Stop justifying low pay for teachers through emotional manipulation

Whenever society wants to justify the poor pay of teachers, it rarely does so through honest economic arguments. Instead, it reaches for emotion. Carefully chosen statements are deployed, repeated so often that they begin to sound like truth. Teachers will be judged harshly. Teaching is a calling. Teachers never age. Teachers’ children are very good. On the surface, these sound like praise, moral reminders, even light humour. In reality, they are tools of emotional manipulation, designed to soften resistance, silence protest, and normalise injustice.

Emotional manipulation works best when it flatters while it exploits. Telling teachers they will be judged harshly creates an atmosphere of fear and moral pressure. It implies that their work is constantly under a microscope, that any failure will be magnified and publicly condemned. But instead of this scrutiny being matched with professional protection, fair pay, or institutional support, it is weaponised to keep teachers compliant. The unspoken message is simple: because you are judged harshly, you must be extra careful not to complain. Asking for better pay becomes risky, even immoral, because it might attract judgment. Accountability is twisted into a leash.

Perhaps the most powerful emotional tool used against teachers is the statement that teaching is a calling. This phrase is often delivered with reverence, sometimes even with religious undertones. It appeals to sacrifice, humility and selflessness. Yet it is precisely this appeal that makes it manipulative. A calling is assumed to be above material reward, so once teaching is framed this way, money becomes an awkward subject. Teachers who demand better pay are subtly accused of betraying their calling. Their commitment is questioned, their love for learners doubted. Emotional blackmail replaces rational discussion. No one asks whether rent, food, transport or medical bills recognise callings. Passion is celebrated, but survival is ignored.

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The idea that teachers never age is another deceptively light statement that carries heavy consequences. It is often said jokingly, accompanied by laughter and memes. But beneath the humour lies denial. Teachers age like everyone else, and often faster, worn down by overcrowded classrooms, emotional labour, administrative pressure and constant curriculum changes. Pretending they do not age is a way of ignoring their future. It dismisses the reality of retirement, medical care and financial security. If teachers never age, then there is no urgency to pay them well today or plan for their tomorrow. The joke becomes a justification for neglect.

Equally manipulative is the stereotype that teachers’ children are very good. Disciplined. Polite. Academically excellent. This statement creates the illusion that teachers already enjoy some hidden reward for their sacrifice. It suggests that their profession gives them an advantage at home, a moral compensation that substitutes for financial stability. The reality is far different. Teachers’ children face the same struggles as others, and sometimes more. They see parents stretched thin, emotionally drained and financially strained. The stereotype becomes a convenient way to dismiss teachers’ economic needs by implying they are already blessed in other ways.

All these statements share a common purpose: they shift the conversation away from pay and into morality. Instead of asking whether teachers are fairly compensated, society asks whether they are devoted enough, humble enough, patient enough. Emotional manipulation reframes exploitation as virtue. Endurance becomes heroism. Silence becomes professionalism. Suffering becomes proof of commitment. And when teachers finally speak out, they are told they have lost their way.

What makes this manipulation particularly effective is that it often comes from people who genuinely believe they are praising teachers. Parents, leaders and commentators repeat these phrases without malice, unaware of how they function within a larger system of undervaluation. But intention does not erase impact. The result is a profession trapped in gratitude, constantly thanked but rarely rewarded. Teachers are applauded on special days, praised in speeches, and quoted in motivational posts, yet their payslips tell a very different story.

Poor pay for teachers is not sustained by lack of resources alone. It is sustained by language. By stories we tell ourselves to feel comfortable benefiting from underpaid labour. If we truly valued teachers, we would not need to emotionally manipulate them into acceptance. We would speak plainly about budgets, priorities and fairness. We would recognise that dignity is not contradicted by fair compensation.

Calling out this emotional manipulation is not an attack on the nobility of teaching. Teaching can be meaningful, fulfilling and deeply impactful. But meaning should not be used as a substitute for money. Respect should not be expressed only in words. Appreciation should not come at the cost of wellbeing. A society that truly honours teachers does not guilt them into silence; it pays them fairly.

Until we confront the emotional language we use to justify poor pay, nothing will change. Teachers will continue to be praised and impoverished at the same time. And we will continue to wonder why morale is low, why burnout is high, and why so many talented educators quietly leave the classroom. Emotional manipulation may be subtle, but its consequences are loud, lasting and deeply unfair.

By Ashford Kimani

Ashford teaches English and Literature in Gatundu North Sub-county and serves as Dean of Studies.