I am a proud Pennsbury Social Studies teacher. Each semester I teach my students about civil discourse – the idea that you can disagree with someone without resorting to degradation and slurs; the idea that facts and reason trump emotion and agendas.  Somehow, we have lost that as a society, at the national, state, and local levels. Teachers are not the enemies, yet we are vilified in today’s society.

We are the modern-day scapegoats for the anger citizens feel at higher prices and stagnant wages. Our salaries are published on-line, as if to shame us. Yet I feel no shame because I know I earn every penny of my wage. I attended Loyola University, graduating not only Magna Cum Laude with a degree in International Business, but as someone immersed in the tradition of social justice and service to others. I continued to invest in my education with additional certifications and a Masters degree and have shared my knowledge of history, business, culture, current events, critical thinking, reading and writing with my students for the last 15 years. I share this not to boast, but to refute statements made in regards to the educational prowess and abilities of teachers. I love my job and I love my students, but I do feel great disappointment at the rhetoric being used in this paper and in this community. Opinions are presented as absolute truths and facts are completely disregarded in an effort to stir up the pot.

The reality is teachers do not live in a bubble. We are well aware of the reality people face, because we face it too. The reality is that I, too, have seen an increase in my bills - oil, gas, electric, water, insurance, etc. I, too, have college loans to repay and future tuition to save for. I, too, have property taxes and earned income taxes to pay. I, too, have a spouse that has been unable to work in his field for over five years. I, too, work two jobs to pay my bills. Really, I do.

The reality is I am a Pennsbury teacher that could not afford a house in this school district. I live in Levittown, Bristol Township, not atop a golden mountain away from the “reality” I keep hearing echoed in papers and at board meetings.  I should not and do not want to be made to feel that I am less worthy, that what I do has little value, that others earn their money but I do not, that I am a “pig at the trough.” It is hurtful, disrespectful, untrue, and lacks civility. I am sure, for some, this will fall on deaf ears; the zealots will continue to be zealots. But for the rest of us, let us remember that no one in our society has more or less worth than another.  I try to model this for my children.

Will you do the same?