Welcome! I am the Teacher Double (I’ll explain below) and I go by Mister D!
Yesterday, I decided I simply had to launch this blog on February 2, 2022. With a name like Teacher Double, and a date that looks like 2/2/22, I figured the blogging gods would smile down at me and fill my sails with wind.
But admittedly, I forced it, as there is still so much I have to learn. Nevertheless, ready or not, I’m launching off into the unknown and I appreciate any of you that want to come along for the ride!
My Back Story
I am an elementary teacher in Massachusetts and have been for the past 12 years. Last year I completely burnt out teaching. I survived alright till the end of the year but just couldn’t envision a path forward that wouldn’t dig me even deeper into the hole I found myself in.
Looking even further down the road to retirement, I simply could not see a path for me to survive 18 more years in order to get my full retirement benefits. I felt as though I had to start a new career, but with so much invested in teaching, and so few prospects outside of teaching, I felt completely stuck.
Burnout
While I’m not proud to say I burnt out teaching, I’m certainly not embarrassed to admit it either. The rates of teacher burnout are rising across the nation and I completely relate to it. I now know that I’m not alone, even though sometimes it can feel that way.
In this blog I absolutely plan to examine the myriad sources as to why I burnt out in the teaching profession. I have plenty to say on the topic as well. But, I also want to hear from you. One of the difficulties I grappled with was the feeling that I was the only one struggling.
I hope that by openly sharing my struggles with you, and hearing about your struggles (or successes) we can learn from one another and find a better path forward for all of us in this incredibly important profession.
Personal Finance and Hope!
After formally submitting my form for a leave of absence, I stumbled upon a world that gave me a lot of hope. It was the world of personal finance and it completely changed my outlook for my teaching career.
No longer did I feel that I had to teach 18 more years and max out my retirement. All of the sudden, after doing a little math, that number dropped to 5-7 more years for me. How much less daunting is that?
I want to give that same hope to any of you out there. By making a few changes in my own financial lifestyle I was able to take years and years off my projected teaching career. Hopefully, when that time comes, I’ll want to continue to teach. But if not, it’s so comforting to know I’ll have options. I want this same thing for you, and I plan to show you how.
There’s no magic investment to unveil, and I certainly won’t be asking any of you to fork over your credit card numbers. I’m simply going to show you the research I did, direct you to those resources if you want them, and tell you how I plan to invest my own money.
My goal is to give you the same sense of hope and career flexibility that I attained by understanding my financial options.
Why Start a Blog?
First off, I am a whole-hearted believer in teachers and education. I’m sure I’ll delve more into this later but essentially I believe that quality teachers and education are some of the most important factors for the betterment of the human race.
Naturally, I want to help out my fellow teachers. But it’s hard to teach when you are so completely bombarded with constant stressors throughout the day. For so many people, teachers or otherwise, money is a huge source of our stress. If I can help allay some of your stress on the job and in your own financial situation as well then that’s worth it to me.
Another reason I’m doing this is because I don’t think it’s completely infiltrated the teaching world. In my final months at my school, I informally surveyed my colleagues at my school. I found out that almost none of them even gave their financial future a second thought. They just put all of their faith in their pension and left it at that. If 95% of the teachers in my school felt that way, then I’m sure there are plenty of other teachers that could use a hand as well.
No Greater Curator
One idea that has always stuck with me in teaching is that we are curators of information. With an overabundance of information in the world, one of our jobs is to carefully select and present what is best for our students at the right time.
I hope that I can be a curator of information for you. I plan to find information on personal finance, education, wellness and more. I’ll present it to you all here in a carefully curated manner.
So What’s With the Name?
My aim was for a double entendre of sorts. One reason I chose it is the aforementioned personal finance angle. In finance, I’ve always been drawn to the rule of 72. I’ll go into this more in-depth later, but basically it’s a formula to help you calculate how quickly your money will double in value. This is a powerful concept that has always intrigued me. I like the idea of all of us continually doubling up our savings!
The second piece of the name addresses the idea that I’ve never felt completely at home as a teacher. I studied something completely different in college and never considered teaching until my late 20’s. I’ve been a good colleague but have also privately questioned a lot of the practices in education. Feeling like somewhat of an imposter would be one way to put it. Another way of putting it is that I felt like a double agent (I’m definitely doing a Dr. Evil impression for that last line).
In Summary
I appreciate you taking the time to read this far. I hope you will find this blog to be entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking. I believe in teachers and I want you to know all of the options at your disposal.
Personally, I understand that I have a lot to learn on the matter of blogging. In teaching, I knowingly encourage my students to take a chance or try something new. Now it is my turn to practice what I preach. That is exactly what I plan to do and I look forward to hearing from you along the way.
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