Mid-Life Crisis
The Source
I thought I was getting too old to go through a change in life, but switching from the world of public education to the world of business has been a shocker. After 35 years in the classroom my life has somehow drifted toward dealing with folks in commerce, whether writing their TV commercials and radio ads or doing public relations work. I was a bit naïve and thought that the two fields would be much the same. Not even close, honey. Business people like to eat while they meet. For three and a half decades my teachers’ meetings had been in the rushed hallway during the three minutes it takes to change classes, arriving before school, or sitting in an un-air-conditioned social studies room as the kids left the building. The only meal provided the public school teacher usually comes at the end of his or her career and then it’s nearly always baked chicken. At business lunches you actually order off the menu and the company picks up the tab! Whoa! Why didn’t someone tell me about this earlier? And when I retired from the classroom I had to continually remind myself that I had more than 12 minutes to eat. Today when I go for a business lunch I’m still the first one done and when the waitress gives us the ticket I have this uncontrollable urge to check the spelling. Money suddenly becomes important. In fact, the making or losing of money is the main topic in my business world dealings. Again, I was naïve. After being a teacher for so long I thought that income was a dead subject. My salary was set by a board of education that were also taxpayers not wanting to pay tax. Public school teachers talking about money resemble polar bears contemplating a Caribbean cruise. You ain’t never gonna get there, baby, so there’s no use wasting time thinking about it. The world of business does have one great advantage: effort, knowledge, and working hard is often rewarded. In the school system the lousiest teacher is paid an identical salary to the gifted individual who can actually change your child’s life. Public schools will never be efficient until they learn to pay people like the rest of the world. We live in a nation built on the success of capitalism and individual incentive then send our kids to socialist state. In business the buildings are nicer. I’ve met with clients in some pretty snazzy offices. I’ve sat in chairs that cost more than the furniture in an entire classroom. Unless you live in a town with a new school your kids probably spend their day in some of the crummiest buildings in town. Yes, crummy is a pretty crummy word. Take a look for yourself. I’ll bet there’s not an insurance agent or banker in town who’d ask their customers to walk through a building resembling the typical elementary school. The good news: I haven’t had to buy a new wardrobe. Teachers and business folks dress about the same but I’ve never actually checked their labels. I do know that the public school fashion critics, teenagers, are a tough audience to please. “You wore that tie two days ago, Mr. Bradbury! Come on! Get a life!” In business the hours are better defined. I’ve yet to meet an executive who has to return to the office at night to chaperone a dance, take tickets at a volleyball game, or decorate for prom. And if you want to discuss the three-month “vacation” for teachers I’ll simply direct you to the earlier paragraph on money. Working with businessmen and women I’ve found that they can take care of their personal business during the course of the day. You can’t order new tires or set up a doctor’s appointment while leading 7th-graders through the wonderful world of nouns and pronouns. In balance, the world of business probably comes out ahead in terms of the amenities provided on the job. Nicer work place, better money, and a choice other than baked chicken. Yet . . . and this “Yes” is a doozy . . . I don’t have many acquaintances in the business world who receives a handwritten note at graduation saying, “Thanks for pushing me,” or a Facebook message reliving the joys we shared that year in class. Selling insurance, cars, loans, or making commercials are all worthwhile occupations but I wonder if those folks can go to bed at night knowing that they made a child’s life better. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope they can.