Teaching is the Greatest Profession. Here’s Why I Didn’t Pursue It.

A Student’s Perspective

​​Daniel MaloofSenate Presidents' Forum
Intern

Vital to the long-term prosperity of any country is ensuring that its next generation of leaders and innovators is well educated. My perspective as a rising college sophomore may be biased, but I believe that success tomorrow depends on investing wisely in our students and schools today. At the recent Senate Presidents’ Forum in Boulder, Colorado, I listened closely as experts identified key areas where issues such as teacher shortages can be addressed.

I wondered: Is it really possible for a student like me to become a teacher after graduation given student loan debt, the cost of housing, and other huge financial hurdles? Would I ever be able to afford a home or the cost of raising a family? If programs do exist to lower these hurdles and entice students to become educators, in my experience they are not reaching the ears of prospective teachers such as myself.

The education experts at the Forum — Dr. Patrick Shields, Executive Director of the Learning Policy Institute, and Dr. Penny Schwinn, Tennessee Education Commissioner — spoke about the importance of state investment in teachers. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, 95% of districts in the country reporting teacher shortages means states need to take action in order to stop the bleeding.

Drs. Shields and Schwinn explained that providing teachers with more competitive salaries and implementing loan forgiveness programs for prospective teachers could not only aid in addressing the teacher shortage but also help to improve the quality of our educators. The bottom line: We want the best and the brightest to be headed back into public schools to make more of the best and the brightest.

 For me, the idea of starting a career in education right out of college is enticing because of the opportunity to have a positive impact on young people. The cause for hesitation is the wage gap for first-year teachers — sometimes referred to as “teacher wage penalty.” According to research by the Economic Policy Institute, public K–12 school teachers are paid 19.2% less than similar workers in other occupations.

​Teacher Wage Penalty, by State
(in no state are teachers paid more than other college graduates)

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According to the National Education Association, the average starting salary for new teachers is $41,770. When the crushing price tag of college tuition comes into play, it is unreasonable to expect many graduates to choose a low-paying position over a job that would allow them to pay off loans and live more comfortably. To see the salary statistics for teachers in your state, including national standing, see the NEA map here.

I was encouraged to learn that some states already have programs in place to recruit new educators. But, where they exist, are they reaching the ears of prospective teachers? As a high-schooler, I was engaged in my classes and in my school life and even worked as a teacher’s assistant in my AP United States History class in my senior year. However, I never was alerted to opportunities or incentive programs that would draw me to a career in teaching.

Starting college, I chose a Government major and a path more directed towards a promising financial future. My interest in teaching hasn’t wavered, and if I felt teaching provided more financial stability than other jobs, I would likely pursue that path more seriously. I was encouraged to learn at SPF’s Boulder session that programs exist now and that more are in the works to make teaching a more feasible career path. A highly educated generation of Americans is what will drive us into the future of our country. That can only be accomplished by a workforce of educators who are excited to teach – and are rewarded fairly for their work.

Daniel Maloof is an intern with the Senate Presidents’ Forum and a rising sophomore studying Government and American Studies at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

​See SPF’s full report
on the July 2022 Forum here:​Introduction​State Budgets:
A Half-Year Check-In​Real Solutions for
Ending Homelessness​The Crisis in Ukraine​Education:
Recovering from COVID Chaos