I'll just weigh in to say that, while we all (teachers and museum
professionals) have a right to complain (I know, I'm both!), we seem to be
stuck in the complaining and are missing the macro-issues. This is not
simply a matter of deciding to go out and get a higher paying job, it's
about critically evaluating what a society values. The clear implication is
that these professions are not highly valued within our society. (Note
Carla Cain's comment about "just" being a teacher below.) That has
ramifications that extend far beyond anything that will be "fixed" as
individuals run out to get new jobs. What does this mean for education when
the best and the brightest are discouraged from pursuing teaching? (And we
are discouraged because we do live in a capitalist society. The most Zen
among us are not totally immune.... And, hey, we all like to eat!) What
does it mean when our cultural institutions cannot compete with private
industry for well-trained professional administrators?
Let's think about this from a sociological and historical perspective before
we just pat ourselves on the backs for being so self-sacrificing. Generally
speaking, education and arts fields have long been the domain of women and
this "pink collar" work has been historically undervalued. The school marm
may have subsisted on meager earnings (until she got married and had to
resign), but there was no expectation that she would need to raise a family
with her wages, nor even to maintain herself in a private household.
Administration was the domain of men and they made more money. Don't you
think it's about time that we challenged this socially irrelevant
philosophy? Similarly, work in the arts (and higher education, too) was
traditionally dominated by the upper class. These people hardly needed
meager salaries of doctors and lawyers to sustain themselves. They were
well-educated, well-traveled gentlemen (most especially in the case of many
professors) and their cultured wives, who devoted time to volunteering in
museums and such. I hardly want to embrace the lack of diversity upon which
such a system is founded. It's all well and good to eschew the importance
of earning a competitive salary if one has resources or access thereto. But
don't you think teaching and museum work should be appealing to those
without that safety net? Don't you think that would make our community more
diverse, vibrant, interesting, productive...?
Calinda Lee
________
Calinda N. Lee, Ph.D.
Historical Consultant
Sources
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carla Cain" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2003 6:04 PM
Subject: Re: Happy Tuesday!
> Good teachers work an average of 60-80 hours a week and most cannot
> afford to loaf or go sailing in the Caribbean during the summer--most
> work teaching summer school or at summer jobs to make ends meet.
> Doctors, lawyers and accountants are paid alot more overall and enjoy
> quite a bit more prestige. Young people who want to go into teaching are
> often told discouraging things like "What! I'm not paying all that money
> for you to go to college just to become a teacher!". I think that
> museum professionals should be paid more as well--most of us that work
> in the public interest are underpaid--but teachers suffer enough slings
> and arrows without being beat up on for the tough job they do!
>
> Just my 2 cents...
>
> C.Cain
>
> >>> [log in to unmask] 04/30/03 08:18AM >>>
> Although I know teachers, I'm not impressed with their plight. Most
> teachers' salaries exceed that of most museum staff people who have at
> least as much education with a far more restricted employment field.
> For instance about three years ago in the Denver area (think high rent)
> museum directors were being offered starting salaries in the high 30s
> low 40s. In the museum field there's not even the pretext of holiday
> vacations (those weeks around New Year's, Thanksgiving and "spring") and
> often very limited vacation time and even more limited sick time - which
> often does not accrue. Only in government museums have I been expected
> to work only 40 hours a week. In the private sector, it was anywhere
> from 45 to 80 depending upon what was in the fire.
>
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