I’ve been teaching for over 3 years now. The best way to protect our passion is to reconceptualize our value as educators.

In the corporate world, our value is determined by the results we produce (test results). I’ve also worked part time. We’re paid by the hour.

Neither time nor results should be the sole indicator of our value. Some of us go the extra mile to ensure students really understand the subject. Some of us take extra care of students well being. Some of us are generous in sharing our experience and knowledge.

By locking down on how we value educators, we’re killing their passion. Slowly over time, we as educators learn that it’s not worth our time to go the extra mile.

Universities (at least mine) ensure that teaching staff gets a holistic evaluation: research, student feedback, etc. But if don’t diversify the values of educators, we’re killing our own education.