They are Who I am
Tuesday, October 17, 2006

 

I continue to read and read and read about the “state of education” in the CNMI. Although the critically acclaimed series on KMCV didn't really focus on the hot topic of teacher turmoil over the PSS Praxis issues and pay cuts, it did shed some light on education as a whole.

I have spoken out on the Praxis before and I still feel pretty much the same way. It was a bother that we had to take it, but I did it, without knowing of any due compensation or accolades, and knowing only that I was still “in the know” and working in my chosen profession.

Therein lies one of the problems we face in education. Not just here, although predominantly so. We face the fact that many, if not most, of the teachers in the CNMI did not early on set out to choose teaching as a profession. They went to college thinking business, finance, doctor, lawyer, athlete, etc. As most students will change their major at least once in their career, and nearly everyone graduates with a degree in some field, everyone begs the question upon graduation: “What do I do now?” In the CNMI, the teaching profession had always welcomed those individuals with a “degree” even if they did not major in education or take any classes on being a teacher. In those days PSS couldn't ask for much as the pay scale was pitiful even then.

But then things changed. The pay scale went up and PSS decided to bring the education requirement up a notch for teachers by developing a minimal set of classes and or coursework that all teachers needed so that PSS could hope to ensure that teachers were equipped with the latest research and practices for today's classrooms. Although largely not enforced, it was the beginning of a solid foundation for a fledgling school system to be on par with schools in the U.S. mainland. The pay scale in those days and those who received pay raises continued to jump around and, although appearing biased at times, PSS was truly working on some form of equity for teachers and their experience.

Now that PSS is faced with the NCLB Act, they placed an even greater requirement for teacher qualification, and hence the equity issue reared its ugly head again. On face value, paying teachers what they are worth is commendable and should be done. I believe, though, that PSS as a whole may have underestimated the structure of the social foundation within our system. In that lay the insurgency we see today with representatives from ACT, the BOE Teacher Rep and other individuals expressing their discontent.

But again, here we are, what are we to do? For me, I am an educator by profession, that's what I went to school for, not because the pay was great. Now I am an administrator, a natural progression for the educational professional. And I can say again, it's not for the money.

To make it clear, for all those teachers who didn't pass the Praxis and got hit with a drastic pay cut, I am saddened indeed. I saw PSS lose many of these great teachers to retirement as a result, and for the many who received your significant increase, please know and maybe take comfort in the fact that, with the governor's austerity cuts, all of you that are making the $41,745.42 scale and above are making more than your vice principals, which will go down to $41,500 and your principal's to $45,000 in December. So, to everyone who falls into that teacher group and at the top of the teacher pay scale who, now it seems, will get even another perk-a 5 percent one-time bonus-and who will only have to work during the school year while your principals and vice principals continue to work day in and day out even during typhoons and weekends to keep your schools in one piece, ask yourself why you're in the profession on this tiny little island in the sun we call home. Is it for the love of the profession? Did you truly want to change the lives of those in your charge, or simply charge those in your lives?

Don't get me wrong, I applaud your efforts to receive just compensation, but if anyone should be shouting and demanding compensation, it should be the school administrators. When mainland schools will pay vice principals upwards of $100,000 and more, and principals even more, you have to ask the question: Why do we stay? I don't have the answer for everyone, but for me, when I came to the CNMI I had a vision; one in which the care and success of my students were at the forefront of my thoughts each day I woke up. I gradually came to see the system as a whole, believing that if I stay I could be part of the system and make it better for all students, giving them the skills and knowledge I gained in college and in life.

I still have that belief today and I am confident that, despite all the trials and tribulations I have experienced working for PSS and the lack of compensation for my efforts, that I do make a difference and I have made a difference, and that for me is priceless, its worth more than anyone could give me. I know there are bills, and kids, and family, and the power, all of it. I know because I live it everyday too, but I also live with what's inside me, my character, my innate sense of how to make it work, and yes, sometimes that means stopping at the roadside to pick weeds so I can make soup, or bananas from a fallen forest to take to work just to save a few more dollars and make it work some more. Why? Because my mission in life is my profession, I am an educator, and the students in my charge come before my personal and financial gains. Because "they are who I am.”