Choosing the Grit: Pride, Regret, and the Teacher’s Paycheck

As WordPress continues to recycle old prompts, I pulled another prompt from The Coffee Monsterz Co to respond to today

How do you feel when you tell people what you do for a job?

When I tell people that I’m a teacher, I feel a complex mixture of pride and embarrassment.

Look, I know teachers don’t make a lot of money. If I were worried about building wealth, I wouldn’t have entered this profession in the first place. I like money and the things it buys, and I certainly wish I had more of it, but I didn’t get into this because I thought it was an “upwardly mobile” career path. So, yes—sometimes when I tell people what I do, there’s a flicker of embarrassment about the social status that comes with the salary.

The “Sliding Doors” of Career Regret

Honestly, I occasionally feel a twinge of regret about the field I chose. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m a smart, well-read guy. Sometimes I wonder what kind of salary I’d be pulling down today if I had pivoted into business or engineering when I was younger. I’ve even toyed with the idea of law school during the times I felt lost or drifted away from education.

The Lockdown Lens and the ALC

But then I remember what things were like six years ago during the lockdowns. For the first time, I heard people going out of their way to tell teachers, “Wow, what you do is really important.” It was a rare moment where the world realized how much they take educators for granted.

It also highlights the “Alternative” aspect of my current role. Working at an ALC means dealing with a different breed of student. While it can sometimes make me feel like a glorified computer lab supervisor, the recent move to join the district’s larger teachers’ unit has finally started to legitimize our work.

When the “Teacher Armor” Comes Off

Living in the community where I teach has also changed the dynamic. I run into students in the “real world” now. In fact, a student I taught last year now works at the assisted living facility where my mom lives. Seeing him there—and having him see me in such a vulnerable family context—is a strange reversal. My sister, Phred, noticed how naturally gifted he was with elderly care, reminding me that these kids are much more than their online modules.

Choosing the Grit Over the Gold

At the end of the day, I’m proud of what I do, even in spite of the pay. I know I do a job that a lot of people wouldn’t dare touch—either because of what they’d have to deal with or the lack of financial incentive. I’ve worked in environments that even other people in my profession would avoid. I’m not saying that to sound like a “badass”—I’m saying it because it proves I care.

Everybody wants to be remembered as the “good teacher,” but I’d settle for just being remembered at all. I once had a student in South Carolina tell me, “I wasn’t interested in Shakespeare, but when I saw how into it you were, I figured I’d give it a chance.” If I can get a student to step back and look at something from a new perspective, then that’s a victory. That’s why I’m still here.

Note: This marks one of the final entries in the “Year 51” category. Starting Friday, we’re hitting the reset button with a slightly better relaunch than DC managed. Get ready for The New 52.

Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in my own direction for the Road to 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE .

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AI art created with Google Gemini

The article “Choosing the Grit: Pride, Regret, and the Teacher’s Paycheck“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.