Commentary and Criticism about the National Education Association
We have absolutely no affiliation with the National Education Association and do not represent its views in any way, shape or form.
Did you procrastinate this year, waiting until the last minute to file your taxes?
If so, in your rush to meet the deadline this past Tuesday, you may have overlooked the “cultural tax.” But don’t fret - unless you are a person “of color,” you probably weren’t required to pay it anyway. ONLY DO THE CONTRACTUAL MINIMUM – Anything else is a “tax” Never heard of “cultural taxation?” Until this morning, neither did I. As frequent readers of our blog are aware, I review the NEA Today website on a regular basis. Well, this morning, I came across that term. In her article “Bargaining for the Common Good in Higher Education,” Mary Ellen Flannery defines it as: “… the penalty paid by many faculty of color for the disproportionate work they do to support students of color.” Only in the field of education could “disproportionate work” be an issue. Teachers work under contracts negotiated by their unions which specify exactly what they are required to do. Doing more than legally required is frowned upon. In fact, if you do put in any extra time/effort, the local union president and his representatives will likely pay you a visit and tell you that your actions are in violation of the contract. Shame on you for putting in extra time preparing lessons and helping students! Silly teachers, don’t you know that any work you do above the contractual minimum is equivalent to a tax because you are not being compensated for the extra effort? Of course, in the “real” world, doing extra work and not getting paid is pretty much par for the course - its how you advance in your career. THE BURDEN OF CULTURAL TAXATION FOR PEOPLE “OF COLOR” Further research into this topic led me to a video produced by Ithaca College: Get It Together: Cultural Taxation Here is how the host of the interview, Alexzandria Sanchez, describes the problem: “Cultural taxation … is a unique burden placed on ethnic minority faculty ... that has to do with the responsibility that they take on that they are not recognized for so to me that means that it’s a struggle for justice and recognition and equality even.” How “unique” is that burden? According to Cecil Canton, Associate VP of Affirmative Action at the California Faculty Association “[While] every tenure-track faculty member … is responsible for teaching courses, building a record of scholarship, and providing service to the institution to meet the standards of the retention, promotion and tenure process … these processes take on increased and amplified weight for underrepresented faculty and faculty of color in predominantly white institutions …” CONCLUSION – Stop playing the victim When I worked in the business world, I was paid an annual salary. I could have showed up at 9 and left at 5 every day had I wanted to. In fact, there were many at the firm who did just this. But fresh out of college with no real work experience, I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to show my employer that I was worth something to the company. I made sure to go into work at 7:30 AM and didn’t leave until 6:30 PM every day. I certainly didn’t complain about the extra work I did with no compensation. In fact, I didn’t consider this extra work “taxation” because the experience I gained improved my prospects at the company. The more time I put in, the more I was recognized by my boss and the faster my career advanced. Contrast my attitude with Cecil Canton’s. This is exactly the wrong way to approach the situation: “Cultural taxation is a stealth workload escalator for faculty of color. And like stress, it can be a silent killer of professional careers and aspirations.” Here is some advice to all of the people “of color” who think that “cultural taxation” is killing their careers: Stop playing the victim in all of this. Your employer doesn’t owe you anything but to pay you your agreed salary. If you think that he is working you too hard and isn’t compensating you for what you know you are worth, quit and find an employer who does value what you have to offer. Instead of complaining about the sorry state you find yourself in, take control of your career. Most importantly, stop blaming others. The only one holding you back is you.
1 Comment
David Bryan
4/20/2018 09:20:20 am
The victimization/victimhood/oppression theme goes on and on and on, ad nauseam. If a teacher supervises a school authorized club, he or she may or may not be compensated. I have known teachers who supervised a school approved activity without compensation just because they wanted to do so. Many "inequities" could be said to exist in public education. An English teacher may have a total of 125 students a semester, whereas a teacher of advanced language classes may have a much smaller student load. If you don't like your job because you feel you are over worked or over-burdened, quit and find another job, or stop volunteering to do activities which you are not assigned or for which you are not compensated. In the meantime, do your job well and stop whining
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Looking to start a website or blog?
Consider our hosting company - Domain.com. Click below for information. Archives
October 2018
AuthorJonathan Smith - A New Jersey Public School Teacher who disagrees with the National Education Association. |