After a soft knock on the door emblazed with “Teacher Recruitment and Retention,” a shy 17-year-old high school senior came into the little office and was greeted by a cheery “Good Morning” from Director Cherish Bjyorgland.

“Welcome to our new office on Teacher Recruitment and Retention — first in North Dakota,” started Cherish. “What can I do to encourage you to become a North Dakota teacher?”

“I’m Mittsy Morgan from Westown and I will be graduating and I think I would like to be a teacher,” the reticent student replied. “I suppose my first concern is about salaries.”

Cherish: Depends on where you teach. The smaller districts are strapped so they pay less but if you work hard you can eventually get into a bigger city school where salaries are better. Our state average is around $55,000.

Mittsy: I heard that the Minnesota average is around $60,000 — that’s $5,000 more each year.

 Cherish: Yes, but taxes are higher in Minnesota and there may be unions.  Besides, it’s such a big state that the teachers have to strike for wages. 

Mittsy: But if I get $5,000 less and teach 20 years, that will cost me $100,000 to teach in North Dakota. Will that ever change?

Cherish: Not likely. The legislature is more interested in tax cuts but we may have term limits and that could change priorities but we will still be North Dakota. The federal government is already chipping in 12%. But we can hope.

Mittsy: So that’s the salary outlook. Tell me about work in the classroom.

Cherish: It varies with the age of your students. If you teach third grade or under, you become a sort of mom to a number of kids who come from broken or deadbeat homes.

Mittsy: Will they have classes in education to help deal with needy and slow kids?

Cherish: You will get some about slow  learners and child psychology but there will be mom jobs right out of the blue. Now trying to be a comfort and support for needy kids can be dangerous. Doing too much will embarrass the moms — good or bad — and they will become tigers.

Mittsy: I hear bullying is a school problem. If I have a bully, can I just rap him or her on the head?

Cherish: Oh no! You can’t lay your finger on a bully without the mom calling the sheriff, the press, or the governor. Another sensitive area is your curriculum. In some districts, there are a few parents with their own agendas and they want to have parent committees to review your material before you teach. One thing prohibited by state law is teaching about slavery.

Mittsy: Don’t we all teach the same basic material?

Cherish: To be honest, in some districts it becomes political.

Mittsy: Political!!! Would you suggest that I take some political science courses so I can deal with that? Teaching seems to be more than just facts. But I’ve never had a job that paid $55,000 before. Is that all take-home money?

Cherish: Not quite. It depends on how charitable you want to be. In many districts, teachers pay for paper, pencils and other school supplies out of their pockets. Sometimes even backpacks and jackets. 

Mittsy: Do Minnesota teachers have to buy school supplies or backpacks or jackets out of their money?

Cherish: We don’t know that much about Minnesota teachers, just that they have more support from the state.

Mittsy: It seems that teaching these days is more than teaching.

Cherish: That’s very true, Mittsy. A challenging opportunity. I hope you keep us high on your priorities. 

Mittsy rose from her chair and walked slowly to the door. Then she turned to Cherish.

“Do you have any information about social work?” she asked as she opened the door and wandered out thoughtfully.