Many teachers will tell you the moment they knew they were supposed to go into teaching. Some of us have a favorite teacher who inspired us, a novel or subject that ignited a passion, or a burning desire to serve others. For me, it was idealism. I was inspired by movies about teachers. You know the ones: Dead Poets Society, Freedom Writers, etc. These teachers enter a classroom in which the students are in deep need of help, whether it is because of their life circumstances or a mundane disinterest in their education.
In these films, the teacher is the hero. They bring a solution, enlightenment, passion to their students. Without these teachers, their students would be unmotivated, helpless, and forever stuck in a cycle of oppression. There’s something about these films that strikes a chord within those who are inclined to teach. There are two problems with these types of films. The first is that they promote a type of idealism that predicates a system that can be changed for the better. If we just work hard enough; if we’re just inspired enough, we’ll awaken the powers that be to change the system that oppresses our students. If we make enough noise, if we give enough of ourselves, if we stay strong enough through each storm, we will change things for the better. That’s the powerful idealism that inspires many to pursue a career in education.
The second problem with these films is that it perpetuates a hero narrative. People who want to help others are particularly susceptible to this. Especially those of us with upbringings with values in the flavor of “make the world a better place” . We have been indoctrinated with the belief that nothing is worth doing if it is not helping people. And somehow, with our inherent “specialness”, we will find the perfect role in which we can use our unique talents to fulfill the world’s “greatest need”. How special it is to be so special. However, every good thing must have a boundary. When a person’s inherent “specialness” is combined with a desire to make the world better place, it can lead to a destructive cycle of saviorism. This is one of the issues that has caused the teaching profession to be problematic. The cultural narratives of heroism and saviorism surrounding the teaching profession has set aspiring teachers up for burnout. Framing teaching as a heroic profession reduces teachers to a two dimensional avatar that disregards teachers’ humanity and needs.
I’ve lost count of the amount of times that in response to learning I am a teacher, people have said to me “Oh, you’re a teacher? Bless you, we really should pay teachers more” or “I could never do what you all do”. While these comments are often made with good intentions, it reveals the unhealthy and unrealistic pedestal that teachers are put upon. Due to the demands of the job, teachers are expected to hold positions that go far beyond classroom instruction. According to a recent survey1, teachers work an average of 54 hours per week, with 25% of that time being dedicated to instruction and planning. We are coaches, mentors, counselors, advocates, surrogate parents, and much more to our students. The flaws in our public education system have required this to be true.
The neighborhood school is now more of a community center than a place strictly for education, which reveals the need for more community engagement. However, instead of increasing staff to accomplish this important community engagement work, the responsibility is put upon teachers. As an expert in our content areas, are teachers really the best people to be leading this work? What are the long term consequences of teachers taking on significant extracurricular responsibilities? Many take this on willingly, knowing that this is “part of the role” of teaching. But, how long do these teachers last when they work 12+ hour days, have little left over for their own families, and have a poor work life balance?
Teachers are holding up a crumbling system that continues the cycle of oppression and violence. Especially since the pandemic, students are exhibiting more significant mental and emotional needs that are beyond the scope of what teachers are able to support.2 Teachers know that this system is failing are students and failing us, but we are holding it up and tearing it down at the same time, recognizing that we are both part of the problem and one of the many victims that this system oppresses. We love our students and we want the best for them, however, we often find ourselves perpetuating the same cycles that we were caught up in as students. The idealism that brought us to teaching keeps us here, fighting to make it to the end of the day, week, semester, school year. The reprieve of summer break.
We cannot be the ones to fix this system that is crumbling around us. All we see is the rubble. The kids who get passed along because the system doesn’t know what to do with them. The kids who are passed along because they are compliant, but not necessarily proficient. The kids who drop out. The talented teachers who get burned out and quit. Fixing this system cannot be up to the ones who are stuck in it. There has to be outrage from our communities, our lawmakers, and our healthcare providers.
Teachers are not heroes. We can’t be. Calling teachers heroes isn’t a compliment; it’s dehumanizing. Because if we are heroes, we can’t take a break. We can’t be sick3. We can’t be sad4. We can’t have an “off” day. We cannot bear the entire weight of underserved communities. Children need their basic needs met before we can talk about effective teaching. The most effective teacher cannot reach a student who is starving. We are here to teach and most of us who are still here are damn good at it. We know what effective teaching looks like and we are experts in our content areas. We are focused on inclusion in our classrooms. We reevaluate what we teach, how we teach, and how to make our classroom safe for all students.
But this system is on the brink of collapse. Despite the hard work of dedicated educators, there is only so much more we have to give. We are being forced to choose between two bad options: teach in a crumbling system, or leave. That may sound extreme, but it’s not. There are fewer new teachers joining the profession and veteran teachers leaving the profession in droves, therefore causing significant teacher shortages around the country5. Teacher turnover directly affects student achievement, so retaining teachers, must be a priority. Salaries don’t keep up with the cost of living, and many teachers work during their breaks in order to make ends meet. Continuing to sacrifice our well being for the “good of our communities” is not sustainable and will continue this destructive cycle.
Teachers must reclaim their identities as complex, full human beings. We must reclaim our commitment to ourselves, our families, our hobbies, and the things that keep us in touch with what it means to be human. We are not heroes, not just because it is an unrealistic expectation, but because it is a dehumanizing perversion of the teaching profession.
Kurtz, H. (2024, February 16). A profession in crisis: Findings from a national teacher survey. EdWeek Research Center. https://www.edweek.org/research-center/reports/teaching-profession-in-crisis-national-teacher-survey
Sparks, S. D. (2022, January 19). New research shows how bad the pandemic has been for Student Mental Health. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/new-research-shows-how-bad-the-pandemic-has-been-for-student-mental-health/2022/01
This study attributed an increased risk of autoimmune disease deaths in teacher to an “occupational exposure”. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11469459/
According to this study, depression is the most frequently reported psychological issue among teachers.
Teacher turnover directly affects student achievement, so retaining teachers must be a priority. This article gives some more details on the prevalence of teachers leaving the classroom.