Moonlighting Teachers

Educators Take on Second, Third Jobs Outside of School

9+to+5%3A+History+teacher+Andrew+Green+%28seated%29+confers+with+juniors+Matthew+Macon+%28left%29+and+Kenbon+Peete.+Green+holds+three+jobs+but+still+finds+time+to+attend+Detroit+Tigers+baseball+games.+He+is+a+Tigers+season+ticket+holder.

Ashley Guinn

9 to 5: History teacher Andrew Green (seated) confers with juniors Matthew Macon (left) and Kenbon Peete. Green holds three jobs but still finds time to attend Detroit Tigers baseball games. He is a Tigers season ticket holder.

By day, Andrew Green is a spunky history teacher, but by night (sometimes afternoons) he transforms into an R.V salesman and a tattoo shop owner on a mission to dominate the workforce.
Green is one of at least nine teachers at Southfield High who hold a second or third job.
The moonlighting teachers have lots of company, according to a recent study published by The Center for American Progress. The study is called “Mid- to Late-Career Teachers Struggle With Paltry Incomes.” According to the study, 16 percent of America’s teachers hold a second job. Those with at least a bachelor’s degree and 10 years of experience earn $44,900 annually from teaching.
Green said, “I was laid off one year, and my brother (Bob) offered me a part-time job at General R.V., where he is somewhat of a bigwig,” said Green. “And that’s how I got started with that.”
Green’s part-time job evolved into a summer job 12 years ago, and he still works summers in the Brownstown R.V. store.
Regarding his tattoo shop, Green says that he wanted his own business, so he and a friend, Scott Paden, opened Ink Works, in Allen Park, in 2012.
The single parent checks in on the tattoo shop whenever he can, between teaching five classes, coaching Varsity Baseball and football at Southfield High and raising two children, Mitchell, 19, and Carleigh, 6.
Every teacher has a perspective about their paycheck. Some teachers, such as social studies teacher Nicole Cato, say their pay is good enough and choose to use their summers for vacationing or relaxation. Cato says the mere thought of picking up a second job during the summer seems “crazy” to her.
But several other teachers do have a second job, whether to pass the time or to put a little extra money in their pockets. Here are some of Southfield High’s staff members who have another job:
Math teacher Asante Green is in the business of caring for others. He is his father’s care taker.
Some staff members, such as math teacher Stephen Sharp and Spanish teacher David Shaw, hold second jobs related to teaching. They both tutor outside of school.
English teacher Debbie Bowen and science teacher Fred Pellerito are college instructors in their spare time, Pellerito teaches Earth Science to elementary and middle school teachers at Wayne State University, and Bowen teaches Composition at Oakland Community College.
Gym teacher Gary Teasley not only coaches Boys Varsity Basketball at SHS, but also coaches basketball at Beech Woods Recreation Center. He has been coaching second, third and fourth graders at Beech Woods since 1994, and some of those players have grown up to become his high school students and two played Varsity Basketball for him – Trent Ware and Jeremy Wilson.
Social studies teacher Jamie Glinz runs a summer day camp for kids called Camp Kaleidoscope at Southfield Parks and Recreation. The campers do arts and crafts, sports and field trips, Glinz said.
As for art teacher Doug Paniccia, he manages a small, independent market called Oakridge in Warren. Considering that he is artistic, one cannot help but wonder if the produce is arranged in artsy, symmetric displays or at least perfect pyramids of lemons and apples. Paniccia says, however, the fruits and vegetables are neatly arranged, not necessarily artistically displayed.
Green appears to be the only teacher at Southfield High School with three distinct jobs: teacher, tattoo shop owner and R.V. salesman. He says the rest of the world needs to “catch up.”