For the Win

Great jobs for Teaching Artists are available, even now. But the chances that you'll make a living solely on your Teaching Artist wages do seem to be to be slimmer than ever. As Paul Krugman of the New York Times has noticed, there is "growing evidence that our governing elite just doesn’t care — that a once-unthinkable level of economic distress is in the process of becoming the new normal."

As I've said before, and will again, Teaching Artists deserve a living wage, a pension and decent health care. Unless it's a full-time gig with health care, $20 per hour is a poverty wage. Some may argue, in good faith, that there isn't much our non-profit leaders can do--the funding streams have all dried up, and expenses are high. But there is still the fact that workers have to eat, and, in the immortal words of Ralph Kramden's mother-in-law, "I have no doubt the bills are high, but how much of the food are the Teaching Artists actually getting?*

Below, just after the necessary music video, are the results of our daily job search, courtesy of Idealist.org. Keyword "Teaching Artist". Good luck teaching artists, and whatever you do, don't panic!

Sing-along: Lauryn Hill - Everything is Everything








Idealist.org - Jobs
Daily Job Search: Key Word "Teaching Artist" (Don't Panic!)



Piano Department Head, Diller-Quaile School of Music
Posted on: Tue Aug 3 14:04:20 2010


Program Associate, DreamYard Project
Posted on: Tue Aug 3 12:03:26 2010



Artistic Director, Project HIP-HOP
Posted on: Tue Aug 3 09:16:12 2010



Office Manager, Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA)
Posted on: Mon Aug 2 19:17:27 2010



Alternate Routes Program Director, Side Street Projects
Posted on: Mon Aug 2 17:27:02 2010



Dance Instructor, Center for Family Life in Sunset Park
Posted on: Sun Aug 1 20:12:02 2010



Theater Instructor, Center for Family Life in Sunset Park
Posted on: Sun Aug 1 20:13:07 2010



Groundwork for Youth Campus Director, Groundwork
Posted on: Fri Jul 30 12:27:30 2010



Associate Director of Education, Philadelphia Young Playwrights
Posted on: Thu Jul 29 17:18:14 2010



Teaching Artist, Changing Worlds
Posted on: Thu Jul 29 11:01:11 2010

To Live

According to our daily job search @ www.idealist.org (don't panic!) some great teaching artist jobs are still available, even during the great depression. That's good news!

Distressingly, with fee scales of $15 - $20 per hour,  there are some other TA gigs that don't seem to actually pay enough to live on, especially if the teaching artist likes to do silly things like pay rent, purchase health insurance, or eat.

$20/hour x 40 hours per week comes to a paltry $38,400 before taxes, and since New York is one of the most expensive cities in the world, even the lucky teaching artist who somehow manages to cobble together a full 40 hours worth of work per week would still be poor at that rate. 

It seems perfectly reasonable to think that if a job requires a person to have a college degree, then the job should pay a decent wage, and take into account the realities of the marketplace. Teaching artists don't get 40 hours worth of work per week. Maybe there should be fewer of us? That way we could charge more money.

In other news: In New York state, a bill offers Nannies and other domestic workers hope for substantive workplace protections. If enacted, the new law will require employers to provide paid holidays, sick days and vacation days for domestic workers, but not teaching artists, we are not on the list.

In Health: The New York Times' Prescriptions blog says it helps readers make sense of the new health care law. My big questions are about eligibility for the new health care exchanges and subsidies. I would make a list of the critical issues, but I can't. It's all so confusing, and the start date of 2014 is so far away. What does it all add up to? Do you have to be poor to purchase insurance? If so, where are the forms, and when do we start filling them out? What changed? When does it start? 

Is this thing on?

In real estate:  A decent apartment in New York City is probably more than most teaching artists can afford,  especially while paying off a new $100,000 university degree.

Also: Boll Weevil - Pink Anderson