Finding a Job in Education

This is my final topic for my blog in Professional Teacher and a topic of great interest to me. Finding a job in education is actually something that causes me a lot of distress. In fact, it was one of the primary reasons I decided to purchase and run my own business in 2008 instead of finishing my undergrad degree and applying to the Faculty of Education.

In 2007 my fiancé secured employment in his chosen profession in Brandon. This was extremely exciting for us as he works in a competitive field and we were not anticipating that he would be able to get a job in Brandon. However, this is also meant that we no longer had as much mobility when it came time for me to find a job in my chosen field: education. 

Adjusting to a new career, in particular the unique challenges of my fiance’s was definitely a big transition. In addition, we had a mortgage to pay, school loans, and all of the other expenses that accompany life. All of this on an entry level wage. At the time we found a way, however, looking back I am not sure how.

As the realities of home ownership and adult life set in the naysayers who told me a career in education had limited to no job prospects made me begin to question my career path. What if I couldn’t get a job? I cannot tell you how many people told me I wouldn’t and this terrified me. Trying to live on my fiancés limited salary at the time made the idea of not being able to secure employment that much more overwhelming. A chance conversation with a woman who owned an electrolysis business in Brandon changed everything. She offered to sell me the business and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. If I couldn’t get a job in education, what was the point of continuing to pursue it?

However, this is where the real lesson in this story begins…

I successfully acquired and ran the business, grew the clientele base, and was able to hire an employee. However, the more time that passed, the more I found my mind wondering about that career in education… Any client who came in and was a teacher, I would bombard with questions. Sometimes I would feel outright jealous of them. And as soon as I became aware of these feelings, I became aware of something else: my true passion.

I could have successfully ran my business until I wanted to retire. But I wasn’t doing what I loved. I never felt proud to say: “I am an electrologist”. In fact, I often even downplayed that I owned my own business, which is silly because it is an accomplishment worth feeling proud of. But what those feelings were really telling me was that I just wasn’t in the right career.

Not everyone has the opportunity to change careers and pursue doing what they love but I did. Lucky for me I had a fiancé who was willing to support me in my endeavours and the sacrifices we had to make so I could return to university. I also had an employee willing to buy the business from me, which is extremely fortunate considering that small businesses can be notoriously difficult to sell. In addition, I had a mentor who provided me with a great deal of inspiration.

It was with this inspiration and unconditional support that I passionately re-entered university. There is no denying that it has been a challenge at times. But it has always been worth it. And whenever I lose sight of why it is I sacrificed all I did to complete my education, I only need to enter a classroom to be reminded and feel certain of my decision. 

The job market in education really hasn’t changed what has changed is my perspective. I still worry about finding a job, all the time really. However, along the way I have discovered that what is most important isn’t the job itself but being able to do what I love. 

Teachers as leaders

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” (John Quincy Adams)

John Quincy Adams was on to something with this quote. I hope as a teacher I embody the attributes he describes a leader possessing. Teachers are dynamic people and I would argue need to be. To get 20-25 students to pay attention to you and be invested in what you are teaching requires a certain amount of charisma.

Being a leader seems like a natural extension of the role that I must fulfill as a teacher. I think that the two words: leader and teacher, are actually very interconnected. One does not really exist without the other. If I cannot inspire my students and encourage them to be invested in their learning, I cannot teach. Leadership is teaching.

In class we learned about some different definitions and characteristics of leaders but the definitions and attributes always came back to one important point: a leader helps people accomplish __.

When I started thinking about leadership it took me back to my first practicum this fall with my dear grade 3’s. I actually taught the students a lesson on leadership. In this lesson I was teaching students about the difference between informal and formal leaders. These bright young students were able to begin contemplating some of the abstract ideas about leadership.

In this lesson students were able to make connections that leaders do not always have to be the “boss” to be a leader. Or more figuratively, students acknowledged that a leader isn’t necessarily the person at the “top”. As one student insightfully responded “You can be a leader from the front or the back of a line. Sometimes the leader doesn’t stand at the front.” Ahh, for anyone who has every underestimated a child please re-read that non-verbatim statement. This student is 8 years old and was clearly on to something.

Teachers are leaders in society, but most importantly are leaders in classrooms. However, an effective teacher knows you don’t have to stand at the front of the class to lead students in learning. In fact, effective teachers know that the best learning usually doesn’t occur at the front of the room when they are talking. Being a good leader isn’t about always being at the front, just as my 8 year old little philosopher innately understood. A good leader is about inspiring others and helping others accomplish their goals. A good leader provides people with the assistance, encouragement, and support they need. A good leader knows that doing it all and telling others how to act and who to be are not the characteristics of a leader. Good leaders know that they must adjust their leadership tactics to suit the group or person they are interacting with. Good leaders know that it is a dynamic and ever-changing process. Good leaders encourage both independence, and community. Good leaders build morale.

A good leader is an effective teacher.

And effective teacher inspires students to be their best.  

Financing Public Education

Song: “Money, money, money, money. Mooooney.”  Come on now, sing it in your head. ;)

Money. It appears to make the world go round and everyone wants more of it, educational institutions included. And so began my week in class…

We discussed financing in education this week, if you hadn’t already guessed. I really hope you have that song stuck in your head now. I typed it out for you so would have to suffer the same torture as me. I cannot get it out of my head. It can play through your head and add a certain ambiance to my blog as you read it.

I really hope that someone who is reading this blog is laughing with me… ahh… to be funny… what a gift. I am jealous of those of you who have been so blessed with the gift of natural humour.

However, in all seriousness financing in education is an extremely important topic. And expensive…

There is a compelling dilemma in our public education system… and that is finding enough money to pay well-educated professionals to do the very important job of educating the youth of our society. In addition, as education becomes an increasingly complex service, it is also becoming more expensive.

People who like to refer to the “good ol’ days” when education wasn’t so complicated or expensive also tend to forget the staggering statistics. A large percentage of students never graduated, post-secondary education was rare, education for students with disabilities was non-existent, and differentiated instruction was some kind of far off incomprehensible idea (What, you mean to say not all children can learn from reading and memorizing a textbook?).  So the people who have a love affair with the “good ol’ days” tend to wear their rose tinted glasses and fail to recognize the progress that is occurring and has occurred in education. But I have a feeling trying to change the “good ol days” people would be about as productive as trying to hammer a nail with a hammer made of styrofoam.

The optimist in me, however, really does believe that despite what the naysayers would have you believe that our education system really is improving. My family could attest to this… On my mother’s side of the family neither of my grandparents attained higher than a grade 8 or 9 education. Only one of my aunts graduated from high school and my mother completed her GED (an accomplishment I am extremely proud of her for). My mom’s 4 other siblings did not graduate from high school. However, all of my cousins have graduated from high school but one. A handful have went on to college or are working on university degrees. I was the first person in my mom’s family to graduate with a university degree. To me that is progress. Exciting progress; our school system is doing something right.

However, despite this progress the public school system is facing new challenges, quite a diverse number challenges really but the one I’d like to focus on is the financial challenges the education system is facing. Income is not increasing at the rate that the cost of education is. This is a big problem. An unsustainable problem.

The public school system is funded from local taxes and provincial funding. Local taxes are collected by the school board via property taxes. This antiquated system has served our country relatively well for a sustained amount of time, but some would argue is a flawed system. Particularly, because of the high amounts of property taxes farmers pay. In addition, every year school boards are scurrying trying to find ways to cut their budgets, but still require tax increases nonetheless. 

Teachers are not paid a crazy amount of money for what they do. Considering their education and high level of responsibility, many might even argue they are underpaid. However, this is a separate discussion… That being said wages take up the largest percentage of a school board budget, and wages are not increasing at the rate that expenditures are. Hmmm another problem…  A complex problem.

In class we all participated in a role playing activity in small groups. We were asked to try and find ways to cut a mock school board budget by 1.2 million dollars. This proved to be an excessively challenging task. And lead to me asking a big question (much to the dismay of my classmates): Why are not looking for alternative sources of revenue?

Trying to always be cutting a budget is not realistic in a world where the cost of everything else in constantly rising. In fact, it is non-sensical. There is always room for efficiency skimming, I would argue. As there are always inefficiencies in any large agency. However, trying to cut a budget every year by millions of dollars when 57% percent of that budget is taken up from wages is simply not sustainable. Either teachers are indeed over paid (which the good ol’ day’ers would have you believe) or we need to find a new way to think about funding education. Increasing taxes year after year is not sustainable either.

In class I asked why we couldn’t be more business minded in our funding approaches to education. I pointed out in our mock activity that we really only needed another $133 per student. I argued that $33 dollars of that could be considered efficiency skimming but asked why we couldn’t find a way to come up with the other $100 per student. This lead to me making several poor suggestions for how we could get the extra money (which I felt embarrassed about even suggesting afterwards but honest, I was just thinking on the spot) because as it turned out I couldn’t think of any good ways to make my idea come to fruition.

This led me to the discussion I had with my fiancé that inspired me to write this blog on a Saturday night. As we drove the hour long drive to my parent’s house he listened to me talk about what I had learned in class… and the questions I had raised… and the bad ideas I had shared. He thought it was a good idea to consider alternative ways to fund schools but agreed with my professor and the flaws she pointed out in my thinking about how such changes could be integrated into a school. And it’s true, they both are right: education needs to be a publically funded endeavour because going to school needs to be an equal opportunity endeavour.

But nonetheless I find myself mulling over how this dilemma could be solved. And on this Saturday night, despite some stimulating conversation with my fiancé, I find myself being incredibly grateful I am not a politician right now trying to find the solution. However, I have great faith that with many minds can come some great ideas.


Side Note:
After writing this post I stumbled across this article, an interesting read. What is the optimum rate of taxation for the greatest rate of return?


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/neil-reynolds/a-taxing-dilemma-whats-the-optimal-rate-for-the-rich/article2329833/

Governance of Public Education in Canada

Ahhh, such an interesting topic… I am sure those of you who have been reading this blog… silence… crickets chirping… um anyone?, will be so excited to read about this particular topic. Haha.

Sorry, I really never have been very good at being intentionally funny. Can you tell?

Well, this week in class we discussed the governance of public education in Canada and while it might sound a little dry, it actually was a worthwhile topic. Educating myself on the inner workings of the establishment I plan to work for is a no brainer. And, I would argue, should be for all teachers. You cannot change what you do not understand!

Being newly educated on the topic, but still relatively uninformed in the grand scheme of things, I have to say, I think that our governing structure is a little archaic. However, that would also imply that a lot of governing structures are archaic since the governing structure for public schools is pretty similar to a lot of other companies and levels of government in our country.

When I say archaic, what I really mean is that I think there is room for change. I think a visual will be the easiest way for me to make my point. Observe the distance between this sentence I am typing right here, as I begin to type out the levels of governance…  
                                                                                                             
Provincial Government

School Divisions and School Boards

Superintendent of Schools

School Level 

Principal/Vice Principal

Teachers and Staff

…and my sentence all the way down here. Arguably if this were a building, it would likely be a sky scraper and that means that it would be pretty hard for the people on the main level to BE HEARD BY THE PEOPLE ON THE TOP LEVEL.

Admittedly, I have no better idea or system really because this kind of hierarchical system is all I know and is the system used for almost every kind of governance. And it does have its place. However, I would argue that its inadequacies are also being put on centre stage as the world economy continues to flounder and struggle. The system is crying for help. This kind of governance structure was designed for efficiency, unfortunately more often than not functions pretty inefficiently.

Education is chronically underfunded and always needs more money. But if we go back to that sky scraper analogy it becomes pretty easy to imagine how difficult it is for the people on the main floor to get what they need if the people on the top don’t really ever come visit but still make all the decisions. I’m not trying to imply that people that are the problem in levels of governance (well maybe sometimes, but I’m an optimist and tend to see the best in others ), it is the scale. The people at the top don’t have time to go and talk to all of the people at the bottom, there isn’t enough people at the top or hours in the day to ever be able to. At the same time if the people at the bottom tried to make all the decisions, it would be hard because their own circumstances and subjectivity would make it harder to make the tough calls. In addition, there would just be too many people trying to make decisions and that’s complicated too.

Nonetheless, having people at the top making big decisions for all of the people at the bottom is a problem if the people at the top are disconnected from what is happening at the bottom. But this argument has grown entirely too big for governance in public education and is really an argument for levels of governance in general. And it isn’t really an argument, rather more of an observation because I have no suggestions for how it could be productively changed.

The observations are important though. Not because my observations are earth shattering or radical but because these kinds of observations begin conversations, and conversations can lead to in-depth discussions and discussions can lead to planning and planning can lead to action and action can lead to change.

As educators it is important for us to make observations and have conversations. Lots of those conversations will never become anything more than just that, a conversation. But every once in a while a conversation just might lead to something more- progress. And an education system that is progressive will lead to a society that thinks more progressive. My rhetoric might be getting old, but it’s true. You want to change society? Start in a classroom.


An article I discovered a few weeks after writing this post about Canada's Aboriginal Education System:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/putting-the-system-in-education-for-on-reserve-students/article2349550/

Thinking about Canada’s Educational Past

On Thursday January 26^th we continued discussing the history of Canadian Education in class. Inevitably, this led to a discussion about residential schools. While discussing Canada’s not so distant past was an important class to have, the tension and unease was palpable. For myself included, I must admit. I struggled to articulate what I wanted to say on the topic. Mostly, I suppose, because I didn’t really know what to say but knew I wanted our class to discuss the topic nonetheless.

I have no answers or solutions to the problems my country created when stripping Aboriginals of their culture and rights… and I know there is no apology that could ever ease the pain that has and continues to haunt First Nations People in this county.

Aboriginal culture continues to be misunderstood and stereotyped in Canada, I believe. My own education on the history of the First Nations People in Canada sorely lacks. In fact, I was never educated about the cultural genocide of Frist Nations People in Canada. It is this lack of understanding and information, I would argue, that seems to sit at the heart of so much racism and bigotry. The irony tastes bitter on my tongue when I consider the information laden world we exist in.

Canadians like to think that the maltreatment of Aboriginals occurred in the past, seldom realizing that the last residential school closed in 1996. Yet, people like to close their eyes to the things they would rather not see. Our blindness appears to have created additional problems in our society; Attawapiskat First Nation quickly comes to mind… However, it is not for me to try and dissect our current political climate in this blog as I lack the information and research and therefore, arguably, lack insight.

 What I do know is that the history of residential schools should serve as a chilling reminder to anyone working in the education system. Society might forget or try to undermine the importance of education. However, the impact of residential schools on Aboriginals in Canada is a sad reminder that indeed, education does shape the minds of the young and therefore society’s future. What I do today in a classroom will undeniably have an effect on what happens tomorrow. 


An addition from the original publication:
I read this article in the Globe and Mail, ironically, after writing this post. Check it out:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/aboriginal-education-gaps-can-no-longer-be-tolerated/article2333517/

Contemplating the Manitoba Teacher's Society Code of Professional Practice


Professionalism. It’s a big word accompanied by some BIG responsibilities. As a member of the Manitoba Teacher’s Society there is a Code of Professional Practice that all teachers are expected to employ and embody. This is no small task. The Code of Professional Practice connects teachers with other professionals in the work force: doctors, lawyers, accountants, police officers… and, I would argue, it is this Code that also sets these professions apart from other jobs. There are some jobs that you can leave at the end of the day. You know that common cliché to “leave your job at work”? However, what I would argue differentiates professionals is that this separation isn’t always that easy or appropriate. The minute I was accepted into the Faculty of Education I accepted a new level of responsibility in my life.

I can’t flick a switch- I made a decision and there no “off” button for teaching. That means when you see me at the grocery store, theatre, rink, or a social I am still a teacher. Some people might scoff at this idea and argue that your personal identity shouldn’t be so tied up in what you do. I would agree to an extent. However, I think it is also important to remember (this is one of my favourite quotes) “that the way we spend our days, is the way spend our life”. If I spend my days teaching, I am a teacher and that accompanies a large number of responsibilities. Being a good mentor is one of them. That means even when I am tired or feel like having a good time- to the public I am still Ms. Simpson: the woman that parents and caregivers trust me to care for and educate their children.

Does that mean that I need to wear a flashing sign on my head with an arrow saying “I am a teacher”? No. But I would argue that sometimes it might feel that way anyways and that if you really want this job that it is something you have to be willing to accept.

This applies not just in my public life, I would argue, but my private life as well. Does that mean that I cannot make human errors or be imperfect (which who is ever perfect anyways)? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that I need to always try my best to be an upstanding citizen and ethical person who abides the law and has good moral conduct. Arguably, this is the way everyone should live; however, most of the time how someone else acts isn’t any of my business if it isn’t harming myself or others. However, when you are a teacher this changes and suddenly my actions do become other people’s business.

In addition, some would argue your colleagues business becomes your business too. This is a topic that makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I am an honest, upfront person when there is something involving me that concerns me but I do think there is a slippery slope to policing co-workers. In class some people argued that that is how a profession’s integrity is upheld: by watching one another and informing a colleague when their actions don’t measure up. However, I would argue that this is easier to talk about doing than to actually do it when the time comes. In addition, I think it is heavily dependent upon context. How long have you been working with this colleague? What is your work relationship like? Are you the veteran or rookie teacher? It shouldn’t matter, in theory because we should all always be able to do the right thing. In reality, this is a lot more difficult…

Research on Kohlberg’s theory of moral development supports this assertion. The correlation between what people believe to be right and what they really do is actually quite low. I think this is because of the human element that exits in every situation. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t ever tell a colleague when I think their actions are inappropriate or not coinciding with our Code of Professional Practice. It means that it will depend on the situation, circumstances, severity of their actions, and other variables that exist.

Teachers should epitomize the qualities we seek in to have in our society. After all, we are the people who shape future generations of adults. Any teacher that doesn’t feel comfortable with this responsibility needs to reconsider their career choice. It is a scary feeling at times to know that my actions will be so influential on others but it is also incredibly empowering. Few people have the opportunity to shape a child’s life the way a teacher does. The most effective way to make changes in a society is through education. A teacher holds the key to this change. Holding ourselves to a high standard should be implicit when we remember this very fact. 

The big question: Who inspired you to teach?

Everyday children inspire me to teach. Their love of learning, natural curiosity, and yearning to understand the world around them inspires me to share what I know with them and to embark on a journey to learn things together.

But the big question was in the past tense. Who inspired me to teach? Ahhhh, it seemed like such an easy assignment at first until I tried to seriously answer the question. There were a few things that made this question difficult to answer: a) that my answer would be posted on the world wide web for all to see and I am a notoriously private person, b) I wasn’t sure if I could pick just one person, and c) it was a question that required a great deal of thought and insight to answer honestly.

In class we used appreciative inquiry (a fancy way to say we used group discussion) to collaboratively create a list of attributes of teachers who inspired us. By creating this list first in small groups and then as a class we were able to appreciate the similarities in our lists once we combined them and explore the differences too. 

So, who inspired me to teach?

A few teachers come to mind for different reasons. However, I would like to choose to name only one at this time.

Mary-Ann Ploshynsky

I have often divided my life into different chapters. Two distinct chapters that exist in my life are life before my brother died and life after. Mary-Ann is special because of the place she had after. 

So often we get hung up on a teacher’s ability to teach curriculum. Parents focus on what their children know rather than what they know how to do, demand to know “what you learned today”, and so forth. What is lost in classifying a teacher’s worth this way is the things that teachers give to us that cannot be compartmentalized or measured. The things, I would argue, that are really important.

Mary-Ann was a special teacher for the skills she helped students develop and for the way in which she did it. I grew up in a small, rural town and Mary-Ann was not always a parent’s favourite teacher. Parents would grumble that she wasn’t teaching us enough of “what we needed to know” or that she was eccentric (she did like to carry a large juice jug of green water around). Students would often join in on some of these criticisms and judgements because in a small town it is easier to be a “sheeple” than to stand out on your own. Of all the benefits of small town life, an open mindedness to uniqueness would seldom be listed. In addition, when you are a student you don’t always know what is best for you and rely on adults to help you form your opinions as you develop.

Mary-Ann was a student centred teacher. This made her unique for me in my educational experiences because I grew up in largely traditional classrooms (though had mostly positive experiences as a student). However, Mary-Ann seldom favoured being traditional. She was an intelligent, positive, outspoken woman and was not afraid to go against the grain and stand up for her students. She was highly energetic and enthusiastic. In addition, she always encouraged students and tried to help them find their own place in the world. Some of Mary-Ann’s most valuable help came to me when I had not yet found my place...

My brother died when I was in grade six and in grade eight my Grandmother also died. I will never forget the day she saw me breaking down in the classroom and made the split second decision to drop everything she was doing and reach out with open arms and a warm heart to try and ease a young girl’s pain and confusion. She took me out of the classroom for a long walk through our town campground/park. Mary-Ann didn’t bother with any formalities or paper work; she acted on instinct and gave my soul just what I needed: some love and understanding. She didn't worry about her long list of things to do or the lesson plan she was going to miss teaching that day. Her primary concern was always her students well-being. Such kindness was not any kind of favouritism towards me. She found ways to use her keen intellect and social intelligence to help students any way she could on a regular basis.

Mary-Ann never gave me her pity but rather provided a positive adult mentor to me, someone who was a safe haven to talk to. Seldom did I share too much, the comfort was simply in having someone around who would take the time to listen. I always related to people older than me better than people my age and Mary-Ann recognized and respected this. In addition, she offered something that few others could in my life could: a connection to my brother. Being the youngest by eight and ten years respectively, many of my classmates and teachers barely knew my siblings. However, Mary-Ann knew my brother well and had taught him. Having someone to share memories and anecdotes with was a key component to working my way through the grieving process. 

There are countless gifts that Mary-Ann imparted during our student-teacher relationship but the best gift of all that she gave was her time. I hope when I become a teacher in my own classroom I never forget this, no matter how busy my life might get.