What do you make, Teacher?

To our fellow teachers,

You’ve probably seen this before, but just in case…if anyone ever makes an issue over “what you make” as a teacher, give them this.

WHAT DO YOU MAKE, TEACHER?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?'

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.' To stress his point he said to another guest; 'You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?'

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, 'You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, and then began...)

Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant....

You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

What do you make Mr. CEO?

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

What I've Learned From 5 1/2 Days of Teaching

First, here's the rundown of my first week of teaching:

Thurs., Nov. 13 Liberty HS Orchestra (1/2 day, one class only) (see previous blog)!!
Fri., Nov. 14 Boulder City HS English (seniors, bright, disciplined)
Mon., Nov. 17 Centennial HS Drama !! (freshman, talented, rowdy, fun)
Tues., Nov. 18 Foothill HS English Honors (dream classes...very bright, disciplined)
Wed., Nov. 19 OFF - Dr. Appt.
Thurs., Nov. 20 Eldorado HS Math Fundamentals - Freshman (rowdy bunch)
Fri., Nov. 21 Green Valley HS Orchestra/Guitar (three orchestras, one guitar, another dream come true. It's hard to believe Mr. Neuman gets to do that EVERY DAY! It's heaven! I'm going back for four days in December...I CAN'T WAIT!!)

I'm also booked for two days in December for the orchestra at Centennial HS, a result of leaving my card when I was there Nov. 17.

These pictures are from Boulder City HS English Class...taken without students present of course. You can barely see my name on the board behind me.

I just got my first phone call from the computer, initiated by an algebra/geometry teacher requesting me specifically for next Tuesday. It came from Foothill, where I did English Nov. 18. He must have heard how great I was from the English teacher. I had send emails to the Performing Arts teachers, but noone else.

So here's what I've learned.

1. You have to be very clear with directions and repeat them often.
2. They don't automatically know how to turn in papers. Without direction, it's total chaos!
3. Music classes are the best. They challenge all the musical skills I have. Thank goodness you're allowed to sweat in heaven. :)
4. The older they get they easier they are to control. That's why I don't do middle school. The Freshmen are fresh out of MS, so it's mostly discipline with them. I tried to do some fun stuff and it was too chaotic and unfocused, so I wound up stopping the fun and going back to the policing.

5. I CAN TEACH MATH!!! (see pic on left) Or more accurately, I can conduct a math class. There's not much actual teaching on my part, except for very basic algebra and geometry. I can't wait to try a calcucus class.

6. This is without a doubt the best job I've ever had. See my next post for the reason why. It's all about what teachers make.

I'm in Heaven!! An Orchestra Conductor!!

Words cannot describe my first substitute teaching job Thursday, November 13. It was totally random because this orchestra teacher at Liberty High School in Henderson just put it out on the system and was prepared for anyone. His instructions were to just take roll and turn it over to a student volunteer conductor or just have them practice individually or in groups.

ARE YOU KIDDING? I'm not letting a 40-piece string ADVANCED orchestra slip through my baton! So I rehearsed them for an hour with all the music they were working on. Silent Night, White Christmas, a fun little holiday number and a serious classical piece they weren't too excited about. (I really did take my own baton!)

I drilled them like Gladys Knight does the SUV choir. It's much the same as a choir, except instruments make the voices. I had the conductor's scores for all of them, so I could follow it all. It was a workout both mentally and physically. It took all my focus and musical skill to pull it off, but you should have seen me. I was Leonard Bernstein reborn. There was no way to overdo it.

The highlight was the ending of White Christmas, which had a Handel-like climax...two big chords followed my a final single note that crescendo'd to a big cutoff. I giggled like a school kid the first time they did it right. It must have been a sight. Santa Claus waving a baton in total delight.

Nov. 08 Update

Isn't life interesting? You make a plan, kick it into gear and then watch something completely different unfold. You want to make God laugh, just tell him your plan.

I have come to realize that there is a greater plan beyond mine. However, I still make my submissions and hope for some accomodation. But in the end, I accept what is given me and enjoy the hell out of it.

That said, here is the status of my life right now.

I am officially retired. After turning 60 this past July 30, I qualified for my retirement checks from Clark County Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). I now get 25% of my salary every month. It's not much, but it pays a few bills and gives us a little flexibility. But more is needed of course. But I will never work for a full-time boss again. Hooray!

After creating my business, John Hanks Communications, in 1999, I realized that I am much better at doing the work (media consulting, media training, writing, A/V producing, etc.) than running a business. It is still "on the books" but pretty much dormant, except for a few requests that come in. In this economy, PR is the last thing companies want to spend money on and the first thing to get cut, so pickins are slim.

I tried a couple of things I thought I could do because I HAD to.

I drove a school bus for nine months to rack up and few more months of retirement qualification. I loved the students and the task, but got buried by the bureaucracy and inept administration. I soon began looking for a way out.

A friend then persuaded me to join an MLM, which I jumped at to escape the bus. However, it took my entire 401k and left me with additional debt and a very upset spouse. In the end, it wasn't that it didn't work, it's that I didn't like the work it required. I always believed (and still do) that I could do anything that was required of me. But recruiting people and trying to get them to dump their entire life savings into a high risk, low success busines was not my cup of tea. As my wife put it, I simply didn't like doing that kind of work.

So, what DO I like to do, I asked myself. It came down to performing and impacting people's lives in good, positive ways...making everyone I meet feel better about their lives. So I put that out into the universe and here's what I got:

TEACHING: I have taught college communications classes for the 9 years since I left the airport in 1999, until this year when the University System budget cuts eliminated my classes. Part timers got the first axe. So now I am a Substitute Teacher in the Clark County School District and loving it. Watch this blog for more details. I do still teach two annual college classes: Crisis Management (UNLV Continuing Education) and Government PR (UNLV Master of Public Administration). The latter is a class I created in 2000 and have been teaching ever since. It's an annual one credit hour summer class now and still on the list. I guess they like what I do.

PERFORMING: I have several talent agents who have this head shot and get me work every once in a while. I have a national commercial running off and on and a local commercial running now as well. You can see both of those on my website http://www.johnhanks.com/. You will also see the audio book I produced this year, "Up From the Hills." Plus you can get more details on that at http://www.upfromthehillsmovie.blogspot.com/).

This Summer I became associated with Theatre Las Vegas, an acting company that does local productions from Shakespeare to Santa Claus.


They asked me to let my beard grow and play Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) in a one time gig at a SAG party in September. So I did, of course!

In September I also narrated my quad-annual "Songs of our Politics", which the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society does every Presidential election year. Yes, I'm Uncle Sam.

Then I played a prospector on a Haunted Halloween Hayride at the Springs Preserve for a few weeks before Halloween (they asked me to let my beard grow more), then the director asked me to keep the beard for some upcoming Shakespeare roles in the spring.

Meantime, as long as I had the beard, I let it grow some more, bleached it (and my hair and eyebrows) and became Santa Claus for the season.

I am booked by Theatre Las Vegas to return to the Springs Preserve to be their Santa for 20 nights over all the weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm gonna love spreading joy to all those kids and collecting a little cash in the process. Isn't that what enlightened self interest is all about?

So there you have it. Watch this space for the ongoing adventure that is my life. As Helen Keller once said, "Life is either a great adventure or nothing." I'm all over that one.