The benefits of being a teacher in the nineteenth century is still very much the same as the twenty-first century, which is very low and unsatisfactory. In the nineteenth century, teachers were paid with low wages and lack of retirement funds. Teachers struggled back then to remain a prominent image for themselves because the occupation was seen as less than prestigious. Just like today’s society, teachers are often looked down upon because of their role in the work field. People have the notion that teachers have fairly easy jobs because all they have to do is teach a subject at a very elementary level compared to those who specialize in a subject and make a career out of it. For example, an elementary first-grade teacher would not get the same praise as a doctor or a lawyer. For this reason, teachers get lower salaries and are not appreciated as much. But teachers in modern society have to have a master’s degree and go through extensive training to get the position, where as a businessman, who would make more than a teacher, would only be required to have a bachelor’s degree. Also, in the nineteenth century, teachers’ social lives were put under constant scrutiny because teachers had to remain a certain way to be considered great educators. That leaves the teachers stressed because they cannot act or behave as their normally would. Even today, I feel teachers have that burden of concealing their real life so that they would seem like a great role model for children. I remember my teachers telling me not to smoke and that it was bad for you when I was in elementary school, but I saw a few of them smoking during their break. It definitely poses a dilemma if children are taught one way but the teachers are doing the opposite. Teachers are getting paid really little to do so much- from educating children to concealing their social lives. I feel that this job asks for a lot of responsibilities from the teachers but offer very little compensation.
Another thing I found interesting was the notion of the “American way of life.” The book describes a billboard ad that features a smiling family with the slogan: “‘There’s no way like the American way'” (317). I find that the value of the American Dream is still prevalent in today’s society. The notion that the American way is to have a family of four in a big house with a dog behind a white picket fence seems to be an ideal that Americans strive for. However, to get to the “dream,” a lot has to be done. By implementing this thought into children when they’re young and in school is to hopefully turn them into productive byproducts of the work force– to work towards this one unattainable goal seemed realistic at the time. So what the government does is feed false hope to children so that when they grow old enough to work, they believe they’re working towards the American Dream, when in reality, they are just working to boost the economy– it is merely a false incentive.
My two questions are: If teachers go through more schooling than most jobs and careers, why are they seen as less adequate in the work force? and what kind of incentives are effective to promote learning to increase a higher level of academic excellence?
