Category Archives: Career

I’m A Man, And I Was Sexually Harassed

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The only thought that came to mind was, “How do I tell this woman that I don’t want to sleep with her?”

I think I rambled on about how it would be inappropriate, since she was married with kids. As a man, I never imagined that I would be sexually harassed by a woman, and that left me with no idea how to respond. How could this even have happened? Aren’t men the ones who do the sexual harassing? Wasn’t I the one who was supposed to want sex?

Sure, I wanted sex. Just not with her.

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Sometimes We Need To Be Told That We Suck

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It’s easy to be inspired by a famous person who pursued their passions and found raging success. We read about how many times JK Rowling’s idea for a magical world of wizards was rejected, or how Tom Brady was a fourth-string quarterback in college. We see how they persevered despite the setbacks. And we think, “Wow, maybe if I just work hard enough at my passion, I can be successful like them, too.”

Well, we can’t all be JK Rowling or Tom Brady. Or Bill Watterson, or even Mike Rowe. Ultimately, these folks had talent. Tons of it. And some of us — actually, the vast majority of us — have to occupy the “sucking” end of the talent spectrum.

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Why I Gave Up Teaching

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Today, I breathe a sigh of relief that I managed to escape the teaching profession, that I managed to find a new career where I feel I can still make a difference in the world.

But then, I realize that in expressing myself this way, I’m doing a huge disservice to all the teachers out there.

You see, when I joke that I “escaped” the teaching profession, that implies that those who still teach are stuck, that they’re in a career they hate and can’t get out of.

Nothing could be further from the truth. My teacher friends devote their lives to education not because they’re incapable of doing anything else. They do it because it’s their passion.

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I Almost Missed An Opportunity That Changed My Life

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On some level, we all spend our lives waiting for opportunity. “I’m just waiting for my big break.” “I can’t believe how lucky he got. That guy gets all the breaks.” It’s as though opportunity is this giant metal claw, and we’re toys at the bottom of the carnival machine of life, each of us hoping to be the next lucky one to get snatched up to a better life.

But, this isn’t how opportunity operates. Whether you believe that God, Darwin, or just random blind luck is responsible, opportunity doesn’t just fall onto our lap and whisk us away.

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I Feel The Same Way About Meetings As My Students Feel About School

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The attitude I have towards teacher meetings is the exact same attitude my students have towards school. Deep down, on some level, they know it’s important for them to be in class, to learn new skills, to attend school every day and graduate.

But, they also know they have time to develop these skills, they have time before they need to graduate. So, they just can’t get themselves engaged in class. And that’s when they start slyly chatting with their classmates whom they haven’t seen in over a month… checking Facebook on their phones… texting people… playing Angry Birds….

I get it now.

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The Little Victories At Work

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Work sucks. Now, I don’t know that I’m entitled to dislike my job more than anyone else. But I’d like to think I have a pretty good reason: I work in a VIP bar that has me face-to-face with spoiled millionaires almost every single day. And even when there aren’t any millionaires around, there are plenty of a-holes with more

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Standardized Testing, Merit Pay, And Misaligned Incentives In The American Education System

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Two rhetorical questions: When you pay a loan broker based on the total number of loans he doles out, without considering whether or not the borrowers will actually be able to repay these loans, what happens? When you pay a CEO based on the short-term profits he generates, rather than the long-term stability of the company, what happens? Unless you

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The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do

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Today, I’m a high school teacher. I spend my days culturing teenagers. Sometimes, my students get disruptive, and I swear to myself in frustration. Acquaintances ask me how my work is going. I explain how I’m having a difficult time with a certain kid. I can’t seem to get him to pay attention in class.

Acquaintances smirk knowingly. And they say, “well, have you tried making it fun for the kids? That’s how you get through to them, you know?”

And then, they explain to me how I should do my job….

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