent income and opportunity for advancement to become a teacher.

I'm sure you are a fine teacher, and I congratulate you for taking a second look at teaching.

I work with a group of veteran employees at a major tech corporation who are career-switching, into teaching. One of their big assumptions is that the other, career teachers will resent them--resent what they believe is superior content expertise, resent their financial success at Big Corporation, resent their "stepping down" to teach. There are underlying assumptions about the technical difficulty and value of the work here; we shouldn't ignore them.

Please re-read the piece again, and note that I warmly welcome all second-career teachers into the field. You bring many things that 23-year old newbies don't. It's the people who have chosen teaching from Day One who want their expertise and deep knowledge valued here.