QUALITIES OF LIFE: THE CHANGING ROLES OF TEACHERS

"I'm a social worker. I'm a psychologist. I'm parents for some of those children. What society expects from teachers is much more than I first encountered. We're raising some of these kids."

-- Brenda Woemmel, teacher

Veteran teachers have seen their roles change dramatically in the past 20 or more years. Increasing expectations from federal and state agencies and society at-large make a teacher's job tough, educators say.

But those who love it stay in the game.

"I love it here," said Joyce Barylski, an English teacher at the Alternative Education Center. "It's a tough job, but once you get to know some of these kids, it's worth every minute."

Barylski said students at the alternative school are considered "hard cases," but in most cases they are acting out because they suffer from frustration with the school system or with their home life.

Teachers have to deal with that frustration from an entire class at times, and it can make some reconsider their career choice, she said .

"It's not for the light-hearted," said Barylski. "You have to love this to keep doing it."

Central Junior High social-studies teacher Brenda Woemmel agreed. Woemmel, a 23-year educator, said her role has become much more complex than it was when she began teaching. Students are less inclined to participate in school activities, and teachers have to work harder to build enthusiasm, she said.

"I don't want to come across as totally negative because there are lots of good children who are interested in doing things, but it's not the way it used to be," she said. "It's doable, but you've got to use more gimmicks and so on."

Today, teachers have to deal with social, health and behavioral issues with every child they encounter, in addition to trying to prepare and teach a curriculum, Woemmel said. The job is made more difficult by what appears to be an "increasing lack of parental concern and interest in their child's education."

"Education just doesn't seem to be valued the way it was in the past," she said. "A lot of the time when you have a problem student and you speak to the parent, you immediately know why you're having problems with that student."

Dr. Ferrell Ervin, Cape Girardeau Board of Education president, said teachers also are required to complete more paperwork and have a "larger body of knowledge" than they once needed. Teachers in one-room schoolhouses knew a lot about various academic subjects, but today's educators know a lot about subjects that could affect a child's life, he said.

"Teachers have always been mentors and counselors for students, but I think what we're seeing is more and more a situation where the teacher has to have some knowledge of health issues, some knowledge of psychological issues, so that they can help the child along."

Woemmel said teachers are more involved in a child's life than she remembers in the past.

"I'm a social worker. I'm a psychologist. I'm parents for some of those children. What society expects from teachers is much more than I first encountered. We're raising some of these kids," she said.

Woemmel expects a teacher shortage in the future because of the demanding roles and lackluster salaries teachers receive. The apparent lack of appreciation for their work could also cause educators to look elsewhere for jobs, she said.

"People are starting to recognize we need to pay teachers better," she said. "It's improving in some places, but that's not true in Cape Girardeau.

"We will have teacher flight from this district if salaries don't go up," Woemmel said. "We're increasingly being outpaced by even very small districts, and it will impact the quality of teacher who remains here."

Ervin believes the school board appreciates the complex role teachers have and hopes to improve their pay.

"The district has tried to make changes so that in the long run it's going to be beneficial to teachers," he said. "It's my hope that when they wait and see they will see we have made changes that will favorably impact them in the future."