Overview:
Nepotism is always bad in education. It can help retain, recruit and attract teachers.
Nepotism Has Benefits for Teachers, Students, and Families
I’m in my 18th year of teaching. But I don’t know if I would be here without nepotism. It’s given me advantages in my educational career that I am so thankful for. I have spent my entire teaching career in the same district that hired me right out of college, and I am proud to work in the district that employed my mother for all 25 years of her teaching career. However, she set some very high expectations and standards within that district, and I feel obligated to work hard to live up to those expectations.
In 2022, nepotism took on a new label, “nepo babies,” which New York Magazine then popularized in their December 19, 2022, cover story. The article “She Has Her Mother’s Eyes. And Agent.” discussed the “love-hate obsession” with actors and actresses who have had successful Hollywood careers like their parents. This article went viral and got Americans buzzing about nepotism not just in Hollywood but in all industries – including education.
Can Nepotism Benefit Education?
Being a nepo baby myself, I have a pretty strong opinion on the pros and cons of nepotism in education. Does it exist? Absolutely. Can districts and teachers use it to their advantage? 100% yes.
In my experience, the pros outweigh the cons. I have been afforded the opportunity to work in one of the most sought-after school districts in Mississippi. Our district currently ranks #2 in the entire state, and teachers continually move here to vie for a job. My mother, who worked for the same district all twenty-five years of her teaching career, paved the way for me to work here. She did the same thing for my younger brother; we have been teaching in the same district for almost 20 years. My brother and I were hired by principals our mother was “friends” with and a superintendent who knew my entire family very well. Do I look at this as a “pro” of nepotism? Yes, I do.
Pros of Nepo Babies in Education
In the education industry, we seek out the best of the best. The future of our students is crucial, and we want their education to be top-notch. An ideal teacher would be hard-working, compassionate, and intelligent. As the children of a successful teacher, my mother passed down all of these traits to my brother and me. We learned from her how to apply these traits in the teaching careers we both hold today.
It also helped that we live in a tiny town with a population of only about 20,000 people and that we attended school grades K-12 here ourselves. Today, we both hold positions at the upper elementary and high schools we attended as kids. Because we grew up with such close ties to the schools we teach at, we work hard to make sure our schools and students are successful; the well-being of the district holds a special place in our hearts. Due to this, the district we work for gained two loyal, dedicated educators when they hired us.
And because my mother was a teacher, we both learned the ins and outs of the district before we even began working there, making us ideal candidates. We also knew prior what life would be like with a career in teaching, and we are now better at balancing work/family life and avoiding burnout. Oddly enough, our spouses are both teachers – in the same school district we work in. That is nepotism at its finest.
Additionally, districts hiring teachers whose parents taught for them are more likely to retain those teachers due to their close familial ties to the district. A certain level of loyalty goes hand-in-hand with teachers born and raised in the district they work for, and school districts can use this to their advantage. In this case, the pros of nepotism can benefit both parties. Teachers are proud to follow their parent’s steps, and districts have an employee who is less likely to transfer out of the district. This can be extremely helpful, or even necessary, in districts that struggle to retain or recruit teachers.
Cons of Nepo Babies in Education
One of the biggest cons of nepotism in school districts is the complex feelings and unfairness employees can feel when nepotism is prevalent within a district. Signs of nepotism may be a turnoff to potential new teacher hires. Districts may also lose strong, capable teaching candidates by hiring friends or family members instead. Nepotism can also drive away current teachers who may feel there is no hope for advancement or growth within their current district. School districts are definitely not free of workplace gossip, and talk of nepotism can be a huge turnoff for some employees; they leave the district looking for a more peaceful workplace.
Another con is the lack of diversity nepotism can bring to a district’s teaching pool. Continually hiring with a nepotistic approach can limit diversity not only racially and culturally but academically as well. Districts can push away highly qualified teachers in certain subject areas in favor of hiring a friend or family member who is less qualified or may even need to obtain an endorsement to be able to teach a particular subject. Nepotism does not strengthen racial or gender diversity within a district, which can cause problems in communication for current employees and look distasteful to new hires.
Nepotism helps in smaller districts
In spite of these drawbacks, I believe nepotism can be a benefit to both districts and employees, especially in smaller cities. When districts hire people the city is familiar with in a positive light; parents trust their judgment. Teachers reap the benefits of positive relationships with parents, and districts get the advantage of hiring familiar faces.
Nepotism will always be a topic that turns heads, and New York Magazine’s December article is a prime example. The article went viral in just a few days, with people validly supporting both sides of the argument. However, due to the infamous article, the two words “nepo baby” have become a term that has sparked much controversy. Whether you think nepotism has positive benefits or not, the education industry has its fair share of nepo babies holding important, worthy teaching positions. We are a hard-working, loyal group of educators who are proud to represent our school districts. Even though hiring a “nepo baby” can be viewed as controversial, we bring a lot to the table and are here to stay in the education industry.
Ashley Chennault is currently a freelance writer and 4th-grade teacher in the small coastal town of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Ashley is in her 18th year of teaching and holds a master of arts degree in elementary education. In addition, she became Nationally Board Certified in 2020. In her free time, she enjoys her second job as a contract grant writer for philanthropy corporations, boating, beaching, cooking, watching her teenage sons play sports, and spending time with her three adopted wiener dogs, Georgie, Henry, and Tripp.
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I came to say that this article is so very biased. I was a sub at a different district for a while until I received my certification. When I subbed for this district, there was a teacher out for a while in the subject I am qualified for (I had a bachelor’s in the subject but not certified at the time to teach it). Instead of having me as the long term substitute for this subject, they choose the child of someone who worked for the system who wasn’t even going to be a teacher (so NOT certified either), nor was even qualified in the subject to be a long term substitute for it. I was overlooked for a Nepo baby on a chance to maybe prove myself worthy of teaching in the district later on. So yeah…Nepotism is unfair and wrong for any reason in my view . I know I am also biased due to my experiences as well but she’s basically sugarcoating the fact that qualified people aren’t getting jobs because of this. She got a job because of being a nepo baby and is basically trying to justify it. And all I have to say to that is this: nice try and it’s easy to try to justify privileges when you are the one who benefits from those choices.
This article is trash. Plain and simple. Even reading it the only “pros” I see are for the writer of the article and her brother and how they got to get jobs in the best schools because of nepotism, not because of how good she is as a teacher, and she notes that as a Pro. Yes it is a Pro for her but what about the other qualified teacher who could have had that job? Maybe they would’ve been better suited even? No one will know even if/though the writer is qualified. She just got put first in line which is also not right. No one should get a job using nepotism. Jobs are supposed to be on merit, not be about who you know and if mommy and daddy work there. It’s just plain unfair to everyone else. She does talk about less qualified people being picked as well but you can definitely tell her entitled attitude and how she feels nepotism is a good thing because she benefited from it. She was put in the front of the line and is glorifying the entitlement because she benefited. What about those qualified people who didn’t get the jobs they deserved? Nepotism is just a horrible thing plain and simple. People like this writer show their entitled attitude when they got a job that even if they qualified for maybe they didn’t deserve. How awful to glorify such disgustingness.
This article is one-sided. Having seen the nepotism at our local school district and seen the effect it had on my kids and other kids that didn’t have parents as teachers it was a disgusting display. Human nature at it’s most rudimentary level. A mother protecting her children has no bounds.
I witnessed several instances of this – one instance I recall was a student that had been “in the wings” playing an instrument (flute we’ll say) and this student had to take the place of their peer at a concert after that student (who was a teachers kid) was not able to make the concert. The music director actually made a point about this student stepping up and doing a wonderful job. Nepotism essentially displaced a student that would/could otherwise have otherwise done a good job….or better….than their peer. I was appalled when this was pointed out at the end of the concert – appalled at the blatant nepotistic behavior and the appearance of impropriety. Shameful.
The biggest slap in the face was during my daughters graduation. Each parent faculty member who had a student graduating handed the diploma to their kid.
I felt like a big hand came out from the stage where the faculty was and slapped everyone in the face. In my industry (engineering) we had to get training to avoid the appearance of impropriety. People who worked at my company and were married could not work in the same group. Etc etc…
This is a horrible situation.
And one of the worst parts is – these terrorists….ooops…teachers shake down the local government for a lot more money so they can live in the affluent town that they teach in. There is no requirement for them to live in the town in which they teach. If they have the funds to do that, good for them. But don’t ask the towns to subsidize their homes and living expenses at the expense of the taxpayer.