By Sarah Said

Over the last few weeks, I have valued my sleep more than ever, then have felt a guilt for being able to sleep a full night. I am a Palestinian-American Educator who is very visible in this profession nationally and internationally. I am exhausted from all of the “asks” of people.  It takes me back to the beginning of my career, when I was one of the few Arab and Muslim American educators in my area.  Gratefully, now there are more educators who look like me in the profession. But as the Middle East crisis continues and Palestinians struggle, more people have “asks” of me. Even answering multiple well-meaning text messages is hard. I understand that I am one of many voices for Palestinian educators, but there needs to be a balance of what we ask of me and other educators of color when it comes to needs in our schools and professional learning networks. 

Right now, I may sound insensitive for not wanting to do this work. But really, I’d like to spend my time grieving with my community and family. There is a lot happening in the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim American community and we need to heal together. Some of us, including myself, just want this space.

The term “invisible tax” is not a new term.  It’s commonly used amongst marginalized educators for the tax that we feel for extra responsibilities that are not in the scope of our jobs, but land on us because of our identity  in the workplace. These responsibilities can range from translation (that is outside of the responsibilities of your position) to taking on the mentorship of a student who is not in your classroom or part of your services merely because you look like them or have something in common in with them, giving professional development on people of the background you come from, to explaining holidays you celebrate  and historical events that have something to do with your background frequently to other staff… and the list goes on and on.  We have a lot of responsibilities with our own roles in schools, the “asks” just weigh an invisible tax on us that is now always seen. 

There is the other voice in me that says, “Well, people need to know about the Palestinian struggle or Arab American/Muslim American struggle and it is my job to educate them.” Yes, to an extent.  When you ask a person to keep unpacking generations of trauma, it is emotionally exhausting.  We are already impacted by the constant news and posts we are seeing of Palestinians being abused that we are trying to take care of our own mental health. Yet, others want us to be on committees to write curriculum about Palestine or speak in forums about Palestine—and they want us to do this for free. With the expectation that as people of color, we want to talk about our struggles ALL the time. 

We’re Not Only Experts On Our Identity

Additionally, organizations need to be cognizant of understanding that people from different marginalized groups are experts in more areas in the field than their identity.  For years, people have asked me to give professional development on Arab American and Muslim American educators and students.  Lately, most of the professional development I offer is related to English Learners, Social Emotional Learning, Equity, Collaborative Classrooms and Trauma Informed Teaching.  If there is a need for professional development and no one to offer it, I have no issue with offering it. However, as a marginalized person, I want people to understand that I have not devoted my life to that work, but there are others who have: @SJEducate and @shinram1. They are consultants who do this work.

Having been a school leader in the past, I have always found it better to have staff in my district from the communities within our district support professional development about our communities. Some recommendations I have is that you keep in mind that people from marginalized communities in your district have many “asks” of them.  If this is the case, do what you can to offer staff an honorarium for supporting the district with professional development. But, please do not pressure a person from a marginalized identity to give professional development—offer it as a choice and ask them if they know any from their community who would be willing to offer the professional development if they decline. Also, be willing to give people other opportunities for utilizing their expertise in your district that goes beyond their identity. 

The Mental Health Toll That “The Invisible Tax” Places On All Of Us

In the beginning of my career, I was one of the few teachers in a district who looked like me. This had people assuming my Arabic was stronger than it really was and I knew everything about the Arab community—I didn’t…from IEP meetings to discipline I was pulled for everything. At first, I found an excitement in this—I was their go-to “person”.  Eventually, more students and staff who looked like me started working in the district. Even though there were more staff who look like me in the district, the demands of all of us were higher than our peers. Eventually, I burned out and couldn’t perform my actual job duties as well as I could have. 

History repeated itself and I found myself in spaces where I was feeling the “fawn response” in the “6F’s of Trauma”—Fight, Flight, Freeze, Flood, and Fawn. I wanted to just please my employer. I was just happy to be there so I had the fawn response which was just—I will do what you need me to do to please you. In the end, the translation, the professional development, the extra parent meetings would just burn me out. And, I was allowing myself to be used as a token for who I was and what I looked like.

What Can Educators Do To Protect Their Boundaries?

I know this is hard because as teachers, we are naturally people pleasers but here is what you can do to eliminate your own burnout on the job. Remember, if you are burnt out you will struggle to complete the job you were actually hired to do.

1. If someone is asking you to do a job that is beyond your scope of work because of your identity, be direct with the person asking you about the task.  I know, it’s not easy when you feel like you are saying “no” to a supervisor. A simple question of, “Were you able to find anyone that has this expertise besides me?” is not difficult to ask.

2. Be honest and make the requester aware that “your plate is full” or “it takes away from the needs of the students you serve” is okay to say.

3. You can let the requester know that you don’t think you have the expertise they are looking for but can refer them to a person who does.

4. If you are not an educator from a marginalized community in your district, refrain from asking favors from teachers who speak the same language as your students or look like them.  Asking a teacher to translate your newsletter or calling a parent for you is time and work they are not being paid for or obligated to do for you.

What Can School Leaders Do To Ensure The “Invisible Tax” Isn’t Felt By Educators In Their Schools And Districts?

Spaces where educators from marginalized communities have been hit the hardest in “extra labor” are:

• Translation

• Mentorship of students who look like them 

• Discipline

• Attending and translating in IEP meetings of students they don’t serve

• Delivering professional development on their communities

• Attending extra family nights and community events

• Educating on holidays

• Filling In cultural gaps In curriculum

Now, I know that these are needs that schools have and may not have the staff for them. However, in your school system, you don’t want to lose the staff you already serve.  So, here are some things you can do to ensure that your staff does not feel burnt-out.

First of all, with translation there are language line services available. These are services that you can instantly call for translation. Work with your district and school board to contract one. This can really save your staff time and heartache when it comes to translation for families. They can support parent-teacher conferences and IEP meetings.

But other ways you can support teachers from marginalized communities to not feel burnt out are:

• Allowing teachers to the space to be able to say no when they cannot complete a task that is outside of their duties

• Compensating teachers for extra duties they are asked to complete outside of the scope of their work.  It’s pretty simple, paying someone for extra work does support them in feeling valued.

• If you are asking teachers to complete a task that is outside of the scope of their work for free, take away a task you are asking them to do. At least, help a teacher balance their work load so that they do not get burned out.

• For curriculum work and professional development work, if a teacher isn’t interested in supporting the work ask them if they recommend anyone from their community. At least they know you value their expertise.

We are in a teacher shortage.  And, we have to understand that we are in a time where teacher morale is at a low. Adding more work to a teacher’s plate because of their identity without compensation can have severe consequences for a school or district.  Paying the “invisible tax” has created severe mental health consequences for teachers from marginalized communities and we need to ensure that we have support in place to keep teachers in the spaces they are needed in. 

To Further Your Learning:

• Why Black Educators Walk Away- Youki Terada

• If You Listen, We Will Stay- Davis Dixon and Ashley Griffin

• Teachers of Color Pay an ‘Invisible Tax’ That Leads to Burnout, Ed. Sec. Writes - Madeline Will