AMA: Why not K-12?
Is it because academia is a cult or because academia is a cult?
Hi Everyone!
It’s time for another Ask Me Anything, where I do my best to take on YOUR anonymous questions about anything related to Leaving Academia, DEI, and Contemporary Workplace Cultures. You can should (please!!) submit questions for future posts here!
This week’s question is a really good one, but/and it’s important to share that this was submitted well before the 2024 US presidential election took place, where one of the major policy changes now on the table is the eradication of the Department of Education. Were this to happen, it would surely make things even more precarious for public school teachers everywhere, but I still think the question is an important one to consider —perhaps even moreso now! So here it is:
I am confused as to why K-12 public education is not typically considered a viable avenue for those leaving academia. I understand that to at least a certain extent, it is a necessary part of the dependence on contingent labor in academia to get people to "drink the Kool-aid" that academia is more noble and special than lowly public ed, but by every objective metric it is a better job than academia (starting pay better than adjunct and lecturer salaries, stability, good benefits, union membership and support in many places, pensions, etc, etc), with completely transferable skills (teaching experience, a dedication to civil service and the common good of the dissemination of knowledge). Am I missing something? Has this been your experience? Why are academics seemingly so averse to public ed?
I also have a little bit more context that I think it’s OK to share, because when people submit questions on this form, they are also invited to share any additional info for me to keep in mind as I answer. This person shared that they had tried to persuade their partner to consider K-12 public school teaching for a long while before he was unexpectedly offered a position, which he now LOVES, but which took a lot of perspective-shifting to get to that yes; the “cult” language in the subtitle to this post is their language, shared out of love and exasperation for the difficulty of their partner’s process —a conflicted experience I suspect is widely shared among those leaving academia. (But, spoiler alert, I don’t think the cult theory fully flies!)
So, yes, why DON’T more people who are leaving academia run to K-12 public school teaching as a very sound alternative? After all, in doing so, they may find themselves not only with access to a steady job and good benefits, but also all of the other perks that the question-asker names. The short answer is that… I don’t know! But I have some theories that I’ll float, with the hope that others will join me in the comments to share their additional perspectives.
Most of the K-12 teachers who I know are exhausted, overworked and underpaid, doing things like purchasing their own school supplies out of pocket while barely making enough money to make ends meet themselves. They often take on second jobs or at the very least side hustles, sometimes endeavors like MLMs that are no less exploitative, to make ends meet, and spend too many evenings and weekends working to stay afloat. This is where their unions1 become so necessary! And I’m sure experiences here vary widely, depending on the school district, level, and more. (I definitely know some amazing K-12 teachers who are super happy in their positions, much like this person’s partner today.) But for me, when I was leaving the professoriate, this perception of the workload made it feel like I’d be jumping from the pot into the kettle, and doing so without also improving my economic position at the same time. (Folks who left academia before landing a full-time and/or permanent position, I’d be eager to hear from you on this one.)
I suspect that there may be a perception, likely an inaccurate one, that after earning a terminal degree like a Ph.D or an MFA, teaching those who are not at least at the college/university level makes one either “overqualified2” or sets one up for disappointment. While this may look snobbish or elitist to outsiders, perhaps fairly so, it’s also true that earning a terminal degree means that you have not just advanced, but also specialized knowledge, and that often sits far outside of what we either remember or assume that a typical K-12 curriculum will accommodate. Further, some academic fields simply aren’t present in K-12 curricula, at least in obvious ways, and everything from state school boards to federal mandates are increasingly taking trust in their expertise from teachers or functionally mandating teaching to standardized tests. Again, the reality of what K-12 teachers are actually able to accomplish in their classrooms and curricula varies widely —I know some who have as much academic freedom as professors. But the perception of control and surveillance is a strong one.
Related, when you’re a college professor, you in most cases do not have to deal with parents. While FERPA may now have as long a lifespan as the DOE generally, there is no small appeal in working with students as independent adults, and not also having to manage expectations, demands, communications, and so forth from their parents.
Some academics may not be ready to abandon their research/scholarly program, or their identity as a researcher/scholar. This gets us closer to the working thesis of academia as a cult that the person who asked this (good!!) question holds, especially on the identity piece. Are some academics inculcated with the idea that they are unique, exceptional, etc.? Surely. But not everyone loves to teach, and not everyone is good at it. I confess that I first began drafting a piece for this week about the sunsetting of one’s subject matter expertise (and someone capable of offering it), as I’ve been navigating, yet again, the experience of having had a research program that was deeply relevant to the present moment (white folks’ racial identities and attitudes as deployed in concrete social and political environments) but not being in a position where that expertise can be tapped or utilized. One day that expertise will fade entirely, as I have stopped conducting research and publishing scholarly articles and books on the matter, which also means not staying up on new developments as I situate my work inside a wider body of scholarship. But while losing my academic identity as a professor itself wasn’t hard, there are moments (like now!) where losing a position from which to carry out or speak to my subject matter expertise feels much harder. Can this work be done meaningfully while teaching in a K-12 system? Yes. Is it the same thing as producing scholarship and being trusted as an expert in the wider public’s eyes? Not at all. And I think this same reality shapes what is sometimes a similar reluctance to take a position in a community college —though the people I know teaching at CCs, much like those in the K-12 system, are doing important, often transformational and equity-driven work, and making a real difference in their students’ lives. I actually made it to the final, on-campus round to teach at a community college in my favorite place in the world shortly after earning tenure in 2015, and decided that I didn’t want it. I wanted research and publications to remain a defined part of my job, and I wanted to teach sociology majors in addition to the general student body. That’s not possible at a CC or in a K-12 school.
I want to be clear that I think teaching in a K-12 system is indeed a terrific option for those looking to leave academia; from what I can glean on the socials from others who have done it, they, like this person’s partner, have found it to be a tremendously positive move. When I first got this question, my initial response was “I have no idea why, because there is truly no good reason to hesitate!” But it turns out that’s not exactly true; the structural and political and economic constraints are growing, and there are some very real tradeoffs academics might weigh as they consider this option. I suspect those hesitations are even more pronounced for someone who is still romanticizing the life of a college professor. That romance is far from the reality, as I’ve written about in many previous posts. But the fairy tale only ends when we wake up to reality, or choose a different chapter.
As always, I wish us all empowerment and joy as we rewrite our stories.
As usual, in the comments, tell me: what resonates, and what did I miss? I deeply appreciate your engagement and your questions!
Full disclosure, my partner’s career is in the public educators union world.
This sense of being “overqualified” is usually just a reflection of not knowing how to best position ourselves outside of the academic job market —perhaps a subject worthy of its own future post, though many others have addressed it in the wider Leaving Academia ecosystem.
Aside from the fact that most higher ed academics lack the license to teach k-12, too many of them also lack the training in ... actually teaching. A PhD in a subject doesn't actually mean someone has teaching skills or would be equipped to do classroom management. There are some transferrable skills, of course, but most people probably don't think a kindergarten teacher is qualified to teach a college class (other than in education, perhaps), so it is a little offensive to k-12 educators to assume higher ed faculty could do their jobs without some critical additional training, I think.
My uncle switched to teaching high school after leaving academia. He had to go back to school for a year or two to have the appropriate certification. He also had to work as an uber driver before and after school for a while in order to make ends meet. It was the right decision for him but it wasn't an easy transition either.
I personally never considered it because I don't like teaching. I appreciate that you mentioned that. There's a lot of people who go into academia just because of research.