Organizational Psychologist Reveals Whether Being A Teacher In America Is A Blue Or White Collar Job
"The answer is, there's usually a class, gender, and race intersection going on here."
Yuganov Konstantin | Shutterstock Being a public school educator is a job that comes with the satisfaction of being able to teach and shape young minds. Sadly, it's also accompanied by stress, exhaustion, and burnout, especially in recent years.
It's not a job that should be taken lightly, and in a TikTok video, an organizational psychologist named Dr. Anna Kallschmidt broke down the realities of being a teacher in America.
She revealed whether being a teacher in America is a blue or white-collar job.
"I get asked all of the time: is teaching in America a blue-collar or white-collar job because it requires at least a bachelor [degree], but it is so low-paid," Anna began. "The answer is, there's usually a class, gender, and race intersection going on here."
Anna explained that in the United States, teaching used to be seen as a predominately male-dominated career until around the 1850s. During that time, there was a teacher shortage after immigration-driven Western expansion created more demand for educators. White women were suddenly thrust into the profession but weren't allowed to make nearly as much in the role.
On top of that, other opportunities for men were starting to open up in the industrial industry. Ultimately, however, gender bias played a huge part in why women were allowed to be teachers.
"Men are expected to be decisive, authoritative, competent, task-orientated, and women are expected to be communal, nurturing, kind, agreeable, and people-orientated," Dr. Kallschmidt explained. "It was tied to their identity that if you want to teach, it should be because you love the children, you love the work, and you care about the children."
However, women who wanted to be teachers just for the money were looked down upon, and they were classified as being "not a good woman," which is still true to this day.
Despite the majority of teachers being women, schools aren't equitable places for them to work.
Although nearly 77% of teachers are female, according to Education Week, a study found that female teachers make roughly $2,200 less than their male counterparts when all sources of school-based income — base salary, extra-duty pay, and summer school jobs — are combined.
There is also no other profession that exists on this planet that would expect a man to shell money out of their own pocket for their students, classroom supplies, and resources. For some reason, because women are mostly teachers, and the superintendents and school administrators are mostly men, there doesn't seem to be an issue with the fact that all of the things needed for a classroom come out of their own wallets and paychecks.
When teachers complain, they're told to download a mindfulness app and take a hot bath, but if a man were to complain about the same thing in the same field of work, it's highly unlikely they'd be dismissed, as Dr. Kallschmidt pointed out.
In addition, women's guilt is often weaponized in teaching positions because they're constantly being told that they should enjoy being a public school educator because of the "love of the children." But unfortunately, that love doesn't pay the bills.
Historically, women of color, especially Black women, were not allowed to teach in the same schools as white women. The schools that Black teachers taught at were also severely underfunded, which still exists today.
"We still see racial gaps and wages between the gender gaps for women and men of color," Dr. Kallschmidt said. "Teachers, still mostly women, and increasingly women of color, are expected to give everything they have and to care for the children while continuously being undervalued."
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.