Harriet Robles writes in LO21162:
>So, for people who are at the crossroads in terms of making career
>choices, I would say money is valued much more highly than those other
>things I mentioned.
Harriet, thanks for sharing your experience and philosophy. You must be
speaking "the truth" because it matches my own. [Isn't that the only real
definition of truth? ;-) ]
Here's a thought about your dilemma. When I first worked in the insurance
industry, as an outside consultant, I was quite turned off by the focus on
money I saw. It was what everyone talked about and it disgusted me. So I
challenged one of the most successful (and wealthy) agents in the country
with, "How can you be talking about making more money when the change in
your pants pocket amounts to more than I'll make in my lifetime?" And he,
looking very kindly, explained, "I don't need any more money. But we talk
about it because it's the way we keep score."
Then, when I asked him about what he really wanted to do, he surprised me
with: "I want to give back. This profession has been so good to me, has
taught me so much, and I want to teach others. More than anything I've
ever wanted to do, I want to teach."
I've talked with many other successful business people over the ensuing 20
years and I have to say that this sentiment was echoed over and over
again. I'm at a stage in my own life and career where I'm feeling the
same desire, hence my contributions to this mailing list and my recent
application to a doctoral program to (finally) finish my Ph.D. so I can
teach at the university level in a few more years.
If only schools could find a way to tap into the wisdom of people who have
learned so much in their lives, wouldn't everyone benefit? I know the
people themselves would (as I've explained above), and I know the kids
would, and I know the schools would. I think Silicon Valley businesses
would support this at a level so high you can't even imagine it right now
-- they would provide time off for their people to teach, and not charge
the school system a cent, because their best interest is in having a
steady stream of well-educated employees. I don't even think it would be
that difficult to find a way to schedule this kind of teaching into
schools. What will be impossibly difficult (knowing what I do about
schools' resistance to change of any kind) will be to change the mindset
of schools to permit non-certified, non-full-time teachers to participate
in meaningful ways.
--"John Gunkler" <jgunkler@sprintmail.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>