Many people feel that teachers don’t get paid enough considering how important their job is and how hard they work. A middle school teacher named Mahalia Aponte agrees that teachers need to be paid an amount that they can live on, and she’s quitting her job due to low pay; however, she feels that the problem is not her salary but how the salary is paid.
Aponte moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, after the school year had already started. She applied for a position at Garfield Middle School, and she was hired. She started her new job three months after the school year had begun. She loved teaching at the school, but she was hardly able to cover her rent on her salary.
Watch the video below to hear Aponte explain why she was not able to make ends meet on her salary at Garfield Middle School and what she plans to do instead of teach.
Watch Aponte tell her class she is no longer going to be their teacher in the TikTok below.
@mividamahaliawe have to value ourselves and demand that our districts pay us a liveable wage.♬ original sound – M Alyssa Aponte
Many people commented on Aponte’s video pointing out that she must be an amazing teacher since her students sound so very sad that she is leaving. One comment reads, “I don’t even know you, but just by hearing their reactions speaks volumes on what an amazing teacher you have been to them! Chin up.”
Another person commented, “The thing is the kids understand. We’ve got bills to pay.” Aponte replied to the comment writing, “yes, they’ve written me goodbye letters saying that they’re upset the district doesn’t pay like they should.”
In a follow-up TikTok, Aponte went into detail about why she is quitting her teaching job. She explained that she agreed to the salary, but she never agreed to how she was paid. She said that at every other teaching position she has had, she was always given the option of having her salary paid out over 12 months, or for a higher per month salary, paid out over the 9 month school year. She was not given that option at Garfield Middle School. She explained that she’s not complaining about her salary. She simply needs the option of being able to choose how her salary is divided in order to avoid working two jobs.
Do you think teachers should be paid more? Do you know any teachers who have to work two jobs to make ends meet?