“The students of today vary widely in their cognitive, academic, executive functioning, and communication-social skills, as well as their emotional intelligence and ability to regulate or remain resilient.”
As a certified educator since the early 1980s, I have experienced 40+ years of evolution in the field of education. I have witnessed incredible changes in our students and our understanding of brain development and the impact of trauma. As educators, our responsibilities have expanded far beyond the role of content specialist. At any given time, it may be necessary to not only facilitate competency acquisition academically, but also socially, emotionally, physically, behaviorally, vocationally, and even financially. I am expected to protect my students at all costs including, quite possibly, my own life.
I have been valued, respected, appreciated, thanked, hugged, and remembered fondly. I have also been devaluated, disrespected, unappreciated, bitten, kicked, punched, and hit by flying objects. I have had to search lockers and our campus for weapons while also participating in practice or actual lock downs and evacuations. I have supported the academic success of numerous students, but I have also regularly supported students:
- who might need a self confidence boost, someone to truly hear them, and/or a high five or granola bar, fruit, or chocolate multiple times per day
- who would not have been able to participate in co or extra curricular activities without financial aid from staff
- who had been abused by family members/guardians/peers/others
- who require assistance in securing and maintaining friendships or a job
- who need assistance navigating the transition to, and funding of, post secondary education
- for whom the police and ambulance were called because they were at serious risk to themselves or others
The students of today vary widely in their cognitive, academic, executive functioning, and communication-social skills, as well as their emotional intelligence and ability to regulate or remain resilient. Add compounding challenges of trauma, housing and/or food insecurity coupled with what is proving to be higher levels of mental health concerns and students identified with one or more educational disabilities, it is no wonder that educators are burning out more rapidly. Class sizes and case loads, in addition to job duties, continue to grow while our salaries, respectful treatment, and support diminish or are not @ par with other career fields given our levels of education, expertise, and ongoing professional development.
I have my Masters in Education, plus additional course credit and thousands of professional trainings under my belt. My tool kit is vast. What is not vast is the money I earn given all of the above. In 1983, my 1st job as a year-round educator who worked 40+ hours/wk. was $10,800! When I transitioned from the K-12 system to the Community College system, I was earning in the mid $70K range – better, but certainly not comparable to those in other career fields. Until my mid 50s, even with a spouse contributing to household expenses, I needed a second job and/or worked during the summer months to care for myself and family. When I was hired by Middlesex Community College, I was shocked to learn that regardless of my years of experience, education, and training, (relevant to my present job duties and the reason for my hire), I was to be paid less than half of my per diem rate! Think about this a moment. A professional with a considerable amount of value added contributions is making half of what they would be making if working in a public school and that salary was also low comparatively. While I love my job @ MCC, and am continuing to effectively support students, I can not make ends meet once again. It’s incomprehensible to me that in my mid-sixties I now have to take on 2 supplemental jobs to offset that loss in income in order to work at Middlesex. I am hopeful that changes are made to enable us to do right by students while not making personal sacrifices.