1. Being a teacher is tough (just about everywhere)
Loving teaching and being a teacher are two different, but not mutually exclusive things when money can play a deciding factor. Teachers from around the world struggle with similar financial issues, no matter their longitude or latitude. Through our TED-Ed network, we caught with up 17 public school teachers from Kildare to Kathmandu, Johannesburg to Oslo and beyond, on how their salary influences their livelihood.
“I took a pay cut to become a teacher. It is a calling, not a job. Teaching is a privilege that is not for the infirm of purpose or seekers of large pay-stub totals. If I didn’t wake up before my alarm so I can get to school early, I’d be worried. The fact is that I do wake each morning excited for what the day holds for my classroom — the challenges as much as the triumphs — which for some can be a simple as reading a first sentence.”
— a 6th grade teacher from Markham, Canada
“I am happy but financially strapped. I don’t eat at restaurants; I can’t afford it. I am not a demanding guy, so my income seems sufficient for now, but I can’t sustain my life on it.”
— a computer teacher from Kathmandu, Nepal
“Though I love my job, the stress that comes with it along with the stress of money problems sometimes makes me consider leaving, even though I don’t think I would feel as fulfilled as I do right now. We scrape by, and make the best of what we have, and we are happy for now.”
— an elementary school music teacher from Georgia, United States
Many teach for love of education, to shape the minds of the coming generations; not for the love of money.
2. Educators don’t just teach, they manage a flurry of feelings
As kids age into their late teens, they simultaneously embark on an emotional journey that often plays out during school hours. Heartbreak, arguments with friends, troubled home life, struggles with mental health and schoolwork, never-before-experienced emotions, and numerous other factors typically crop up during and in-between classes. Without a parent or guardian at hand, it’s left to the teachers and school staff to tend to the emotional well-being of students.
Amid administrative duties, endless grading and planning lessons that may forever impact the students they teach, educators must manage a room full of budding young adults who aren’t always ready to sit quietly and be taught. Patience and consideration is tested on a daily basis, no matter how much love a teacher has for their craft and their students. Stress is inevitable in any job, of course. But there’s opportunity for a special, haunting stress to form — one born from the knowledge that the future’s sitting just feet from the chalkboard, in its most formative years; to not acknowledge these demands, within limits, is to not recognize teachers as human beings first.
In addition to all of this, some believe educators should start teaching emotions in grade school. The RULER program, which is used in over a thousand schools in the US and abroad, is currently one of the most prominent tools for teaching emotions that breaks down the skill into five convenient steps:
Recognizing emotions in oneself and others
Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions
Labeling emotional experiences with an accurate and diverse vocabulary
Expressing and
Regulating emotions in ways that promote growth
Educator Nadia Lopez (TED Talk: Why open a school? To close a prison) has her own tips for dealing with emotions that’ve already begun to bubble over. Lopez opened Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brooklyn, New York (you may recognize the name from Humans of New York), and she did so with a simple goal: for her school to be a haven and guiding light for young scholars. As principal, she dedicates her life to what she sees in the future of each of her students. Sometimes, that means acting as the emotional bridge or traffic control as kids learn about not just what they should know, but more about who they are and what they stand for.
Lopez shares some of her favorite ways to dial down conflict with administrators, her scholars and staff — applicable in situations far beyond the classroom — broken down into 6 bite-sized tips.
- Be vulnerable. Though it may seem counterintuitive, being open and honest with your team during challenging times demonstrates a sense of trust that can develop into mutual respect.
- Be aware. Stop and ask, “Why isn’t this working?”
- Center yourself. Being calm is so important that Lopez tries to spend at least 15 minutes each day enjoying uninterrupted silence.
- Manage mediation. No yelling, wait to speak your turn, respect a person’s turn to explain their side.
- Listen deeply and actively. In tense discussions, it’s important to acknowledge the feelings of each party involved and use reflective language to show that they’ve been heard.
- Acknowledge, respect and thank. Repeat. A simple email, text or brief handwritten (ideally, hand-delivered) note has the power to touch deeply and stave away challenging occurrences.
3. Yes, teachers help kids, but sometimes they need help too
Teachers often spend hundreds of dollars on school supplies over the course of a school year. There are many options that allow parents and other charitable individuals to support classrooms near and far. Organizations like Donors Choose allow any interested party to choose an inspiring project and donate any amount.
Or, you can always take part in chiseling down fees in your own backyard.
A cool thing you can do today is try to find out which of your local schools have kids with overdue lunch accounts and pay them off.
— Ashley C. Ford (@iSmashFizzle) December 6, 2016
If you’re interested in doing more, here’s a nice list of other ways you can help you educators, if time and/or resources are available.
Let’s be honest, most people have at least one story about their favorite teacher that’s left a lasting impression, shaped a lifelong interest, or helped them get through a tough time. That educator’s compassion and dedication may have even brought you to where you are now. Love is a main ingredient in what makes those memories stick — one that helped principal Linda Cliatt-Wayman (TED Talk: How to fix a broken school? Lead fearlessly, love hard) successfully turn around three schools.
As she says to her students everyday and a mantra for many educators to their kids:
Check out the TED-Ed blog for more education-based love and let’s celebrate educators!
Kéré designed a primary school for the village of Gando in Burkina Faso in 1999. With the help of residents of the village, construction was completed in 2001. The school’s walls are made from compressed clay, and the ceiling is made of corrugated metal on a steel truss to let air flow freely. The school has three classrooms, separated by shaded outdoor spaces. Photo: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
Diébédo Francis Kéré grew up in a small village in Gando, Burkina Faso, before heading to Germany to study architecture. And as a student there, he came up with a very ambitious project.
Diébédo Francis Kéré: How to build with clay ... and community
“I wanted to open up better opportunities to other kids in Gando. I wanted to use my skills to build a school. But how do you do that when you’re still a student and don’t have money?” he says in this moving talk. “Fundraising was not an easy task. I even asked my classmates to spend less money on coffee and cigarettes, and sponsor my school project.”
Amazingly, in just two years, Kéré raised $50,000. To hear how he rallied his village to help with the construction of the school — and how he got them to accept his very out-of-the-box idea to construct it out of compressed clay — watch this incredible talk.
Below, see more images of the primary school that Kéré and his village built, as well as the school extension they completed seven years later. Also, take a look at the school’s teacher housing and Kéré’s most recent project, a health center in what he’s dubbed “Opera Village.”
A look inside one of the primary school’s three classrooms. After Gando’s school was built, two neighboring villages were inspired to build their own schools. Photo: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
A group of women and girls enjoy the shade outside the primary school. After the building was finished, local authorities opted to pay for the teaching staff. Photo: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
One of the challenges of Gando’s school: attracting talented teachers to the rural location. And so, the village built six homes for teachers and their families, which are arranged in an arc to the south of the school. Construction was completed in 2004. Photo: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
A detailed look at the roof of the teachers’ housing. The barrel vaults are made of compressed clay and corrugated steel. Photo: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
By 2007, more than 280 students from Gando and its surrounding villages had enrolled at the primary school, and the community realized that it needed more room. Once again, the community contributed to building an extension, working with their hands to created the colorful windows and vaulted ceiling. The building was completed in 2008. Photo: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
A group of children takes a break under a mango tree outside the Gando school extension. Photo: Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
Here, a new project: When a large section of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, was washed away in a flood — a section where Christoph Schlingensief had been planning to build an “Opera House for Africa” — Kéré dreamed up the idea for “Opera Village,” a way to help the people who lived there rebuild. The site, which is under construction now, will contain a theater, an arts school and many guest houses. This is a look at the new health clinic on the site. Photo: Francis Kéré
Here, a look at the beautiful façade of the health clinic at Opera Village in Laongo, Burkina Faso. Photo: Francis Kéré
Want to help Diébédo Francis Kéré’s work? Support Schulbausteine für Gando (Bricks for Gando). Visit the organization’s website and check out their Facebook page.
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TED playlists are collections of talks around a topic, built for you in a thoughtful sequence to illuminate ideas in context. This weekend, a new playlist is available: TED for kids.
Not at all TED Talks are appropriate for elementary and middle schooers. But these 9 talks — filled with information presented in fun ways — is perfect for curious kids. David Gallo takes you into the world under water, Arthur Benjamin performs mathematical mental feats, LXD dancers bend in truly weird ways.
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