Sometimes it's not just a job...

The view from the Janitor's closet can be enlightening if you look hard enough.  Sometimes you don't need to look hard at all.  If you are fortunate enough enlightenment hits you right in the face.  It's undeniable, it's unavoidable, and, more often than not, it's unbelievable.  I was enlightened by many things during my tenure as a custodian.  Daily, teachers would inspire me, administration would encourage me, and students would lift my spirits.  I was privileged to work with some of the finest people I know on a daily basis. But there was one group of co-workers I worked alongside that opened my eyes to a truth that, I believe, is one of the greatest attributes of an employee and person.  In a school setting we know them as Paras and cooks, secretaries and custodians, maintenance workers and bus drivers.  These are just a few of the jobs that put you in a category so secret I dare not continue the list.  That's right, these jobs, in a school setting, are considered...CLASSIFIED.

In most school districts there are classified workers and certified workers.  Certified workers are salaried positions and consists of positions like teachers, counselors, administration, and librarians.  Classified workers are paid hourly wages and, most of the time, their pay hovers close to or slightly above minimum wage.  That is not always true depending on the school district.  Now, before you decide to stop reading this post because you think I am about to go off on some rant about pay equity in our country...STOP.  This post isn't about staff who worked too hard for the wage they got paid.  Rather, this post is about the incredible people I watched work their butts off in spite of the wage they got paid.

I was taught by my parents to work hard no matter what job you had or what type of pay you received for that job.  I knew and believed that as a concept as well as a practical life application. I admire those who are willing to work hard for a wage and I thought I knew what hard work was...until I worked in a school.  To say that teachers work hard is about as obvious as saying the sky is blue. Of course it's an understatement and most everyone knows it.  But, I wonder how many people realize how hard the Classified staff of a school works?  

We can argue the fact that teachers don't get paid enough money to do the job they are asked to do.  It's not a new argument and I am not quite sure why it is even an argument.  Teachers don't get paid enough...period.  But rarely does the argument about Classified staff pay ever come up when educational spending is discussed.  I've seen paraprofessionals cry in closets because of the stress they endure in the classroom.  I've seen kitchen staff who are barely able to move after a hard day in the cafeteria.  I've worked alongside maintenance workers trying to fix a boiler at three in the morning and I've watched secretaries screamed at by angry parents.  The point of this blog is not to argue that people who have to experience these types of situations should be paid more although I think they should.  The point I am trying to make in this post is that these people, on a daily basis, work way beyond their paygrade. It's very easy to tell ourselves as a worker, "I don't get paid enough to do that."  It's quite another thing to go above and beyond your job description, not because your pay scale requires it but because your work ethic demands it.

I had the great privilege of working alongside some of the hardest working people I have ever met in my life.  They were teachers and paras, secretaries and nurse aides, maintenance and administration, classified and certified.  The view from the Janitor's closet opened my eyes to many truths about life and work ethic was one of them.  I learned some other valuable lessons along the way as well.  Lessons like:

1. Never judge a person's capabilities by their job title.

2. Pay doesn't equal performance

3. In a school, Classified means invaluable.

and finally,

4. When it comes to schools... no one gets paid enough!

So, the next time you are in your local school attending a parent/teacher conference, grandparents luncheon, school musical, or the myriad of other school events don't forget to take time to thank the para's and custodians, nurses aides and cafeteria workers, secretaries and assistants, who enable that school to run.  I could go on and on describing the incredible people doing incredible jobs behind the scenes in our schools today.  I could do that...but it's classified!

See ya next time!