NEA Members Flood Us With Response to Student Loan Piece

Talk about their money and NEA members will talk back. Educators from across the country are responding to our January story, "My Debt, My Life," about the staggering student loan debt that prospective and current teachers are amassing. Most troubling is that debt is scaring qualified teaching candidates away from the profession, or causing active teachers to abandon the classroom for other professions.

Even for NEA members whose student loan debts are long ago paid off (or were never accrued in the first place) the debt is having an impact. Association activists tell us in the piece that they're having a harder and harder time getting young people to understand the benefits of membership because they are so distracted by their loan debt

Many members shared their own student loan debt stories. Writes New York City member Audrey Padilla:

"When I read your article, tears ran down my cheeks. I realized how much Iwasn't alone. It's so unfortunate that so many talented teachers continue to struggle financially to pay back student loans, while doing something they value as a profession. I owe about $85,000 in student loans. Out of desperation, I wrote to my local representatives for help, and posted a website to ask for donations, but nothing came out of these efforts. Although, I'm still trying to be optimistic, positive thinking can only take you so far. I wish members of Congress could see the unfortunate situation that many of our nation's teachers are facing, and understand that not addressing this issue will only scare off our teachers of tomorrow."

Others contended that teachers with student loan debt knew or should have known what they were getting into when they signed their paperwork and took the money. Writes retired teacher James Pharris of Whites Creek, Tennessee:

"Are these "stressed out students" (my description) living in economically available housing, using public transportation, etc.? How much of their income do they use for cell phones, eating out, alcoholic drinks, attending movies, concerts or ball games. The bottom line seems to me that young people of today have been taught no responsibility, achieve immediate gratification, and have certainly not been taught or have not learned to use their money wisely. They certainly have not been taught patience."

As with the young NEA members interviewed in the story, several letter writers reiterated that no matter how much of a struggle life with the debt is, they believe it's worth it to keep them doing a job they love. Writes 37-year-old Kristina Bogner, 37, a Corona, California, high school teacher with $40,000 in student loans:

"I don't look at it as debt, I look at it as an investment in my future. Some people might think nothing of spending that kind of money on a car, a recreational vehicle, or a vacation. Who can argue that one's education is the most important investment of them all? I don't regret taking out student loans at all. I gladly write that check every month and it is a reminder that I followed my dream and am living it! Oh, and by the way, the interest is all tax-deductible."

Click here to share your own student loan stories, give feedback on the "My Life, My Debt" story, or respond to what readers are saying about it in our NEA forum.

--Cynthia Kopkowski