In 2019 I got ruffled at a colleague for saying educator was pretentious. I wasn’t sure why it rubbed me off the wrong way, but it did. But I got why he was wary – “educators” had a bad rep then as the Ted-Talk wannabes bordering on EduTech salespeople. Teachers were the ideal, the surrogate parent, bastions of knowledge, and the servant-leaders.
I like the job but I had a lot of hang-ups with how the “call to teaching” was also used to justify oppressive practices such as salary delays, paying out-of-pocket for materials, and “community service”.
“You’ll get tenured for as long as you aren’t a diva.” One co-worker had advised. But then what counts as diva? Was it not making time for an unpaid school meeting because I had a paying job the same time they did? Asking if there was stipend for paneling a thesis? Realizing that you spent more time checking papers than you do in the classroom, but your per-hour rate only covered your classroom hours?
You choose your battles when you choose your schools, I realize, after serving three different schools and suffering one year of a no-work-no-pay agreement.
Worse, people just seemed to take it as is. Everyone agrees that teachers should be paid better, but when they’re told of what it takes to pay them better, they start looking for a way out of the conversation.
2020 happened and pulled me out of the classroom. I was comfortable enough with a remote and online, having done graduate school online, but the shift for the learning context in asked quite a lot for us. Our online classroom had to be colorful and engaging. Grades had to be turned in a timely fashion now that grading was automated.
“They’re getting by with skills we taught ourselves.” I messaged a colleague and former schoolmate of mine.
“I don’t want to think about it that way.” She sighed.
Designers commanded respect. There is a recognized craft to being a designer, and their years of training and practice are valued. Post-2020 learning will no longer confined to the classroom, and the role of the teacher is no longer this big bubble of many “lofty” things. There is an emphasis on design and readability. There is data involved with use. Teachers will be material developers, tech support, counselors, managers in the pandemic and post-pandemic classroom.
More than a teacher, I am a learning designer.
- I design to make lessons and materials accessible.
- I design for long-term growth
- I invest in what I do, and I put value to it