The incredible demands of teaching, coupled with underpay and second jobs, force many teachers to sacrifice personal time and mental health
When June rolls around at the end of every school year, students are elated to finally get three months of rest and relaxation. But for English teacher Kathryn Edelstein, the end of the school year is only a chance to keep working.
“I teach summer school. I serve on the instructional planning team for the district. I do private tutoring. I serve as a mentor, and I am an AP reader for College Board. Those are things that keep me busy all summer long,” Edelstein said.
Students are often oblivious to what is a shared experience of several teachers across the district. In a landscape of underpay, 1 in 6 public school teachers in America juggle at least one job outside of teaching, according to the Pew Research Center.
“Our salaries are not commensurate with the economy. They never have been,” said English teacher Evon Barnes.
New teachers usually make even less money, and many are taken aback by the sometimes extreme challenges of working on a teacher’s salary. Science teacher Kimberly Manning described how difficult it was to afford rent, car insurance, taxes and other basic necessities with a small salary as a beginning teacher.
“I could not afford to live on my own…. I quickly realized that as a teacher, I was going to have to find some other means to support myself,” Manning said.
Those other jobs for Manning, which include ACT coordinating for the district as well as playing piano and organ professionally, are often squeezed in between the other roles she must play as a teacher. Manning values connections with her students beyond just teaching them and wants to be there for them as much as she possibly can.
“We get emails at all hours of the night [from] people who expect immediate responses. Students have real emergencies and they need assistance. You can either close yourself off to being there for them, or open yourself up to almost any and everything all the time. As an educator, what you find is that this is more than a job; it is a lifelong commitment while you’re in the classroom,” Manning said.
Barnes, who has been a teacher for 28 years, believes that the responsibilities for teachers have only grown since she was hired, as a result of school, district and state initiatives. Teachers must wear multiple hats, Barnes explained, especially with the growing emphasis on students’ social and emotional needs.
“We’re still getting paid as if we have one job: to come into the classroom, to assign a lesson and to give feedback. That’s not just what we’re doing here,” Barnes said.
These extra commitments are piled on top of lecturing, creating lesson plans and grading assignments, making teaching much more than a full time job.
“At any given moment, I have 140 essays. That’s how many students I have that need grading,” Edelstein said. “If I’m going to give meaningful feedback on each of those essays, it’s going to take at least 10 minutes. If you do that math, that’s 23 hours of time.”
Teachers are given planning periods each day, but those periods are often taken up by trainings, subbing or meetings.
“It’s really hard for newer teachers; they can barely keep their head above water because their planning periods are always being taken up by this training or this meeting,” said Spanish teacher Mark Moseley.
A demanding job, especially while taking care of children or a family, can make it almost impossible to work second jobs, but many do, at the expense of their mental health and free time.
“I’m often tired. Often I have to give my brain a break from everything: not watch anything on TV, not do social media. Honestly, disconnect from my friends from time to time, because my brain needs a break,” Barnes said.
Having worked many second jobs, including owning a commercial cleaning business, Barnes has first hand experience with a busy schedule. In January, she will begin as an ACT coordinator.
Many teachers, including Barnes, make sure their students have time for their mental health, whether that’s by giving class time for homework or not assigning work over weekends. Manning agrees this is important, and wants to extend that focus past students.
“I encourage all teachers, all educators, anybody, everybody who works to make time for themselves and really focus on their personal, mental and physical health because that’s the only way you can sustain anything that you do.”
For every teacher working a second job, there are many more who find that the demanding nature of teaching makes working a second job nearly impossible while balancing both teaching and personal life, according to Edelstein.
“In order to make ends meet, I am constantly considering trying to figure out how to have a second job during the school year because I can’t quite make my bills, but I just don’t see how it’s possible with the amount of time that this job demands,” Edelstein said.
Jessica Harris, a counselor who assists students with writing college essays, shares these sentiments. While working part-time would be considerably helpful, teaching is a job that expands beyond just the classroom.
“I think more teachers would work part time or feel the need to supplement their income but also, they’re probably too exhausted to leave work and go to another job,” Harris said. “It isn’t a job that you can just shut off when you leave.”
The time commitments of the job have led many teachers to protest their salaries, which are especially low in North Carolina. The state ranks 34th nationwide in average teacher pay, and 46th when it comes to beginning teacher pay, according to the The National Educators’ Association.
The state legislature has attempted to alleviate this problem many times, but each time has fallen short. The most recent raise at the end of September, which consisted of between a 3.6 percent and 10.8 percent increase in salary with higher raises going to newer teachers, was “a slap in the face,” according to Barnes.
Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools has made efforts to compensate for the lack of a livable salary, however, which Barnes appreciates, citing the extra money teachers can earn from working concessions, helping clubs, and becoming certified with the National Board.
For many teachers, like Manning, the impact they’re able to make is worth the difficulties.
“Even when you know you should be paid double your salary, and you should be able to have a high quality or better quality of life, knowing that you helped plant the seeds for the next generation to do great and wonderful things, it makes it worth it.”
Photo by Graysie Casey/ECHO
