“What Teachers Make” is a poem by Taylor Mali, an acclaimed performance poet, educator, and advocate for teachers worldwide. He’s published five collections of poetry and one chapbook. With over nine years of experience teaching in the classroom, Mali draws on personal experiences to explore themes of education, worth, and honesty in “What Teachers Make.” Written in the passionate, rhythmic, and occasionally rhyming style of spoken word slam poetry, Mali’s poem refuses to define a teacher’s worth by their salary; instead, it lists the many key roles teachers play in the lives of their students — nearly all of which lie outside of the textbook curriculum.

Published in 2002 as part of his first full-length collection, What Learning Leaves, Mali’s slam poem “What Teachers Make” is a testament to and a celebration of teachers worldwide. Slam poetry often adopts controversial subjects (such as religion, politics, and topics of social justice) and Mali’s poem is no exception. Commenting on deeper themes of often underappreciated and undervalued teachers, Mali’s “What Teachers Make” is a loud, impressive voice speaking the truth of what an important job teachers have. With over 5 million YouTube views, the poem has inspired countless teachers, motivating them in their career, while encouraging would-be teachers to join the ranks of what Mali argues is the greatest job in the world.

Poet Biography

Taylor Mali was born in New York City in 1965. An 11th-generation New Yorker, Mali’s Dutch ancestors arrived in America in the mid-1600s. Growing up, Mali attended Collegiate School, a private school for boys. He studied English at Bowdoin College and received a MA in English and creative writing from Kansas State University in 1993. Mali’s mother, Jane L. Mali, was a children’s book author; she received the American Book Award.

While Mali is most known for being a spoken word poet, he’s also an experienced teacher, having taught in the classroom for over nine years. He uses humor, passion, and acting skills to deliver spoken word poems to live audiences and across digital channels like YouTube – “What Teachers Make” has over 5 million views. Mali’s teaching experience is extensive; he’s taught subjects ranging from English and history, to math and SAT prep. As a teacher, Mali understands firsthand what it takes to educate, which inspired his 2012 book, What Teachers Make: In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World. Mali, who has performed slam poetry and lectured in classrooms all over the world, completed his 12-year long Quest for One Thousand Teachers in 2012. This project’s goal was to create one thousand new teachers through “poetry, persuasion, and perseverance” (“Taylor Mali.” Blue Flower Arts.). Passionate about teaching and education, Mali advocates for teachers’ rights worldwide.

As the author of many books of poetry, including Bouquet of Red Flags (2014), The Last Time as We Are (2009), What Learning Leaves (2002), The Whetting Stone (2017), and, most recently, Late Father and Other Poems (2018), Mali explores a variety of topics, including the death of his first wife and the celebration of marriage. Highly acclaimed and praised as a slam poet and performance artist, Mali has won several accolades, including the 2017 Rattle Chapbook Prize for his chapbook The Whetting Stone about his first wife’s suicide.

In 2001, Mali received a New York Foundation for the Arts Grant to develop his one-man show called “Teacher! Teacher!” This performance won the jury prize for best solo performance at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival and explores themes related to poetry and teaching. Mali is first and foremost a performer. He makes his living entirely as a spoken-word and voiceover artist. A former president of Poetry Slam, Inc., an organization that oversees and directs poetry slams nationwide, Mali currently lives in Brooklyn where he directs the Page Meets Stage reading series.

Poem Text

Mali, Taylor. “What Teachers Make.” 2002.TaylorMali.com.

Summary

“What Teachers Make” opens with the speaker recounting real-time events to an audience: “He says the problem with teachers is” (Line 1). Represented by italics, the “He” (Line 1) in the poem is someone the speaker is talking to. This person has strong feelings about teachers and the education system, claiming “What’s a kid going to learn / from someone who decided his best option in life / was to become a teacher?” (Lines 2-4). In Line 5, the setting is established: a dinner party with a table of guests. The “He” (Line 1) makes another statement: “Those who can, do; those who can’t teach” (Line 7). The speaker decides to not engage (“I decide to bite my tongue instead” [Line 8]), but in Lines 12-13, the “He” (Line 1) directly asks the speaker what they make — referring to how much money they make.

Starting a new stanza, Line 14 opens with the speaker’s honest response (“If you ask for it, then I have to let you have it” [Line 16]). In Line 17, the speaker lists what they “make”: “I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could” (Line 18). The speaker shares anecdotes about teaching (“I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall / in absolute silence” [Lines 23-24]) and how they make “parents tremble in fear” (Line 29) and “see their children for who they are / and what they can be” (Line 37).

There is another stanza break after Line 37. In Line 38, the speaker continues, listing what they make kids do and feel (“I make kids wonder, / I make them question. / I make them criticize” [Lines 38-40]). Lines 38-52 are a list of what the speaker makes kids do in school, and how they make them into better people overall. The final two-line stanza returns to the theme of honesty. The speaker concludes their soliloquy with a statement and a question: “Teachers make a goddamn difference! Now what about you?” (Line 54).