Reply to Is being a teacher a death sentence when it comes to finding a partner?

Forum Index » LGBTQIA+ Issues and Relationship Discussion

Reply to "Is being a teacher a death sentence when it comes to finding a partner? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]My brother is in his mid-20s, gay, lives in DC, and teaches. He’s well-educated, handsome, and has a degree from a highly-regarded university.

The other day I talked to him, and he said that he wants to leave teaching and aim for a high-paying career, but he’s still trying to figure out which career would get him the most money the fastest. I was shocked because although I know he didn’t want to stay in teaching permanently, he is a relatively new teacher and otherwise likes his job: he finds education rewarding, loves his school, and loves his students/colleagues. He thinks “hardly in DC would ever date or marry a teacher.”

I’m confused because I’ve never heard of people in DC rejecting teachers for their salaries before. I know there is elitism in the DC area regarding education, but teachers are educated people, so I didn’t think it would negatively impact them. All of my friends who are teachers and lived in DC are married, and many of them have spouses who make far more than they do. Then again, they are all women, and I know that having a higher salary can be a bigger deal for men than for women, so maybe I’m missing something here.

We grew up in MoCo and went to a “W” high school (Whitman). While the high striver culture there didn’t impact me as much, I remember that it took a toll on my brother a lot when he was there. My parents were also always pushy on him and still are. They pushed him to do med in college (he switched majors in the middle of college, which my parents were NOT happy about). They also constantly push him to leave teaching and compare him to our male cousins (who are not too far in age from him) and are in med school, finished school and make 6-figures, etc and I know that makes my brother feel bad about himself and feel inadequate. I’m pretty sure my parents also told my brother that nobody would marry someone with a teacher salary, so I think that might be part of where he got that idea from as well.

So what is it: is my brother right, or is he just brainwashed by my parents/where we grew up? [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics