How Much Money Do You Want To Make As a Teacher?
My husband is a day trader. He buys and sells stocks. He sometimes holds them overnight or for a couple of days, and then he sells them profiting from the difference in the price of shares. So it makes him a swing trader, too. Sitting next to him on a weekday, I channel into a cryptic conversation he has in chat rooms with other traders. Some things sound familiar because my ear is used to the trading jargon. But what I found more interesting is that straight money talk is never a taboo there. Traders discuss decent and significant amounts of money they once made or are still making a day. The set amount and the consistency in making the profit every trading day is what every trader aims for. Money is the product of being effective and knowledgeable in your area. It is the byproduct of excellent analysis of the situation and fast decision making.
“Good for them,” I thought. I’m a salary worker, a teacher. I never speak about my salary even with my parents. Teachers’ talk is mostly about how to fix problems you have in a classroom and what plans administration has that might interfere with already established systems. We never talk about money or happiness. Despite the statistics that say teachers experience overwhelm and financial instability, teachers never talk about the things that are supposed to be important: how much money they need to be happy.
Yes, I am obsessed with money.
My obsessions with the idea of entrepreneurship and financial freedom gave me access to information about successful people and how they make money. While listening to podcasts in a car, I hear the stories of success, the leap a successful entrepreneur once took, and the payoff. My ears are glued to the sound of the iPhone when I hear “freedom,” “escape the rat race,” “I control my schedule, where I work and how much I work,” “passive income,” “I’m my own boss.” Viral among other episodes are the so-called income reports where bloggers, podcasters, business owners report the sources of their monthly income and the numbers. $150. $2, 800. $38, 000. $135, 000. Income reports reflect whether specific business projects worked and how effective they were. I have no doubt making money involve working smarter not harder. And even if it’s hard sometimes, no entrepreneur that shared their story on the podcasts that I listen complained about being unhappy. No one.
Does this mean no teacher is an entrepreneur?
Well, media is more likely to have an article about or an interview with a 23-year-old geek developing an app and striking gold after selling it to Facebook or Google. We hear stories of single moms building a business from zero. We are even more likely to hear about a story of a homeless person winning a lottery and changing his /her life. We never hear about successful teachers who made a million last year or teachers who have a side hustle and make 5 grand a month selling stickers or worksheets. I don’t know why teaching cannot be associated with money. I have no idea why we never hear about millionaire teachers. Are there any? You might say if you make a million a year in your business selling educational materials, why would you teach?
An inspirational teacher millionaire is missing…
Not all teachers are unhappy or uncomfortable with their work environment. And while anxiety, overwhelm and low salaries (in some states) are an overwhelming crisis, many teachers are creating in their workplaces, on their blogs, in their online stores. Wouldn’t it be inspirational to hear about a teacher who is making great earnings from tinkering in their free time? Would it set an excellent example for those considering teaching or aspire to be a teacher and create for others? Would it shift the mindset of so many people who view teachers as miserable prisoners of school systems? When will teaching be associated with success, both vocational and financial?
Can teaching be a business?
I have a strong belief that entrepreneurship is the future vocation for all people. I’m also convinced that online education, virtual classrooms, individual learning are already a trend and will become more widespread even for the public school system in the next few years. With this in mind, I see great opportunities for teachers to monetize their craft and make a good living from teaching similar to what business owners do.
I’m a classroom teacher experimenting with my role as an educator for many different kids. I explore effectiveness, liberation from the overwhelm, teachers masterminds, teachers mental health and productivity while in school and support not bringing school stuff home anymore. I feverishly study the possibility of making teaching a business and attempting financial freedom with the craft I genuinely love. To do that, I feel teachers need to step into the unknown waters and explore the topics of online marketing, business development, financial investment and many more. Those who believe they can build a teaching business and take steps to monetize their expertise will become trailblazers for others. Any company in this economy has an opportunity and does monetize their services.
Business does not exist without monetization. And while making a business out of education might seem horrendous to some, I can offer another term that will put out possible flames of fury. How about the service of providing value to children and adults, changing their lives in many aspects? Providing value in business equals money that the customer is willing to pay because they envision the possibility of transformation they pay for. Does it sound better?
The topic of money making for me as a teacher has become invaluable for my existence. I don’t believe in a single income source anymore. I don’t believe in teacher’s retirement as the safe ground. I don’t believe that the public school system keeps up with the need for personalized education and distant education. I find many things in a public school system are archaic and to change them a lot of sacrifices are needed. While individual teachers are willing to take a very different perspective on how they teach and what they teach, school districts are still crippled by and guided by tests scores, data, statistics only. Teachers and administrators are limited by the resources available and overwhelmed by the crowded classes, and many other issues school are bombarded with, like violence, youth mental health, homelessness.
Teachers and their well-being should be schools’ priority.
They always say at the school PDs that school’s priority is kids. I think it’s utterly wrong. School’s priority should be teachers. A happy teacher has powers to affect dozens and hundreds of kids a day. You cannot pore from an empty cup. Teacher’s wellbeing should be a number-one district agenda. Money should be invested in teachers, not in buildings and paper. Unless this shift happens, classrooms will still be overpacked; flashy technology will pore to schools to use for the kids who suffer from loneliness, mental anxiety, a battered by homelessness, hunger; teachers will be still drowning in paperwork and anxiety. Meanwhile, I urge teachers to take charge of their lives and profession and make it work for them, contributing to their wealth, freedom, and happiness. How? Start with educating yourself about the topics that might seem out of your zone of interest: financial investment, stock investment, online teaching, marketing, freelancing, side hustles that can raise the earnings and provide financial stability. Start liberating yourself from the idea that your only source of income is school teaching, and the only goal is retirement. That’s no longer the case in the modern day society. And if you recognize that slime makers and coloring pages videos on Youtube make a fortune, maybe, it will help you realize how archaic and limiting it is to think that teachers can only teach.
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