Whoever said you only go around once hasn’t visited the teachers’ lounges of Oakton High School recently. In the last 10 years, several of our best teachers have come to the classroom after long careers in law, government or in the military. And they are all men.
If Oakton is at all typical, men are no longer scarce in classrooms. I have watched Eliot Waxman’s first teaching years, and his background as a political consultant and government employee makes him a better government teacher. His years running focus groups for various campaigns have given him a special skill in facilitating discussion — a skill I see in practice daily, since we are an interdisciplinary team.
His experience outside the four walls of the schoolroom also gives him a sensible perspective on the delicate balancing act teachers perform as they handle student and parent personalities, grading papers, teaching and paperwork all at the same time. Eliot’s mantra is, “Don’t worry. It will all get done.” And he is always right.
Eliot tells great stories from his “previous life,” as does Steve Scholla, physics teacher and former Fairfax County Teacher of the Year.
Students flock to Steve’s advanced placement classes and his Robotics Club — to learn how things work, of course, but also to listen to his anecdotes about owning his own business.
Perhaps the most unusual rookie teacher I’ve met is Mark Eaton. After nearly 30 years as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer and nine years on the Alexandria School Board, he now teaches English a few doors away from me. “I feel like I had a box seat for many years, and now I’m down on the field,” he told me last week. (You can tell he teaches English by his metaphors!)
Before his first class, he spoke of the culture shock of shifting from law to education.
Mark was used to efficiently moving from one task to another in the solitude of his office. Now he shares his classroom with 130 students — hardly a recipe for efficiency. Yet he has kept on top of every task so far this school year, a feat I’ve admired as I pass his room. He always appears to me to have everything under control.
There are many others at Oakton who teach as a second career: Linus, George and Tor, to name three in the social studies department alone. They are good models for students because they are living proof that teaching is a desirable profession the second time around.
And they enrich the schools by giving faculty a new perspective on what we do.
No longer insulated from the outside world, those of us who work with second careerists benefit from their experience and sense of perspective.
They know not to get too worked up over small issues or too overwhelmed by the many demands on a teacher’s time.
Most importantly, they show students that becoming a teacher can be the culmination of a successful life. (I can picture a “Real Men Teach” bumper sticker!) There was a time when teaching was a fallback career, but it can also be the ultimate career, saved for last because it’s the best.
Erica Jacobs teaches at Oakton High School and George Mason University. Email her at [email protected].
