We’ve all come across those touching stories—educators who dedicate their evenings and weekends to sanitize their schools due to budget cuts, or a first-grade instructor spotted at a local store filling multiple carts with supplies bought entirely out of their own pocket. Perhaps there’s a tale of staff members rallying to donate their sick days to a colleague expecting a baby. These anecdotes tug at our heartstrings, quickly spreading across social media, often leading to teachers gaining fleeting internet fame. Everyone feels uplifted for a brief moment.
However, the problem lies in the aftermath. No significant changes occur to alleviate the burdens teachers face, allowing these situations to persist. As a former educator, I carry conflicting emotions about these stories. With both undergraduate and graduate degrees in education, I graduated into a world of substantial student loan debt, earning just enough to cover rent and utilities while often resorting to instant noodles for meals. I taught in underfunded districts, one of which ran out of paper by April.
How does one teach high school English without paper? You improvise. You scout for discounts, seek donations, and spend your own meager earnings on copies at the local print shop. I did what was necessary for my students without a second thought. Without children of my own at the time, I had a bit more flexibility in my budget. Fresh out of college, sacrificing personal warmth for the sake of purchasing pencils and notebooks seemed acceptable. But perhaps it shouldn’t have been.
Years into my teaching career, I began to recognize the disparity in how teachers are regarded compared to other professions. Did anyone else I knew with two degrees have to buy their own supplies to perform their job? Or clean their own classrooms because custodians were absent? Or endure a broken air conditioning system in a windowless building throughout June? No, they did not.
As highlighted in an article on the Eclecta Blog, this is where the issue with these “heartwarming” teacher stories emerges. By celebrating these acts of kindness, we inadvertently normalize the expectation that teachers must be martyrs, sacrificing their time and finances for their students. Mitchell Robinson, an associate professor at Michigan State University and author of the article, points out that no other profession faces such demands.
One viral narrative involves a superintendent who spent 90 hours repainting his school, saving the district $150,000. Another features a Florida teacher battling cancer who ran out of sick days, prompting colleagues to donate their own so he wouldn’t lose income or his job. Robinson argues that if a CEO were asked to spend 90 hours painting an office, they would find it absurd; their role is to manage, not to paint. Yet, this expectation is commonplace for teachers, who are often praised with comments like “We love teachers!” and “Teachers are the best!” This societal expectation continues to grow.
Teachers frequently find themselves expected to: paint their classrooms, install their own air conditioning units, and pay out of pocket for books, supplies, and professional development conferences. Imagine being told by your employer to purchase essentials for your job or to cover the costs of a training session designed to enhance your professional skills. This wouldn’t happen to doctors, lawyers, or business executives.
Moreover, teachers are expected to maintain a positive attitude while facing the harsh reality of education funding cuts and criticisms that schools are failing. They must enter their classrooms smiling, despite tightening budgets and the appointment of inadequately prepared politicians to reform education. Comments like “Stop complaining! You have summers off!” and “You knew what you signed up for!” echo in their ears. Yet they persist, driven by love for their students.
But why must teachers sacrifice their well-being to demonstrate their commitment? Is martyrdom the new standard for a good educator? That’s unjust.
These stories do not exemplify dedication; they reveal a societal unwillingness to invest in the educators we depend on to nurture our children. The author argues that what would genuinely be heartwarming is a system where teachers have sufficient sick days for illness and maternity leave, where they don’t have to spend their personal funds on classroom necessities, and where professional help is readily available for school maintenance.
Ultimately, Robinson asserts, “It would be heartwarming to start this new school year by treating public school teachers like professionals—or simply with the respect and basic human dignity every individual deserves.”
While it’s commendable that so many teachers show kindness and generosity, this should not be a requirement for fulfilling their roles. Society is failing them, and this cycle will likely persist until we prioritize adequate funding for education and stop expecting educators to simply “make it work.”
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Summary:
The article critiques the glorification of “heartwarming” teacher stories that normalize the expectation that educators should sacrifice their time and money due to inadequate funding and support. It emphasizes the need for societal change to treat teachers with the respect and resources they deserve, rather than celebrating their martyrdom.
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