When the going gets tough, what are the keys to success in lasting in the teaching field until retirement?
I asked a few teachers from around the country to find out how they got there.
Ed Mashburn, an educator from The South:
The money tip: Pay down debts quickly. For extra income, consider teaching extra courses on the college level during nights and summers. Experience and degrees could put you at a higher level on the pay scale.
The survival tip: Every day does not have to be perfect. Keep at it with a good attitude. Move if necessary and find a place where you fit in, and know that you are inspiring young lives.
Mashburn had at first a very rocky start to his career, going between teaching and then into supervisory positions in education, before returning to the classroom for 40 years. He has traveled and taught grammar school in Arkansas, Missouri and Alabama noting the contrast of small town life in the Ozarks, to larger suburban schools of enrollment into the thousands in other areas, as well as teaching on the college level during nights and summers. Reflecting back on his retirement three years ago, he said it was a pleasant coincidence to have a spouse who was also a teacher, and his own kids who studied within the same elementary schools.
“I guess the biggest key to surviving in the classroom was keeping in mind that every day does not have to be perfect,” he wrote via email. The kids will be there in the same desks tomorrow. We can always review and re-do.”
As for money, Mashburn shared that he and his wife put money toward annuities and paid double toward debts including cars and their house, to pay them off early. But with raising three children and living on two teachers’ salaries, money was still tight, but livable, he said.
Crawford “Crof” Kilian, a United States born educator in Canada
The money tip: Write or teach others how to blog and create extra income.
The survival tip: Work through early challenges and think of them as inspiration to keep you busy in later years.
Kilian was born in the United States but spent much of his time teaching in Canada, for over four decades. “I loved it, even when I didn’t know what I was doing and my students had to teach me. Then I began to get a grip after a couple of years, and my enthusiasm carried me through a few insecure years before I was a regularized faculty member,” he wrote via email.
Much like Mashburn, he has seen his fair share of change in courses over the years, and found ways of making supplemental income, because by retirement, he realized he had not saved enough during his career.
“My ever-changing teaching challenges gave me new material for more writing of my own: first a how-to book on writing (science fiction) and fantasy, then another on writing for the web, and then another on writing nonfiction books. As well, I wrote a couple of books on education issues, based on the articles I wrote as a weekly education columnist for a Vancouver paper. The two careers enhanced one another.”
“Before retiring I fretted that I wouldn’t have anything to do; I quickly learned otherwise. And I taught a colleague how to blog…I’m still eager to see what happens next” he shared.
Other voices:
Astrid said since she started teaching in 1985, and teaching was different back then, compared to today. Her tip: ignore the “edubabble” and look forward to pension, she wrote via email.
S.K. Welch, a retired art teacher in Michigan, had this brief thought to share via Twitter: “Don’t stay too long in one place. Keep moral focus and ethics strong and be thick-skinned.”
What are your financial plans as you move along in your teaching career or as you approach retirement? Will you look forward to retirement, fear you won’t have enough funds, or perhaps question what will keep you busy in your later years? Please share your thoughts and ideas with us.
Melissa Heule, Freelance Writer
Image Credit: Jerry Sliwowski / Shutterstock.com
Regarding Mashburn’s making double payments on cars and home, his family was not financially stripped. Any person that can make double payments and support 3 kids is not having financial difficulties. I am not sure where his family was teaching to get that level of income. Go for him.
To all of the others, how does a teacher deal with the constant change in policies based on weak science or grant sources?
Good question! I know many teachers who have left the profession well before retirement and in some cases well before their 4th or 5th year. They loved teaching, they did not love all the forces and factors and obligations that attempted and succeeded in getting in the way of their true purpose, teaching! Meetings, trainings, meetings, trainings all boiled down to too much energy being spent and not enough time to focus on the real work. Younger teachers without solid support, strong mentorship, and adequate compensation simply don’t seem to last. Often, they seek out alternative education systems i.e. charter and private schools where there is more freedom to teach and sometimes less interference from policy makers and “experts,” but this is not always the case. Many older teachers I have encountered along the way seem more able to “grin and bear it” and keep the eye on the prize. I also know a few “rebel” teachers that have decided to just teach and focus on the students and let the results speak for themselves. Results, coupled with a large fan base i.e. parents and students seem to provide a temporary force-field that protects them from being micro-managed and pushed around. To me it seems the more complicated we make things, the less successful we are at achieving the goals in front of us and that is to provide a real education that will help create a student who knows how to think, who loves to learn, who is curious about their world, and is unafraid of the future. Let teachers teach and provide them with the tools to do their job, the compensation that reflects their work and contribution to the betterment of society. In some countries teachers are as revered as much as doctors and I think that is appropriate. Thanks for your question! It has raised many more in me.
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