How the Government Shutdown has Triggered my Teacher Shame

Overview:

Teacher Shame” is the societal devaluation of educators made painfully clear during the government shutdown.

Teacher Shame, a term I use to describe the regular intervals at which I am reminded that I chose a low-paying job that seems to be considered unimportant by society. The current government shutdown has triggered me.

The first time I felt this shame was when I watched the faces of my college boyfriend’s family fall when they learned that I planned to become a teacher. His father and older brother were investment bankers, and his mother was a practicing psychologist. The boyfriend was majoring in finance and was expected to follow in his father’s and brother’s footsteps. Over dinner, they asked what I was studying, and I told them English. His father paused with his fork midway to his mouth, smiled, and said, “With plans to go to law school, of course.” Needless to say, they were less than impressed when I told them I was going to be a teacher.

Cue the beginning of Teacher Shame.

After graduating from college, I arrived at new teacher orientation for my first job. I was bright-eyed and ready to dive in. The room was filled with teachers of all ages who were new to the district, looking eager to learn about their new employer. A high-ranking school district official came into the room to welcome us. The next words she said sent me tumbling headlong into teacher shame quicksand.

“I know you all must be good people because you’re certainly not here for the money.”

She took the wind out of my teacher sail. I felt defeated before I had even started, wondering why she chose to make that point. I felt embarrassed for myself and second-hand embarrassment for the others around me.

Even social events are not off limits for threats of teacher shame. A fellow teacher told me about attending a weekend dinner party hosted by a friend who was a doctor, and so were most of the guests. She was hastily dismissed when some of the guests learned during small talk that she was a teacher. It was as if she couldn’t possibly have much to contribute to their conversations, let alone have anything in common with them.

Over the years, I have felt the burn of resentment as other professionals I know outearn me by a significant amount. It isn’t that those individuals don’t work hard. Of course they do. The question I have is why they earn more money deciding where the ketchup should be displayed in a grocery store or selecting the best artificial dog poop to stock the shelves of a retail store?

The current government shutdown has ignited a new wave of Teacher Shame that burns like a blowtorch. I am married to an active duty servicemember who is most likely not going to receive his next paycheck, despite still going to work, due to the shutdown. The lack of income as a teacher continues to haunt me. It is impossibly difficult to accept that the thing you are good at simply does not make much money. I could also write pages of anecdotes about the students and their parents who have thanked me over the years for igniting a love of reading, or for nurturing and guiding them through a difficult time, and so on.

The sad reality is that that particular currency just doesn’t pay the bills.

Jaclyn Novak is a certified English-Language Arts teacher with an endorsement in Gifted Education. She loves a fresh stack of library books and her toes in the sand.