The summer heat has definitely settled into the desert, but it hasn’t stopped our learning fun at MMA! Our kiddos are in full summer excitement mode, and our teachers are having just as much fun as our students with all of the incredible programming they’re creating.
It’s such a blessing to see our Team coming to work every day, passionate about their roles, because they know their work is meaningful. They are happily investing their hearts and souls into the mission, and they believe it’s a privilege to shape the hearts and minds of our next generation.
Teachers are one of the most, if not the most, underrated and under-appreciated professions in the world. No one goes into education for the money. (Even people who choose teaching for the long summer breaks usually have to get summer jobs now in order to make ends meet!) Most teachers start off in their career because they truly love children and want to make a difference. But, unfortunately, that idealism doesn’t usually last long.
Sadly, these same passionate teachers are usually completely disenchanted within their first decade of teaching, beat up and beat down by bureaucratic nonsense, political propaganda, and often hostile parents that keep them working long hours for little pay…and suck the joy out of everything they’re doing.
At MMA, we’re working to change all that. Part of revolutionizing education is shifting that paradigm. We believe teachers should have the opportunity to create meaningful and rewarding careers, just like every other citizen as part of their basic right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Quite frankly, if we as a Nation have a hope and a prayer for our next generation, we must do something to fix the mass exodus from the teaching industry.
Statistics show that teaching has been one of the hardest hit industries by the pandemic. Since COVID, over 300,000 teachers have left the profession. Why should they stay? Being overworked, under-paid, stressed out, strung out, and living for Friday is no way to live. Today, it’s easier to take a shift driving for Lyft or InstaCart than to deal with the hassle of cranky kids and licensing regulations.
As parents, we also need a fresh perspective on how we view teachers. Our children’s teachers spend more waking hours than we do with our children. And we’re entrusting them to educate our offspring – to shape their hearts and minds and develop them into the future leaders of our world. All while knowing they’re paid peanuts!
So a big part of our mission to radically revolutionize global education is to fight for strong pay, benefits, and quality of life for our teachers. This is something we can only do in the private sector through fundraising and creating awareness. The public education system ship has sailed, so our chances of success are much higher by building our own system.
It’s interesting to note that almost every single industry head and thought leader has an opinion on education, yet no one has an actual plan for education. This is part of our long-term plan, and it’s very exciting to see the initial stages come together. As a tiny, under-funded non-profit operation, this is a big mountain to climb and a long row to hoe, yet we feel confident that we can get there.
But this revolution is a two way street. Our teachers must be willing to show up every day with a fresh and passionate commitment to work hard with an extremely positive attitude, collaborative spirit, growth mindset, and willingness to think outside the box to solve problems and create greatness, all with a spirit of excellence, empathy, and grace. That is no small feat!
And this is why we are so selective in our hiring process. It takes a lot of time and sifting to find like-minded educators who share our passion, vision, and work ethic. Then, once we do find them, that’s only the beginning of the journey. The levels of professional development required to create our vision by building a whole army of equally committed individuals is a never-ending process.
This revolution is just that: a revolution. It’s not an overnight answer. It’s not a quick fix. In order to truly solve this problem, we can’t merely skim the surface with a half-hearted effort. We must eliminate the microwave mentality and commit to the long haul. And we must be fiercely committed to the teamwork trifecta of teachers, parents, and administrators. Because if we’re not willing to step out of our comfort zone and solve this problem, we’re leaving a very, very big mess for our children to clean up.
We’re honored to be fighting side-by-side in this revolution with you, working toward the same vision of creating an education system that empowers and equips each child to discover, cultivate, and shine their own special light…and then use that light to make their world a better place.
