Recently, educators from both public and private schools have been leaving the country in search of higher salaries elsewhere.  On the other hand, the more prominent private schools are able to offer more attractive compensation packages due to higher tuition fees.

The Ateneo de Manila University constantly increases the salaries of its teachers based on annual hikes in tuition fees. It also provides subsidies to teachers who intend on enrolling their children at the Ateneo.

Though the intent to increase our teachers’ salaries is evident, local institutions still cannot compete with the salaries of teachers abroad. In the United States, for example, public school teachers earn an average of $40,000 annually (around Php 1,900,000).

The facts presented tend to lead one to the conclusion that many of those employed by the university are possibly underpaid and overworked. Is this really the case?

Why become a teacher?

Teachers in the university have varying motivations for choosing their profession, and these motivations influence their satisfaction with their salaries.

The high school department’s director for admission and aid, Socorro Escarez—also an English teacher before getting promoted to an administrative position—shares that her motivation for teaching was her indebtedness to the Ateneo.

“I decided to go back to the Ateneo to teach because I was able to go to the Ateneo on a full scholarship and I thought that this was a chance for me to give back,” says Escarez. Before teaching, Escarez worked for three years in a corporate setting and was earning a salary double than what she would receive initially as a teacher. She also had to give up travel perks.

Theology instructor Mariles Borja, on the other hand, said that she had already decided as early as senior year in college that she was going to become a teacher. However, like Escarez, Borja tested the waters and worked in advertising for two and a half years first.

Borja eventually went into teaching when a position in her high school alma mater opened up and she decided to apply.

After a few years of teaching juniors in high school, Borja decided to teach in her college alma mater, the Ateneo. She says that the salary she received as a first-year theology professor is less than what her former employer offered.

Unlike Escarez and Borja who were single when they became teachers, Anna Mendiola, Chair of the Marketing and Law department, considers her family as her motivation for teaching.

“I wanted more time for my family and I did not want the corporate life anymore. The corporate life requires you to be [at work] from eight in the morning to six in the evening everyday and I’d be coming home tired,” says Mendiola.

“My son studies in Ateneo. So on a personal level, it was actually right for me to teach in Ateneo [because of the subsidies it offers]. It was also the more flexible option for us because we have sembreaks and summer vacations as well,” adds Mendiola.

Sacrifices and benefits

Even with the drop in salary, Escarez explained that minimal adjustments had to be made given the lifestyle that she already possessed.

“Even before I was a teacher, my family already lived a very simple lifestyle since I was already the family breadwinner. Both of my parents were already old and so, being an only child I was tasked to look out for them and to provide for them,” says Escarez.

Though her position in the high school administration grants her a higher salary, Escarez acknowledges that if she had continued to pursue teaching as a profession she would be still be able to assume the role of breadwinner. There would be sizeable increases in salary as one moved up the ranks.

“Before, when I was younger, I [would] always think I sacrificed a chance to earn more in the corporate setting. Then again as you grow older and start to clarify your values, you realize that your personal fulfillment is well worth the sacrifice you think you made,” adds Escarez.

Borja expected the drastic change in salary from her previous occupation and had taken measures to prepare for it. She had to monitor her personal spending and avoid things she deemed excessive.

Mendiola also prepared for her venture into teaching. She had allotted a certain number of years before retiring from her job and consulted with her husband regarding their finances.

Like Borja, she had to trim down on personal spending. Mendiola also had to give up attending functions and meeting new marketing people, things she admittedly misses.

However, Mendiola acknowledges that the compromise is worth it. She feels less pressured and is able to leave the office by four in the afternoon. She gets to pick up her son from school and spend more time with her family. “For me those things are more important. The older you get, the more important they become,” she adds.

She also cites the general atmosphere of the Ateneo as one of the benefits she receives.

“They take care of us teachers, the way they take care of the students… It is the general welcoming attitude. They ask you what you need. People are friendlier and more professional,” explains Mediola.

Borja says that being able to spend more time with her children and the subsidies for their education in the Ateneo are some of the benefits of being a teacher.

She also values the personal and educational opportunities for growth that teaching provides, describing teaching as an intellectually stimulating profession.

Why continue to teach?

Borja sees teaching as her calling in life. “There is a certain knowing. When I am in the classroom and teaching students, I know that I am in the right place. This is where I am supposed to be. So it has to do with vocation in my life,” explains Borja.

Mendiola shares the same sentiments as Borja, referring to her students as one of the reasons why she continues to teach.

“I have many students who come back to me after they graduate. You meet your students and you see them doing so well; you see that they suddenly get interested in the subject you teach,” says Mendiola.

She cites the “pabaon” that seniors give to their former teachers as another benefit that makes up for the salary she has given up by being a teacher.

“I feel for my former classmates who are still working in the corporate world. They do not have opportunities to have more time and to meet kids like you guys,” she adds.

Escarez stresses that teaching is a profession where there are more psychological than financial rewards.

“I believe that in my 17 years of teaching, I was able to touch some students’ lives, hopefully for the better. Of course, that is ultimately a decision on the boys’ part, but as a teacher I believe we play a very vital role in the formation of students,” says Escarez.

As far as teaching in the Ateneo is concerned, she thinks that the pay is sufficient.

“I think if you comply with the requirements of your position and if you are constantly seeking to upgrade your skills and you are open to professional developments, you will reach a point where you will feel that your pay is not too small for what you do,” says Escarez.

Escarez explains further by saying, “The only reason why we have that sense of dissatisfaction with our pay is that on our end, we also do not do our part in improving ourselves.”

Escarez believes it is ultimately a question of lifestyle.

“If you take your work seriously as a teacher, there’s a particular lifestyle that you have to model to your students and that kind of lifestyle need not be expensive,” she says.

Why teach?

Ateneo professors share their insights on why teaching is worth it.

There is a certain knowing. When I am in the classroom and teaching students, I know that I am in the right place. This is where I am supposed to be. So it has to do with vocation in my life.

– Mariles Borja

I believe that in my 17 years of teaching, I was able to touch some students’ lives, hopefully for the better. Of course, that is ultimately a decision on the boys’ part, but as a teacher I believe we play a very vital role in the formation of students.

– Socorro Escarez

I wanted more time for my family and I did not want the corporate life anymore. The corporate life requires you to be [at work] from eight in the morning to six in the evening everyday and I’d be coming home tired.

– Anna Mendiola