Hope.

I was a Clinton fan, but I am happy to see that Barack has a comprehensive plan to re-vamp NCLB and provide new support (and financial incentives) to new & experienced teachers. 

In all honesty, I would love to teach for the rest of my career.  Working in a classroom with the students is USUALLY the reason I can get through the day.  I enjoy getting to know who they are, their passions and fears.  My favorite moments are when the whole class is discussing a current issue, or a past event and I end up tossing my guiding questions in the trash because the students have swept the discussion away, guiding it in a different direction and to a deeper level then I had thought was possible.  Those moments make my heart pound.  But I can’t teach forever.  I know that and it saddens me to think that in order to move my family in the financial direction it needs to go, I will have to leave the classroom, perhaps in as early and two or three years from now, and start working in school administration, either in discipline or curriculum development.  

The reality is that our goal is to move to a more affluent and “urban” section of the state closer to our friends and family.  Naturally, this means that it is more expensive to live there.  Taxes are higher.  Housing is astronomically priced and given my current salary, we would not be able to afford to buy a home there.  Ever.  So, my time in the classroom is limited.  The unfortunate truth is that in order to make a decent salary in education, you need to pursue a career outside the classroom.  It is hopeful to see a Presidential Candidate starting to address this.  Providing financial incentives for teachers to stay, and achieve, in the classroom is a move in the right direction but it won’t be enough.  I don’t know what the answer is, I don’t know who does but I am looking forward with hope that I won’t have to forsake my classroom in order to pursue my family’s goals.