This article is the second in a series of articles providing tips for educators. In this article we focus on the idea that educators need to pay attention to the money. While it may be true that many people enter the field of education out of a sense of calling rather than a desire for financial gain, money matters. Educators need to care about money because of big-picture concerns.
Supporting Sustainable Educational Initiatives
Educators are engage in a number of activities and initiatives where the availability of sustainable funding options determine success or failure. For example, curriculum design, professional development, and joint school-community programs need financial planning and future funding or they will be short-lived or under-resourced. As a result, these programs may never go from the planning stage to the action stage. Or, they may be snuffed out before their true benefit is felt by stakeholders. Finally, without adequate attention paid to the funding, successful activities and initiatives may be snuffed out.
Ensuring Equitable Compensation and Staffing
Educators often speak about the importance of equity in education. It is important to understand that this equity must include fair compensation for educators. Like workers in other industries, educators deserve fair pay. When educators pay proper attention to money they are able to ensure that teachers, consultants, administrators, and other players in education receive compensation that reflects their expertise, talent, and labor.
Navigating Institutional Budgets
It is important to pay attention to the money on both macro and micro levels. For example, educators must pay attention to budgets for schools and school districts. They must also understand how their budgets are impacted by local, state, and federal budgets. When educators have this understanding, they are better able to negotiate for the programs and contracts that are in line financial realities faced by their institutions.
Strategically Scaling Impact
In many cases, an important part of providing quality education on a long-term basis means looking at the ability to scale strategically. If a program is successful in one school or one college, educators often look at spreading the successful impact across an entire district or university. Administrators who have a good amount of financial literacy are able to make forecasts, determine return on investment and thus make informed, strategic decisions about program growth and outreach.
Modeling Financial Responsibility for Students and Communities
Educators, by nature of the work they do are role models. When they show financial savvy, educators model that behavior in their classrooms, institutions, and the world at large. Educators must pay attention to all aspects of the money involved in their work. This example encourages others to be more fiscally responsible. When all members of society are fiscally aware and savvy, they are able to make better financial decisions and provide a better educational environment.
Conclusion
It is important to understand that keeping the mind on the money and the money on their minds is a part of the calling to work as an educator. Money fuels and sustains educational initiatives, makes equitable compensation possible and helps educators navigate societal fiscal realities. Money makes it possible to scale responsibly. When educators realize that financial literacy is an important part of their educational toolkits, it is possible for them to thrive on their educational journeys and help secure the future of their educational efforts.
Please click here for a complete list of the articles in the 20 Tips for Educators series.
Further Reading
Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women by Maya Angelou
20 Tips for Educators a Powerful and Informative Series
Unleash the Fire Within: Maya Angelou’s Lifegiving Wisdom for Educators
About the Author
Dr. Janeane Davis is Founder and Principal Consultant at Janeane Davis and Associates: Educational Consultants. Most of her writing begins at a well-lit desk where strategy meets storytelling and systems take shape around real lives. Her consulting work centers families, scholars, and institutions committed to equity—and she writes to bring clarity to complex questions, especially those often left unasked.
Desk light on. Pages open. Always listening.