The Weary Giving Tree: What Does a Teacher Owe to This World?

Giving, and giving, and giving

“And the tree was happy…..” The children’s book The Giving Tree follows the relationship between a little boy and a tree as the little boy goes through his life. From giving her shade and apples, to eventually giving all of her wood, the tree gives and gives and is left as a stump at the end of the book. Each gift throughout the years results in these words: “and the tree was happy.” While this is seemingly a sweet story about generosity, it also raises an important question about overextending: is it really good to give, and give, and give? [1] Was the tree truly happy, or was her happiness coated in ignorance? Is true generosity possible without the destruction of oneself?  When giving oneself to any care-centered career, the cost of selflessness and losing identity must be considered. As a future teacher, I feel eager to pour into students and pass on knowledge and an excitement for learning. But when faced with  the reality of the education system in America, the cost of giving myself to students year after year seems inherently self-destructive. With over one-third of teachers saying that they are likely to quit in the next two years, it is crucial to consider what is going on in the world of education [2] as everyone is affected by education. From high rates of mental health issues in both students and teachers to an increasing number of school shootings, teachers are constantly surrounded by the painful reality of giving themselves to others again, and again, and again. So, I ask, what does a teacher owe to this world?

A Teacher’s Responsibility

The role of a teacher is an innately caregiving career. A classroom consists of students who each bring with them individual experiences, making the role of the teacher more than just someone who simply imparts academic knowledge, but rather someone who also cares for the social and emotional growth of each student. It is the role of a teacher to care for anywhere from 20 to 100 children with whom they have no biological connection. No doubt this is a heavy burden for teachers to carry, especially in the wake of 82 school shootings in 2023 alone. Teachers must wrestle with what it means to walk into school each morning when all but five states have had school shootings in the last two decades [3].  Additionally, one must consider the limited benefits of being a teacher in America. According to the National Education Association, on average, teachers make $3,644 less than they did 10 years ago when adjusted for inflation [4]. Not only do they make less than they did 10 years ago, but the wage gap between teachers and comparable college graduates has hit its widest level since 1960 [5]. While many teachers obtain benefits such as pension plans and health insurance, the RAND Corporation reported that nearly fifty nine percent of teachers say they’re burned out, experiencing job-related stress due to post pandemic numbers, managing student behavior, taking on extra work because of staff shortages, and supporting student mental health and well being [6]. In 2022, it was reported that about seventeen percent of teachers had jobs outside of the school system, and on average, regular full-time teachers in public K–12 schools spent 52 hours per week on school-related activities, including 25 hours that they were paid to deliver instruction to students. [7] Knowing the brokenness of the system, what prompts someone to even pursue teaching as a career in the first place? Is a teacher morally responsible to care for the world in this way? I know that relationships with my students will be the most influential part of teaching. However, given all of the disadvantages of the career, is it really worth giving my life to being a teacher? 

An Influential Teacher

“Oh, it’s for the kids,” you could reply. Of course this is true; ask any student or adult who wants to go into education, and I can promise you that they have teachers they hope to one day emulate—and others to avoid. For me, it was Mr. Fenley. No stranger to grief, broken relationships, and the lifelong process of learning through life, Mr. Fenley provided a listening ear, encouragement, and care beyond measure. “I’m smelling what you’re stepping in” was a phrase I heard a lot in my 7th and 8th grade years, a phrase that, in the most middle school way, signified that I was heard and understood. In perhaps the most important developmental stage of growing up, the years of middle and high school are years of separating yourself from your family and, at the same time, learning how to maintain relationships with those that will continue to stay by your side. It was through a constant effort to understand me and through these phrases of reassurance that Mr. Fenley set up one of the most important relationships in my life, a mentoring relationship throughout high school and to today. Becoming a teacher would allow me to one day offer that to one of my students—something I am truly excited for—but simply thinking about that life-long giving already feels draining.

Lives of Learning

Clearly, choosing to teach “for the kids” results in some beautiful relationships, but is it really worth the long years of giving without proper compensation and resources? Taking a step back, consider the word homo sapien, “wise human.” [7] That is, by nature, every one of us carries within ourselves a legacy of knowledge handed down to us. We are all, in a deep sense, learners. One of the most foundational human experiences is the experience of learning. From the moment we step into the world, many of us are carried into the world by doctors who have worked countless sleepless hours to gain medical licenses and then bring life into the world. In having us, our parents take on the most expansive role of teaching, committing to a lifetime of caring for us, teaching what it means to be a human in the world. They help foster or hurt our sense of empathy, love, curiosity, and much more. Aside from the home, there is nothing quite as universal as the experience of education, whether formal or informal, traditional or untraditional. Teaching is essential to this world, but teaching well requires human connection, patience, and endurance—in a word: self-sacrifice. Teaching is hard, but teachers are necessary for humanity.  So why are so many teachers hopeless in their profession? Hope is an essential value stepping into any career with a low retention rate, but where can we find a hope great enough to give the strength needed for a career that might often leave you worn out, with little material benefits? As a teacher, what can I hope in? 

Finding Hope

Where to find hope is an essential question that is certainly not exclusive to just teachers. Spend one minute browsing the news, and it is clear that hope is essential to survival. Everyone has been affected by the world that we live in in different ways. Christians believe that they have a sure and certain hope, an anchor in a stormy world [8]. This kind of hope recognizes the hardships of life—especially a life of giving. While Christians believe God grants hope to anchor them, that doesn’t mean they won’t feel rocked by the waves of this world. But what truly matters, is not how rocky the waves are, but how deep the anchor goes. The story of Christianity is one of redemption, one that promises full restoration at the end, where there will be no more tears or pain [9]. It is ultimately in grounding oneself simultaneously in the hope of a perfect future to come and a God of all comfort who provides strength in times of need that Christians find purpose on this earth. So, as Christians step into a deeply broken system, they do so with an understanding that true redemption will come one day, and while they wait for that to happen, they aim to bring images of beauty and ultimately offer hope in the midst of a broken system. This does not exempt Christians from the pain of the world and the oppression of broken systems, nor does it excuse Christians to perpetuate a broken system or fail to care for those less fortunate. Rather, Christianity creates a reason to fight for joy in a broken system, a reason to value each and every human being that comes into their classroom, and a hope in a God who is not ignorant of the pain of the world. Christians believe that their hope gives them the reason and means to give their lives to lovingly teach others. 

Jesus, the Great Teacher

It is in pursuing living like Jesus that Christians find not only a sense of hope but also a model of how to teach. As a Christian going into education, I believe that Jesus offers a beautiful example of what it looks like to be a good teacher. Jesus was a teacher, who spent much of his life on earth dedicated to teaching the crowds—some who followed him passionately, and others who rejected him brutally. He taught with implicit and explicit instruction, balancing the use of parables and cultural references while encouraging the critical thinking of his listeners. Jesus taught with culturally relevant pedagogy, challenging the racial divides of his time, and encouraging a radical change in a culture that was deeply divided between groups of people. His students came from all over, as Jesus taught regular crowds, social outcasts, and religious leaders, drawing on each of his students’ funds of cultural and literacy knowledge. Importantly, Jesus also knew when it was time to rest. Frequently throughout the Bible, Jesus withdrew from the crowds, spending time alone, recharging, and recentering himself. Surrounded by the pressure of being enough and often losing their identity along the way, teachers must determine their identity outside of who they are as a teacher. Jesus didn’t teach to prove himself to be good enough, but taught out of who Christians believe he truly was—God in flesh. In speaking of Jesus, this is not to say that Christians are better teachers, nor is it to assume that every Christian going into education will stay in education or should enter education. Becoming a ‘giver-tree’ teacher isn’t the goal of being a Christian in education. But living under the great example of Jesus, the perfect teacher, who cheers on his followers with love, gives them strength to endure hardship, turns the selfless task of teaching into a moment of transformation. 

Giving to Greater Ends

Teaching is one of the most uniquely taxing careers. It takes love, energy, patience, and a whole lot of care to stand in front of a room of students and care for every one of them while leaving energy to care for yourself and others. It is a career that forces those in it to wrestle with the weight of the world, and it is a career that will test the limits of what you hope in and where you gain your strength. However, it is also arguably one of the most beautiful careers, as life at school contains moments of identity development, friendship formation, and curiosity flourishing. As G.K. Chesterton states, “Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” Every human on this earth will feel the effects of a broken education system, whether directly or indirectly, and, therefore, should take the time to consider what education in this world entails. A teacher’s job may seem to hopelessly mimic an attitude of giving and giving and naively being happy, as many perceive the tree in The Giving Tree. But a teacher who knows their source of life, joy, and ultimately life purpose can resiliently give to those under their care while maintaining their identity. So to future, former, and current educators, what does a teacher owe to this world?

1. Grant, Adam, and Allison Sweet Grant. “We Need to Talk about ‘The Giving Tree.’” The New York Times, April 15, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/parenting/we-need-to-talk-about-the-giving-tree.html.
2. Will, Madeline. “Teachers Are Stressed and Disrespected, but Happier than Last Year: 7 Takeaways from New Poll.” Education Week, May 22, 2023. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/teachers-are-stressed-and-disrespected-but-happier-than-last-year-7-takeaways-from-new-poll/2023/05.
3. Matthews, Alex. “School Shootings in the US: Fast Facts.” CNN, March 7, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/us/school-shootings-fast-facts-dg/index.html.
4. Walker, Tim. “Teacher Salaries Not Keeping up with Inflation, NEA Report Finds.” NEA. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/teacher-salaries-not-keeping-inflation-nea-report-finds.
5. 29, Sylvia Allegretto • September. “Teacher Pay Penalty Still Looms Large: Trends in Teacher Wages and Compensation through 2022.” Economic Policy Institute. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.epi.org/publication/teacher-pay-in-2022/#full-report.
6. Will, Madeline. “Stress, Burnout, Depression: Teachers and Principals Are Not Doing Well, New Data Confirm.” Education Week, June 23, 2022. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/stress-burnout-depression-teachers-and-principals-are-not-doing-well-new-data-confirm/2022/06
7. “Public and Private Schools Reported Difficulty Filling Teaching Vacancies during the First Full Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Press Release – Public and Private Schools Reported Difficulty Filling Teaching Vacancies During the First Full Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic – December 13, 2022. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://nces.ed.gov/whatsnew/press_releases/12_13_2022.asp.
8. “Homo Sapiens.” Encyclopædia Britannica, February 16, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Homo-sapiens.
9. Hebrews 6:19, ESV.
10. Revelation 21:1-4, ESV.