Bitterness vs. Hope

I often consider leaving teaching as a whole.

I am admittedly somewhat bitter that a professional degree that took five and a half years of my life has left me in basically unmanageable debt.

I am admittedly somewhat bitter that I could work in a credit card phone bank and secure an income comparable, if not better, than that I make in teaching.

Does it make me mad? Damn skippy it does.

Does it make me want to leave teaching?  Sometime it truly does.

Will I leave teaching? I honestly don’t know, but, at this point, I don’t want to.

Past all the bitterness and anger, it makes me want to incite change.

Change to make teaching a first-class profession in every way: Income, respect, clout, everything.

Will there always be nay-sayers? Of course. My office mate and I pass links to news forums about teacher pay back and forth to each other whenever we find them. We are constantly shocked at how much disdain people hold for teachers.

But I believe that can change. Teachers are not glorified babysitters, despite what some people believe. We are people who choose education because we love learning and want to pass that on to whomever we can.

I am ready to put myself out there as an advocate for teachers. I read about people accepting donations on blog for any number of reasons, some frivolous, some serious, and people donate.

A dollar here.

Maybe a ten there.

They donate.

They pass the word.

Can we do that for teachers?

My thought is this: If I can get some donations and pay off my student loans, maybe then I can start helping others…Advocating financial solvency for teachers and helping them find that independence earlier in their careers rather than later.

Here is what I need now…Help.

Help me figure out how to do this.

Help with with anything with which you think I need help: Design, marketing, fundraising, whatever.

Please.