I Got Schooled…
Editor’s note:
Originally published in 2014, according to admin stats, the correct total below is 750 views on 12/18/2024, not the error message shown below.
Contents
- Post
- Quick Quiz: Teaching Fact or Fiction & Answers
- Entrepreneurial Teachers & Related Issues
- Video
The title of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan’s latest book on school reform also accurately describes what I learned when I looked at the economics of teaching from an entrepreneurial viewpoint.
It’s no secret that teachers are poorly paid. But I suspect that many people do not stop to think about what that reality means in the daily lives of educators. And the cost to society overall. Previously, Jonathan Kozol’s essay Savage Inequalities assigned for a social policy class in 2009 was my primary point of view, as was Morgan Spurlock’s Inside Man on Education and the little girl who began to cry when informed she’d have to undergo more testing at school. And of course, my fond and not-so-fond memories as a student.
But I recently discovered that personal experience limits understanding of a large, complex problem. Activists in the field of education present compelling arguments but often focus on students, one part of the elephant in the room.
The problems viewed through a business lens underscore ineffective infrastructure and longstanding historical issues yet to be addressed.
Consider these words spoken during an episode of a popular ’60s western set in the mid-1800s. Outlaw Frank Coulter revealed why he’d changed his occupation.
“I was a schoolteacher tasked with educating the children…and I was held in high esteem, but the decent people paid me 30 cents a day and one day, I’d had enough…” — Frank Coulter
Today, philosophical and political differences continue to bring overall positive change at a glacial speed. And the bureaucracy continues to ignore math, spending more than 7 billion annually to replace teachers who burn out from low salaries and overwork, according to the National Commission on Teaching. The popular notion that teachers have the summer off to work is a myth.
Many educators work second jobs after school during the academic year. While the infrastructure turns slowly, there are bills to pay, incidentals, such as school supplies, rent, food, health insurance, and student loans.
In some cases, graduate students in the teaching profession attracted to the finance industry for part-time work, discover they can make far more income and leave for greener…literally… pastures, according to a Sam Houston State University professor.
Ironically, moonlighting, by its very nature, stressful and time-consuming, is viewed as a problem-solving solution, allowing educators to continue to afford to teach…
The teaching profession includes a larger number of part-time entrepreneurs than many other professions. Makes sense when you consider how widespread moonlighting activity is within the profession versus the general population.
But there is also the issue of entrepreneurial traits, which many good teachers possess.
Quiz
Teaching Fact or Fiction
1. True or False? In the 1960s, teacher Jonathan Kozol was fired for reading the poems of Langston Hughes to children of color.
2. **How much do teachers spend on school supplies during the year…each year?
a. $600-$2000 b. $250- $500
3. True or False: IRS Rules allow nearly all expenses spent on supplies as a write-off.
Answers
1. True. Some say the resulting publicity helped propel his career as an activist.|
2. b. In Russia, Teachers earn an annual salary of a. $48,000 *b. $4,800 c. $29,700
*approx $7k today.
3. a. Almost $700, according to the recent Sam Houston study. But one teacher in the Parham study reportedly spent $2,000.00.
4. False. $300.00 is the maximum allowed for deductions under certain guidelines. (Previously $250)
*Source: Sam Houston State University researchers, TSTA 2012
** Source: Sam Houston State University researchers & Parham dissertation.
References
Sam Houston State University School of Education Survey: TSTA Texas & Russia, 2012 Note: Survey conducted or the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA)
Fordham.edu Savage Inequalities: Children in American Schools, Beauford, 1991, PDF.
Circumstances of Kozol’s firing on page 4.
Reading Between the Lines, 3rd edition, by Amanda Konradi and Martha
Note: An assigned textbook with Jonathan Kozol’s work.
YouTube: The Big Valley, Tunnel of Gold, 1966.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M86N6DJkEE
Digitallibrary.txstate.edu
Moonlighting: A Reality for Many Public School Teachers, Dissertation,
Janis Newby Parham, B.S, M.Ed…Texas December 2006
Note: Profiles of several moonlighting teachers begin on page 51.
Sobering inside look at the daily life of a teacher. Some of whom already exhibit entrepreneurial activities…one in particular. And arguably, this resource is a script in a reality TV show.
Parham’s suggestions include better and realistic career counseling information for aspiring teachers.
A good argument could be made that reviewing this dissertation would be a good starting point.
Globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com
What Finland Can Teach America about Education
http://tinyurl.com/kbzfbpo
Texas State Teachers Association
Note: Press release discusses survey
findings from Sam Houston State University researchers.
http://www.tsta.org/sites/default/files/Moonlighting13.pdf
Linda DeRegnaucourt, Skilled Math Teacher
in Florida, Forced to Quit Beloved Career
https://w.santanvalley.com/news/national-news/why-one-good-teacher-decided-to-quit#google_vignette
Public News Service.org
Moonlight Madness for North Carolina Teachers
https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2014-02-27/education/moonlight-madness-for-nc-teachers/a37830-1
McKinsey on Society.com
Closing the talent gap: Attracting and retaining
top-third graduates to a career in teaching
http://mckinseyonsociety.com/closing-the-talent-gap/ –
See more at http://tinyurl.com/luu6ssd
National Center for Education Statistics Nces.ed.gov/pubs/pdf
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013153.pdf
Bureau of Labor Statistics.gov
New data on multiple job holding available from the CPS
http://bls.gov/mlr/1997/03/art1full.pdf
Edpolicy.org Note: Policy analysis for California education
http://www.edpolicyinca.org/
Scholastic.com/primarysources/pdfs
Note: Survey in which teachers describe ways to improve the system http://tinyurl.com/ydaldy2
Niche Creativity Press release – Online PR Media.com
https://onlineprnews.com/news/475783-1397016889-increase-in-teachers-schooled-in-moonlighting-entrepreneurial-tasks-inspires-new-guide.html/
Entrepreneurial Teachers & Related Issues
Sireview.org
Stanford Social Innovation Review
Teachers and Social entrepreneurs
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/teachers_and_social_entrepreneurs
Science Explorers.com
Note: Fun after-school science activities
https://scienceexplorers.com/
TechCrunch.com
Teachers Making Moola on the Web
Rip Empson, May 17, 2012
Bioeyes
Note: Nonprofit established to teach children science using fish
https://www.bioeyes.org/our-story
The Moonlight Attic
Note: A former teacher discovered her skill at photography and creating postcards for her church was the beginning of a business
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheMoonlightAttic
Diverseeducation.com
Moonlighting becomes them: college faculty
become entrepreneurs, high-priced
consultants off-campus – African Americans
By James C. Lawson, cmaadmin (EDU)
Jun 17, 2007
Nytimes.com New Breed of Teachers
Become Entrepreneurs & Roving Innovators,
Peter Applebome, Published: May 31, 1995
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/31/us/new-breed-of-teachers-become-entrepreneurs-and-roving-innovators.html
Teacher Care.com Personal Childcare Agency Staffed by Teachers
https://teachercare.com/about/
Infographic Edupreneurs: Could Teachers Become the Next Batch of Startup Entrepreneurs?
http://www.bestmastersineducation.com/edupreneurs/
SFChronicle.com
Why Do Teachers Need Side Jobs to Pay Bills?
Op-ed by Ninive Calegari, August 2015
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Why-do-teachers-need-side-jobs-to-pay-bills-6473990.php
The Teacher Salary Project.org
Infographic
Short Videos
Finding Your Niche | Teachers Pay Teachers
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