A Bad Example

File under “Unintended Consequences.”

Students look to we teachers for examples of how life works. The lessons they learn from how we live our lives may sometimes be more significant than what we teach directly. And too often, we are forced—by expectations, by
our own ideas about our work and how we should do it, by toxic workplace conditions or inadequate compensation—to set a bad example.

We may be expected to update grades constantly, to respond to e-mails at any time of the day or night, to put in untold hours outside the work day (and yes, I acknowledge that the nature of the work is such that some work outside the workday is unavoidable). We may believe that that is nothing more than the price of the profession, or it may bolster our sense of self to martyr ourselves for the sake of our students. We may have no choice but to compromise our ethics, following a supervisor’s mandate when in our professional judgment that mandate is bad for kids. We may be forced by poor pay to take a second job to make ends meet.

And students are watching. They see teachers answering student questions via email at 11:00 at night. They see teachers grading for hours a day after school. They see teachers sacrificing their home life or their passions or their health for the sake of their students. They see teachers say one thing with respect to testing or learning or life, and doing another. They see teachers spending most of their waking lives working to provide for themselves and their family. They see and they learn.

They learn that adults live to work. They learn to put themselves last. They learn that ethics are negotiable. They learn that “success” is working all you can just to avoid falling further behind.

These are not lessons I want to teach. I want my students to learn what it means to have quality of life; a work-life balance. I want them to learn to make themselves a priority. I want them to learn to stand firm on ethical issues, even if there’s a cost. I want them to learn their worth, and to demand it in compensation.

I do what I can to set a positive example. As a teacher, I set limits. I do my duty to students, but not at my own expense. I model balance between work and non-work life. While I work for them, I do not answer their beck and call. I make myself a priority. I strive for integrity; to do what I say and to act according to my expressed principles.

When it comes to compensation, however, I am torn. I love my work, but it doesn’t pay very well. I am left with bad choices:

• Work at something I don’t love that is more lucrative
• Work as a teacher and take additional work to supplement my income, at cost of my leisure
• Work solely as a teacher and live a diminished lifestyle, but one within my modest means

None of those choices sets the example I would wish for my students, but I see no other choices.