Story By: Kara Williamson

CHILDERSBURG, Ala — For many aspiring educators, the dream of shaping young minds is often shadowed by growing concerns about low pay limited resources, and the rising dangers within American classrooms. For 19-year-old Jimena Escamilla, those challenges only strengthen her resolve to teach. 

Escamilla, a first-generation college student and sophomore at Central Alabama Community College, plans to transfer to the University of Montevallo next fall to major in elementary education. Her motivation to teach began with her family, inspired by the joy of helping her young nephews learn. “I just really loved seeing them grow and learn something new every day,” Escamilla said. She found that teaching them something simple, like a new word, was rewarding. 

But Escamilla knows that a career in teaching comes with challenges. For her, two of the most pressing are low wages and behavioral issues in the classroom. “My biggest concern is not knowing how to control a certain student’s behavior,” she said.

Another issue weighing on her mind is the steady defunding and dismantling of the Department of Education, a national concern that Escamilla said feels personal. “It’s astonishing knowing the government doesn’t see education as important,” she said. “It feels like they’re just pushing it aside.”

Esamilla says the ripple effects of budget cuts will affect both teachers and students. “I think that defunding has a really negative impact,” she said. “The lack of resources for students, teachers and schools in general turns into lack of opportunities.”

As she studies to enter the teaching profession, she is already concerning herself with the financial realities of being an educator. Low salaries have made her question whether she’ll be able to live comfortably while doing the work she loves. “I might be biased, but I think that teachers are one of the most important careers, if not the most most important career,” she said. “Because we are literally teaching the younger generations. How is a doctor going to become a doctor without a teacher?”

Despite these challenges that teachers are facing, we are still trying to educate.

Jimena Escamilla

She paused before adding what many educators across the country are asking themselves. “It does affect my career outlook because of the prices of everything,” she said. “How am I going to live life comfortably with this pay?”

In 2024, teachers in Alabama earned below the national median for all reported grade levels. Teachers annual salaries differed based on the grade they taught. In Alabama in 2024, preschool teachers had the lowest earnings at about $48,800 a year. Conversely, high school teachers had the highest salaries, earning $60,500 annually.

Money is not her only concern. Escamilla said one of her biggest fears, one she’s had since childhood, is the threat of school shootings. The reality of that risk has become a part of the teaching profession. “Now that I want to become a teacher, it’s just a chance I’m willing to take,” she said.

Escamilla says this ongoing crisis requires more than classroom preparedness, it requires national action. “I think that this is a very large issue throughout the entire country,” Escamilla said. “And I think the government and the country need to regulate gun control.”

Despite the list of issues, Escamilla refuses to let fear or frustration stop her. “These challenges actually motivate me even more to become a teacher,” she said. “So that I can prove to myself and to the government that teachers are really important and play an important role in the future of this country.”

For Escamilla, teaching is more than a profession. “I think that it just proves that teachers are underappreciated,” she said. “Despite these challenges that teachers are facing, we are still trying to educate.”