EDITORIAL-After the Bell
By Allan Tompkins
The work that keeps Columbus running doesn't end at 2:15 p.m., and the people doing it aren't asking to be thanked.
At 2:15, the once busy hallways of Columbus empty out in minutes. Backpacks zip, car doors slam, and the parking lot turns from a crowded, social scene to a deserted, quiet zone. Yet, in D16, the light is still on as Mr. Ortega patiently waits for students to come and ask for help with their calculus. In MBL22, Mr. Hermida sits quietly, grading students’ history essays before he leaves. In C13, Mr. Chacon runs his Writing Lab to aid those who need that extra help with their homework.
According to the RAND Corporation, in 2024, teachers reported working an average of 53 hours a week (about 9 extra hours a week) while also earning around $18,000 less in annual pay compared to similar working adults. The National Education Association also reported that Florida actually ranked 50th among the states and D.C. for average teacher pay.
Statewide, and across the country, the numbers are bleak for teachers looking for jobs. Why then is Columbus able to boast such a strong academic program with such dedicated teachers? The answer may very well be the one thing that students hear the most at this school and often take for granted: brotherhood.
One thing that is unique to the culture in Columbus is how common it is for a student’s teacher to be a Columbus alumnus. In my four years here, most of my teachers have been Columbus graduates. Oftentimes, when I ask teachers why they came back, they don’t tell me it was because of the pay or the nice facilities but because of the effect that this school had on them.
It’s one thing for a school to have been fun in one’s formative years; it’s another for it to have been such a binding experience that one can’t help but come back to relive and create more memories at a place they love to call home. However, while teachers come to work at this school to be somewhere they’re happy, that doesn’t erase the loads of time and effort spent outside of the classroom that often goes unnoticed.
Loyalty is what brings them back, but it shouldn't be the reason no one counts the hours. For teachers like Ms. Rodriguez, who did not attend Columbus but is just as much a part of its community as its alumni, grading AP Psychology papers and tests can be a time-consuming process that is all done behind the scenes.
Part of the magic of Columbus is not seeing those moments and only experiencing the engaging and fun versions of teachers who pour their hearts out to educate their students. In my case, I have a long line of family members in the education field and hearing them explain all of the work they do without complaining has always confused me—but growing up, I’ve realized that it’s simply founded on a principle of passion for this line of work.
For this exact reason, many argue that if teachers are in education because they love what they do, then there shouldn’t be a problem with the extra hours they spend. However, just because teachers independently choose to go the extra mile doesn't mean that extra mile should go unseen.
For a school like Columbus, where so much is done for students, the light that stays on in D16 after the bell has become so normal that we no longer see it as something extra; we simply expect it.
From the first day a boy steps into Columbus, he hears how brotherhood changes lives. Yet, if the brotherhood is real, it was never something just to be received but something to give back as well. The teachers who stay late will keep staying late.
So the next time the bell rings at 2:15, take a walk down the hallway. The cars will have emptied the parking lot and the classrooms will have fallen to a silence but somewhere, the light in a classroom will still be on. These teachers aren’t asking for a banquet to thank them, and that is exactly why we should notice.
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