Is being an Educator your Job, Career, or Calling?

I tried to think of when and where I first came across the concept of looking at an occupation as being a “job”, a “career”, or a “calling” and I worked my way back to Shawn Achor’s book “The Happiness Advantage”, but I knew that wasn’t the origin of the reference.  So, after doing a little searching, the oldest reference I could find was a 1997 research article by Amy Wrzesniewski in the Journal of Research in Personality titled “Jobs, Careers, and Callings: People’s Relation to Their Work”.  In the research, Wrzesniewski and colleagues presented evidence suggesting that most people see their work as either a Job (focus on financial rewards and necessity rather than pleasure or fulfillment; not a major positive part of life), a Career (focus on advancement), or a Calling (focus on enjoyment of fulfilling, socially useful work).  In, admittedly, a moment of frustration this week, I found myself grumbling about some of our staff treating their role as educators more like a job than a calling.  Then I caught myself in my own complaint and acknowledged a legitimate question, “Is it so bad that educators look at their occupation as a job?”.  Before I answered myself, I know this is getting weird, I thought it would make sense to provide my own interpretation of educators looking at their occupation as a job, career, or calling.

Educator (Job Description)

I am using the term educator because I want to be inclusive of educational administrators. I like to think “once a teacher always a teacher” and consider administrators as “teachers working outside of the classroom”.  As an example, when people ask me what I do, I explain I am a teacher, but I am no longer in the classroom.  Instead, my job title is Assistant Superintendent of our district.  I mention this because, for this blog, I am going to use the term “Teacher” to include all types of educators including Administrators, Aides, Tutors, Psychologists, Specialists, or anyone else working with our young people.  

There is no question the “job” of being a teacher is challenging.  The job requires you to work with young people on a daily basis, to have an understanding of your content area, and to communicate with parents.  Those are the expectations in the job description, or contract,  for most school districts.  These expectations, by themselves, are enough to drive many teachers from teaching  after just a few years.  Teachers earn their money everyday and the “job” of being a teacher can help our young people.  

Signs of looking at Education as a Job:

• You find yourself working to the contract.

• The words, “My kids can’t…” have been uttered from your mouth.

• You won’t/can’t attend a meeting because you’ve met your quota for the week.

• You feel teaching gets in the way of your personal life.

Educator (Career Description)

Those who look at being a teacher as a description of their career describe their occupation more as their profession.  They are knowledgeable concerning the ways of their profession whether it be pedagogical or content knowledge and they often will do what it takes to help our young people meet expectations while reflecting on the practice of teaching.  This often means they are working with students before and after school, working on some form of school work  at home on a regular basis,  they understand it is important to learn and grow as an educator and basically do whatever it takes to meet their professional obligations.

Signs of looking at Education as a Career and Not a Calling:

• You find yourself comparing your role to another teacher’s role.

• The words, “That is not fair…” have been uttered from your mouth.

• You won’t/can’t believe someone can offer you advice on pedagogy or content.

• You feel teachers have to work harder than the kids these days.

Educator (As a Calling Description)

Certainly all educators who look at teaching as a Calling meet all of the same criteria of those who look at teaching as a Career or Profession.  However, I would argue that not all “Career” educators meet the “Calling” criteria.   If teaching is your Calling, there is an altruistic undertone to your approach and it becomes much more than your profession.  Probably one of the clear distinctions is the level and frequency in which reflection is taking place.  A second area that bifurcates teachers in a Career vs. a Calling pool is in the area of professional growth.  Those in a calling have an almost obsession with learning and improving their practice BECAUSE of how it can positively impact our young people.  They honor the RED QUEEN EFFECT approach to teaching in spades.

Signs of crossing over to looking at teaching as a Calling:

• You find yourself lost in time as you think/talk/learn about education.

• The words, “Don’t all kids deserve...” have been uttered from your mouth.

• You won’t/can’t accept a situation that doesn’t help our young people.
• You feel you can constantly grow and have something to learn

In my opinion, each of these descriptors of educators has their own merit and I believe it is important for all of us to know where we fit on the continuum of teaching.  Knowing where you “fit” and where your colleagues are categorized helps to have authentic conversations and can avoid areas of frustration.  As an example, the expectations of a educator who looks at her occupation as a Calling is not going to be in-line with one who is a looking at being an educator as a Job.  If these two are part of the same Professional Learning Community (PLC) this is an important fact to consider.  It doesn’t mean they can’t work together, but it will probably change how they work together.  

So, to answer my previous question, “Is it so bad that educators look at their occupation as a job?”, I would say, “I guess not, but would then ask, “Can that mindset be sustained?”.  I do not believe ANYONE went into teaching, or at least stayed after a few years, with the mindset of it being their job.  Teaching  is way too hard of an occupation  to go in day in and day out with only a paycheck as your motivation.  However, I do believe that we have educators, at all levels, that fall into this category.  If that is the case, how did that happen and what can we do to help each other? I am going to circle back to Amy Wrzesniewski to plant a seed.  
Amy also talks about “job crafting”, which she describes as “what employees do to redesign their own jobs in ways that foster engagement at work, job satisfaction, resilience, and thriving.  She suggests four ways to help promote job crafting in the workplace.

1. Boost Autonomy and Support- this allows us to use the expertise we have

(Build on our strengths as teachers)

2. Build Developmental Plans- this focuses on the value of continuous improvement.

(Back to the Red Queen Effect)

3. Communicate Strategic Goals-  this is having a shared vision

(Looking at Schools as a Greenhouse comes to mind)

4. Holding Job Crafting Swap Meets- this addresses the importance of collaboration

(Collective Teacher Efficacy within PLC as applied to educators)

Keeping these four suggestions in mind will, I believe,  help promote job crafting within an educational environment which can help, at minimum, to shift looking at teaching as a “job” to looking at teaching as a “career” and perhaps  also provide an environment which will give the latitude needed for those who are called to teach.