Facing the choice between big ideas and big money, I take big ideas every time.
Can’t you have both? You can try. Big ideas can certainly attract funding. But here’s the thing. Once you start building your stash of cash, you find yourself continually seeking ways to retain what you have and add to it. One minute you’re chasing ways to change the world, next thing you know you’re devoting all your focus on chasing money to change the world. Eventually you turn around and realize the world isn’t changing, but you have!
The way everybody is going for the money these days, you’d think it’s in endless supply! So what’s the incentive if there’s only so much to go around? Corner the market, of course! Get as much of the money as you can and hold onto it. Before you know it, likeminded people who used to be collaborators are suddenly acting like competitors! See how it works?
So here’s the question: in what corner of your mind did you get into education for the money? Did you wake up from dreams shouting, “Show me the MONEYYYYYYY!”? Okay, maybe you’re not living out Jerry Maguire or The Color of Money…yet. But be on the lookout for it creeping in gradually, insidiously, because this is Risky Business.
I may run out of money, but I’ll never run out of ideas. Money shortages happen: diminished revenue, unexpected expenses, investments gone bust. I could spend my entire life trying to make more of it. Honestly, I’ve spent two-thirds of it just trying to break even! Don’t get me wrong, money is good. I’m pro money! I’ve just never made it my reason for living. Yes, it’s incidental to the cost of living. But through all the gravy days and dog days, in the end I have more than enough to be happy and comfortable.
We never run out of ideas. They’re in endless supply, running down freely from hills of inspiration. I can immerse myself in them, refreshed by the possibilities. Don’t like feeling tired or stuck or overwhelmed? Shift your thoughts and move forward. Tired of everyone thinking alike, or choosing to only listen to others who think the same? Step back and realize you are only bound by self-imposed short-sightedness. There’s always new ways of being and doing.
What leads to huge advancements and improved quality of life? Breakthrough ideas. What does everyone invest in to grow their stock portfolios? Innovative ideas. And where do new ideas come from? Not from chasing money. The business landscape is rife with companies reinventing and repackaging the wheel, trying to market it to make a buck. I’m tired of being handled and sold to and treated like a customer. I mean, really, once you’re best business strategy is a sales strategy, you’ve admitted you’re out of ideas, and it’s only a matter of time until you’re out of business.
Education is no different. I was reading a recent proclamation of how to rethink the design of learning for the digital age, and I was left thinking, “So what?” There was nothing new or inspiring in any of the bullet points. It was just another attempt at marketing old thinking. Why are educators being sold to with this kind of cynicism? Because our profession has been overrun by money interests. Either we address it, or we become complicit as “fools who know the price of everything and the value of nothing" (thank you, Oscar Wilde).
We’re educators. We’re here for kids and their future, but we’re being treated like cogs in a business machine. Can you feel the grind all the way down to your core? The first inclination may be to ease the friction with some WD-40, but the only true way to stop the machine is to jam it up.
Conjuring up pictures of Wile E. Coyote forever fated for failure? Don’t be. No ACME order deliveries required! The easiest way to reverse this direction for education is to not play. Stick to being an educator and avoid the business interests. They will take care of themselves once they realize you’re not a player. Promise! They don’t care about you. They only stick around as long as they think they can profit off of you, your position and your connections. Don't worry, they'll be alright. They just need to go back where they came from, outside of public education. We'll let them know when we are interested in something they have to offer. You know, the way it used to be.
Instead of following the money, follow ideas. When money comes along the way, great, but don’t get distracted from what education is about: clear thinking and the vetting of ideas.
A powerful idea advanced by a group of dedicated people can change the world. That’s what The Worthy Educator is all about.
Show me the money? It’s folly.
Show me IDEASSSSSSSSSSS! Everything good in life flows from them.
View Walter's personal reflection on this topic here!
Walter McKenzie is the founder of The Worthy Educator and a career educator. He looks forward to working alongside you to help you forge your legacy as we mold the future of education together!
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