I wish I was as POOR as Teachers!

The purpose of this is not to prove that teachers make too much money or too little money. It’s to make people think and to put some perspective on things.

The following is a journal entry from 2005 by a high schooler. Pseudonyms are used for obvious reasons.

I ripped into Mr. S today. I didn’t mean to. He’s a nice teacher and I like him, but he was the last straw. He made a comment about how he doesn’t make any money as a teacher and I snapped. I gave him a five minute lecture on how bad it is for him to be complaining about how much money he makes when he could have students who are actually poor and how does that make them feel and on and on. I expect that kind of thing from the lazy coaching “teachers” but not from Mr. S; he seems quality. It’s like it’s a rule that if you’re a teacher you must meet a quota of number of times you complain about your salary. Mr. S is young. I wish he would challenge the norm and not just follow in the footsteps of others.


I’ve been listening to teachers complain about how much money they make (or DON’T make) for years and for some reason a lot in the past few weeks and I’m sick of it! I figure my parents must make a fraction of what teachers make since we can't afford their lives. So my dad gets paid less AND his job is way harder yet he doesn’t complain… okay, sometimes he does, given what’s natural for a human. I mean, he did CHOOSE his profession so I kinda don’t feel TOO bad… but so did teachers! They knew they were going into a field that doesn’t pay tons because they have also listened to their teachers who complained about it. So then why do they expect more? Are they the children of rich middle class couples, spoiled, have no clue about what a hard life really is, and expect the world to hand them a high standard of living?


Mrs. J lives in that new, big, brick home. I wish I lived in a house that nice. Maybe she just has a wealthy husband, but what about Mr. and Mrs. D? They’re both teachers and they just bought that one house. Plus they paid me a lot for babysitting one little girl. It was really nice in there. Nothing was broken, Nothing was hand-me-downs-and-down-and-down. It looked like they have everything they need and want. I mean, it’s not a mansion and they don’t have boats but not everyone can be THAT rich. I don’t feel bad for teachers. Looks like they’re livin it up to me. Then again, I'm not coming from parents who are doctors or lawyers or anything like that. Their lives probably seem like poverty compared to the childhood they are coming from, but it looks luxurious to me. But what about Mrs. M? Her house is small and she lives paycheck to paycheck… she also got pregnant when she was a teenager and her husband is working part time.... She's an exception. I just look at teachers’ clothes, cars, houses, cell phones, and think, “Wow, I wish I was as poor as you.” Mr. B has a motorcycle, a pool, a billiard table, a nice car and he doesn’t even do anything! I wonder how much teachers REALLY make….. Mom says $30,000 is a respectable starting wage. So, I guess, that means teachers make $20,000? $25,000?


Furthermore, it’s always (almost) said like this, “Good thing I’m not doing it for the money cause we get paid nothing.” This pisses me off cause if you truly weren’t doing it for the money then why bring it up and complain about it? Saying things like, “I work my butt off and get paid peanuts,” is insulting to someone who works or comes from parents who work longer and more laboriously and get paid less. I know teachers have degrees and most people who get paid less don’t, but, in reality, no one’s gonna care if you’re “qualified” or “certified.”All they’re gonna see is a bunch of people who work with kids, get summers off, and still think they’re living in poverty and their lives are awful. Pointing out that you have a degree almost makes it worse cause it’s like you’re saying, “Look at me! I’m better than you!” No wonder the poor hate the rich. My family’s not even that poor and teachers certainly aren’t rich either. It’s almost like teachers are the sophomores in society- taking pride in being better than those below them yet still lusting to be an upperclassman.


If teachers are poor, am I supposed to feel ashamed of my background? Of my life? I don’t feel ashamed. At least, I don’t think I do. But if teachers believe that their situation is soooo bad, then what does that say about mine? My family of SEVEN can survive just fine off of our income but apparently it’s not enough for teachers. I just think people don’t realize how good they have it which makes sense considering the sayings “You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone” or “It’s always greener on the other side.” I can think of plenty of other kids who are worse off than my family. I wonder how THEY feel.


I don’t want to be too harsh. I have many amazing teachers and many who DO work their butts off. I just wish they wouldn’t complain about their pay. And it sucks for the teachers who work hard that there are teachers like Mr L who really honestly don’t do much. I can just picture him in his Union “We are Professionals” T-shirt saying, “Wha wah wah, my job is sooo hard. I’m a lazy football coach who copies notes from the textbook, has my students grade their tests, and chastises students for daring to ask questions and actually learn something.”Once he starts doing as much work and is as amazing as Mrs. Q, then he can maybe start thinking about complaining.

This is just something to think about in regards to your own students. I'm sure most high quality teachers are aware of how much their words, actions, and attitudes affect students. Just remember that you don’t always know what’s going on in their lives and you can’t always ascertain their socioeconomic status. This is besides the fact that it is very unprofessional to be discussing salary in front of students anyway.