Growing up, we’re told that teachers are there to help us, inspire us, and mold our minds. They teach us everything, from how to spell to just exactly how long we can live without food and water. We even continue to use many of them as references after we’re no longer their students. We reference quotes they told us, and remember the cheesy lines they invented to help us remember which directions are which. But, if being a teacher is so admirable, why are future educators so worried about their choice of career?
Every day, stories pertaining to education are almost always in news headlines. First it's budget cuts, then the need for more teachers, then teacher layoffs due to more budget cuts. Oklahoma just made another huge cut to its funding for all public schools. As a future educator, I can say it’s intimidating to see this happening in the field for which I’m going into debt.
Why is this nerve-racking? First of all, there’s a chance we might be graduating at a time when many teachers are being laid off. Which, with many Oklahoma schools closing due to recent budget cuts, is a possibility. Many schools have already stated that they see layoffs in their near future. Secondly, say we get our dream job at a school with great students. What happens when schools can’t afford the supplies that teachers need? Are we supposed to fund the supplies, or ask the students to pay for them? For my third point, I’d like to bring up a college student's best friend and worst enemy: student loans. We can pay those back with interest using our teacher salary, right? Wrong. Most college students graduate with at least one loan, and other students aren’t so lucky. Loans are how some students pay for all their tuition and housing. So, it’s intimidating to look at the pile of debt you face, compared to the small checks you will receive for teaching. Let’s face it, very few parents have the resources to assist students as much as FAFSA seems to think they can.
So, what can be done to help to lessen these fears? Oklahoma Senator David Holt proposed to raise teachers’ pay by 10,000 dollars. There are flaws with this proposal, however. If Oklahoma schools anticipate a large budget cut, and more layoffs are on their way, where will this money come from? We can only wait to find out on February 1st, when Oklahoma's 2016 legislation session begins.
There are also proposed options to forgive teachers' debt after they complete a certain amount of years teaching, and I don’t think any teachers would be opposed to that. There has also been discussion of decreasing the number of years that are required for a teacher to qualify for relief. How coincidental is it that all these options are being brought to the table when elections are right around the corner? The possibilities of these changes soothe the fears of future educators, but those fears won’t disappear until the changes have been made. Are these proposals a part of a political agenda, or are our state senators really concerned with the future of education and educators?
It's not uncommon to be nervous on your first day--or even during your first year--as a teacher. Imagine being nervous about teaching for the first time: feeling uncertain how the students will react to your teaching style, feel anxious that you will have trouble teaching them with the lack of supplies. If you're lucky enough to get a teaching position, these are all situations you will have to face.
So, who wants to be an Education Major?
