Those Who Can, Do
I don’t usually write about work.
Because I’d like to keep my job.
I’m not going to write about work today either. Not really. But I will say this – my job rocks. And I’d like to encourage more teachers to get off their slowly spreading asses and make the leap to a corporate career.
Seriously, what are you waiting for?
If you’re miserable about teaching, and most of you are, you should consider a new lease on life. Barack Obama has put a priority on technology in the classroom. Hear that? An entire industry is looking to market your experience in front of students in a way that benefits you, too.
Here’s the deal, I changed careers this past summer and the idea of leaving education scared the piss out of me. Teaching is a noble career. I taught special ed and social studies to high school students. We make a difference, we touch the future, we matter.
Teachers are also paid worse than dirt collectors. And that started to matter a whole lot more.
Teachers aren’t appreciated enough to attract a decent salary and the amount of paperwork, discipline issues, and general nonsense educators deal with on a daily basis is enough to send most sane people into suicide precautions. Morale in the teacher’s lounge regularly dips into negative numbers and the only way to move past the blues is to start drinking, pill popping, or both.
I couldn’t take it anymore and got out in the nick of time.
But it was still scary.
At first, I wasn’t sure I’d made the right decision. I took a position where I’m training teachers, but I also get paid commission. And that wasn’t happening at first. Everyone said to give it six months. They were right. Rough waters gave way to a vast ocean of possibility and I am on my way. The freedom that comes from doing well is better than anything I ever felt in the classroom – especially that time one of my students tried to throw a desk at me.
I drive my children to school and pick them up. We spend every afternoon together. I take them to all their lessons and activities. I get paid a decent wage and help teachers do their job. This too is a noble career with the added bonus that I don’t have to deal with threatening students and incompetent administrators.
So here’s my point. At a trade show this past week, I saw over a hundred companies that make money assisting teachers. These companies develop software that eliminates old-fashioned gradebooks, they manufacture interactive whiteboards that engage learners, they create learning games that mix up fun and education in ways that are exciting and lucrative.
Many of these companies routinely hire teachers.
I also met over a dozen former educators who couldn’t be happier with their flexible schedules. They don’t have to wait forty-five minutes to pee. They don’t have to find a substitute when they’re sick. They get paid well and help teachers who help students.
Their children’s college funds are thriving.
What’s nobler than that?
Did I mention that most of these companies are hiring? Mine is.
What are you waiting for?
Go get ‘em, teach.
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Wow. This is quite a roundabout of a post.
I love how you extoll private markets and capitalism when it suits your needs (your kids are in private school, right?).
I’d like to encourage more teachers to get off their slowly spreading asses and make the leap to a corporate career.
Seriously, what are you waiting for?
Yeah. The money is there. Why not go for it?
Barack Obama has put a priority on technology in the classroom. Hear that? An entire industry is looking to market your experience in front of students in a way that benefits you, too.
A classic example of rent seeking.
Then you go on to defend those defenseless government workers.
Teachers are also paid worse than dirt collectors.
What? No link? (and I’m not even sure what a “dirt collector” is.)
Then back to the virtures of making money.
I get paid a decent wage and help teachers do their job. This too is a noble career with the added bonus that I don’t have to deal with threatening students and incompetent administrators.
What I get from your post:
1. Government run schools generally suck.
2. Teachers in those schools should move to the private sector if they can.
3. The government is handing out money so, you too, should partake in the largesse.
What you get and what I gave are two different things here.
I never said government-run schools suck. What bothers me is that communities, tax payers, don’t see the value in good schools and don’t want to pay for them. So I suppose, if you follow it through, you could come to the conclusion that *people* suck.
And I’d be okay with that conclusion.
I’m encouraging only teachers who are miserable to do something about it. If you read carefully, you’ll see I’m not encouraging a) making money off the backs of working people or b) consuming more and more and more with your earnings.
Although if you want, that’s fine with me. No judgments.
I’m saying that you can still have a noble career without living paycheck to paycheck.
Read into it what you will.
And if you think I couldn’t make more money training and selling these products to *businesses* – well – then you’re high. Way high.
I want the best of both worlds – helping others and my family. And my point is that the best of both worlds is available. You just have to take a deep breath and get out there.
Government isn’t the only entity that sees the value in engaging digital learners and preparing our kids to compete in the world around us. PTAs and grants from privately-owned corporations are also getting in on the action.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have a president who sees the value in what we do. But I’ve also posted before that these shiny new toys will need to be serviced and utilized years down the road. Hard to do if we’re cutting back teaching jobs and the tech positions are eliminated.
But that’s another post for another time.
Really, I’m encouraging teachers to get out in the real world and take a look around. They aren’t trapped. Teachers get into education to make a difference and often feel undervalued within five years. I’m saying that there are jobs out there where they’re still making a difference and can afford to send their kids to college. (Something only teachers with wealthy spouses can currently afford to do.)
Again. Read into it what you will. But most educators get it. And that was my target audience anyway.
Rent seeking is what I see.