Running head: PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS

Exploring Private School Teachers as a Culture

Taylor E Navis
University of Kentucky

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Abstract

This paper shows the history and background of teachers, and the stereotypes of how teachers
have been portrayed. Teachers have come a long way since the civil war times. Many styles of
teaching may be the same but also new ones have been created throughout the years. Teachers
are given a lot more respect in todays society and are no longer viewed as the bottom of the
social class. Through my investigations, I found that all stereotypes about teachers are not true. I
interviewed two dedicated teachers at Lexington Christian Academy. The teachers love their jobs
and invest all they can into their career and their students. It shows some differences between
private and public schools as well as what it takes to be a teacher.

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Exploring Private School Teachers as a Culture

I interviewed two teachers that have both taught in private and public schools. I wanted
them to compare the two environments and explain why they chose private school. I also was
curious as to what got them to where they are now. Mr. Wade and Mrs. Payne are both high
school science teachers at Lexington Christian Academy in Lexington Ky. LCA was founded in
1989 and has over 1.500 students from preschool through grade 12. (Lexington Christina
Academy) The school they teach at is a private Christian school that incorporates the learning of
the Bible and academic excellence during every school day. LCA is made up of three campuses
and offers many different opportunities for students to become involved. Students attend chapel
once a week where teachers, classmates, and other guest speak to share Gods word. LCA takes
pride in all of their outreach programs that are offered. Serving is their major core value and
students are encouraged to join a mission team during their time at school. (Lexington Christian
Academy) All the teachers who teach at this
school must be Christians and must be invested
in giving the students a good education as well
as helping each student grow in their faith.
As for my interest in the history and
beliefs of private schools and the teachers that
form it I asked two teachers that students really
looked up to. Out of all the career paths to choose

Figure 1 [Photograph of Lexington

Chrsitian Academy]. (2012) Google
Images

from, I was curious as to why they became a

teacher. Mrs. Payne and Mr. Wade both told that they loved children and they want to be able to
impact the students lives in more ways than just education. In their perspective teaching is the

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most important thing for shaping the future. (M. Wade & J. Payne, personal communication,
October 10, 2014) Mrs. Payne and Mr. Wade are both Christians and have been for a majority of
their lives so for them teaching at a private Christian school was much better because they got to
share their faith with their students. However Mrs. Payne told me a story about how one of her
exchange students who was given the highest grade in English because the teacher felt bad and
didnt want to have to teach her the new language. This bad experience helped her to decide that
teaching at a private school was more beneficial than public school. (J. Payne, personal
communication, October 10, 2014) They both believe that private schools will better prepare the
students for college. Although teachers at private schools get paid less than those at public, they
believe the rewards are far greater because of the relationships they form. Their favorite part of
teaching is seeing the impact they have on the students as well as being able to form
relationships with the students whether it is in class or outside of school in sports or missions.
Teachers have many different roles and responsibilities but as a teacher at a Christian
school Mr. Wade and Mrs. Paynes roles are different than those of public schools. They both
believe their roles are to encourage the students to be the best they can be and to be a role model
as well as someone who is an example of the love God has for all his people. Mr. Wade said that
his main goal is helping students grown in their walk and being a mentor for students who are in
need for guidance. (M. Wade, personal communication, October 10, 2014) Teachers have many
different responsibilities that have to be achieved everyday. I always thought that the only
responsibility a teacher had was to educate the students on their subject. After talking to both of
these teachers I came to realize that it is so much more. Both told that being prepared for class is
the most important responsibility. There may be days when they dont want to teach but they
have to put the students needs before their own. Days may be very stressful but Mrs. Payne said

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that the stress is what helps motivate her to be the best she can be. (M. Wade & J. Payne,
personal communication, October 10, 2014) At private schools the schedule for the day is very
different than the one at public school. Each teacher, teaches only one subject, but to six different
classes throughout the day. Mr. Wade said that he would much rather only have to focus on one
subject especially if it was one he was passionate about. (M. Wade, personal communication,
October 10, 2014)
Even though the school is much smaller than most others I was curious as to how they
invested in their students. Mrs. Payne not only teaches Chemistry but she is also very passionate
about missions. She leads a trip every year to
different parts of the world to serve others. (J. Payne,
personal communication, October 10, 2014) Through
this she has been able to form relationships and watch
students succeed and grow. Mr. Wade is also
involved in more ways than just one as he is a
Figure 2[Photograph of Mrs. Payne].
(2014)My own picture

baseball coach at the school. He not only gets to

coach and help student to become better players, but

also uses this time to form relationships and mentor all his players. (M. Wade & J. Payne,
personal communication, October 10, 2014) One thing I was interested in was the relationships
they had with their colleagues. I always hear people complain about the people they work with
and I wanted to know if it was the same for teachers. However, it was the complete opposite then
what I had thought. Both of them had huge respect for all the other teachers. They also said that
the principles and other faculty members higher up were wonderful leaders that they admire.
Teaching is not like all other professions. Teachers are responsible for shaping the next

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generations. They get the summers off unlike most careers but work more hours throughout the
week. One of the most important things that they believe everyone who wants to be a teacher
should know, is that never give up and always push yourself because the reward is worth all of
the work. They also said love what you do and do what you love. (M. Wade & J. Payne, personal
communication, October 10, 2014)
History about high school Teachers
In early years high school teachers were not seen as professionals that had a huge role in
society. Instead, they were just seen as help. The only teachers who enjoyed getting recognition
or felt that they actually brought something to their practice were professors at colleges. (Starr
p.1) Teachers are always needed, and people need to recognize that without teachers, their
children would not be educated. Back in the day no one gave teachers the right amount of respect
they deserved. Teachers were not even rewarded for their accomplishments, because all the hard
work that they do is hidden to others. Even from the very first teachers the number of female
teachers outweighed the number of males. (Goodlad p.1) It was thought that women were more
nurturing to children and could provide the right amount of care each child needed, but also
maintain the strictness needed to keep them in order. Also during this time men were either out
fighting in the war and were also being taught how to do task that werent offered to women.
Salaries of teachers are already low but back in the day women only made 40% of what males
made. (Starr p.3)
Teachers were only to teach the alphabet and manners to their students. Thats different
form today because teachers are required to teach all subjects. Many of the students during this
time were girls because most boys were sent to work on their familys farms. The teachers also
were very young because school wasnt offered past their late twenties. (Starr p.1) School to

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teachers and students was only temporary, it was rare to be though of as long term work.
Teaching gave them some sort of social standard but it was very small and no one thought much
of it. During the nineteenth century teaching changed dramatically but became a problem for our
nation. The amount of women who wanted to be teachers grew exponentially and there werent
enough position for all to fill. (Goodlad p.5) Feminist groups started around this time because a
majority of the teachers were women, especially elementary school teachers. There were some
male teachers but they mostly taught high school, but not very many children made it that far.
Careers usually only lasted at most five years before they would just go and work back at home.
Back in the day someone who wanted to be a teacher didnt need a whole lot of schooling.
However as the years went on people began to realize that not everyone had the capabilities of
being a good teacher. In the last couple of years the admission for teachers has become very
tight. (Starr p.2)
Teachers have come a long way from the civil war days to now. Teachers still dont make
as much money as many other professions but teachers are now noticed for what they do.
Without teachers we wouldnt have our lawyers and our doctors or any other occupation that we
need in our everyday lives. Teachers are needed everywhere as the number of children being
born every year is increasing we are in need of people who want to invest their time in the
children and who love what they are doing. (Goodlad p.2) Many people believe that not much
schooling is needed to become a teacher and anyone who gets a degree could easily be one. But
that is not the case it takes a lot of dedication and time and you must have the correct skills to be
able to carry out such task. Teachers are shaping our future and without them we wouldnt get
the education we need. (Starr p.2)
Stereotypes about high school teachers

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One of the biggest stereotypes of teachers is about gender. Many people, when asked
what comes to their mind when someone says teacher, say that they are females. (Maria p.2)
Most people believed that women should not be working and that men are the ones who should
be making the income. But unlike other profession where just in the last couple years more
women are becoming doctors and lawyers, teachers from the beginning have been women. It is
also believed that women dont have the skills to teach the future, that they belong at home
taking care of their children and families. Other people believe that men shouldnt be teachers
either. They believe that men should be doing task such as construction, or practice medicine
because they need to be the ones who support their families. This stereotype has been one of the
biggest debates throughout history because of the issue of sexism. (Goodlad p.1) In todays
society there is an even mix of male and female teachers throughout all levels of schooling. More
men are becoming interested in investing their time into the future and becoming teachers all
across the world.
Another huge stereotype is that teachers dont get paid a lot. (Maria p.1) Many people are
turned away form the idea of teaching because of the amount of income. People believe that a
teacher living on a teachers salary will cause them to rank lower in social class. Money has
become a huge necessity in American because to people they believe that money is what gives
them power over other people. However, it depends though on where the teacher is teaching or
what position the teacher is in. For example college professors will make more than an average
elementary school teacher. Public schools teachers also will make more money than private
school teachers. There is also the issue of how people view teachers. Some people view teachers
as very strict. One reason for this is because they believe they absolutely hate their job because
why would anyone settle to be a teacher. The biggest reason however is that in the old days the

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teachers were allowed to spank students who were bad or physically punish them. (Maria p.1)
However now teachers can discipline students but physical abuse is not allowed.
In TV shows and movies some teachers are portrayed in negative aspects. For example
some female teachers are often a problem for young boys who are attracted to them. Boys will
try to flirt with their teacher to get better grades or to try and make the teacher like them more.
(Starr p.4) It is the same for male teachers who are attractive to female students and the rumors
of teachers hooking up with their students. However these situations may occur they are rare and
there are strict policies against that. Also when getting your class assignment the first thing a
student does is see who their teachers is and ask other students who have had them whether they
were a good teacher or not. These students arent asking whether or not the teacher actually
teaches his/her material in a way that the student understands but that they are easy or hard.
Many teachers are known for being laid back and fun and dont give a lot of work, while some
are very strict and give tons of work to their students. Then there are the substitutes that everyone
takes advantage of. Its the one-day that you are hoping you wont have to do work in a certain
class. And you feel as if they have no idea what they are doing so you take advantage of that.
Yes stereotypes are just things we base off of what other people say or just by our first
impression of someone, but teaching is so much more than all the stereotypes. You may find
some of them to be true but a majority of them no longer exist. (Maria p.3)
Teaching has been one of few careers that have existed for a long period of time. It is also
one of the most modified because of the amount of skills and education needed now to become a
teacher. Teachers have gained more respect in the last couple years because of all of their
dedication and hard work. Although some may still think negatively about teaching many of the

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stereotypes are no longer a problem for people. Teachers are our future and without them none of
us would get to do the careers we have dreamed of doing since we were little kids.

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Reference

Goodlad, J. (1990). Teachers of Our Nation's School. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lexington Christian Academy. (2012, January 1). Retrieved October 21, 2014, from
www.lexigtonchristian.org
Maria Tereas, T. (2011, January 1). The influence of Teacher Education on Teachers' Beliefs
about Purpose of Education, Roles, and Practice. Retrieved October 21, 2014,
from http://ed-share.educ.msu.edu/scan/te/mttatto/TATTO004.PDF

Starr, L. (2010, January 1). Back in the Day: Lessons from Colonial Classrooms.
Retrieved October 10, 2014, from
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson166.shtml
Payne, J. (2014). What makes a teacher: An interview with Jackie Payne [Interviewed by Taylor
E. Navis]
Wade, M. (2014). What makes a teacher: An interview with Mark Wade [Interviewed by Taylor
E. Navis]