How being a teacher makes me a better business woman

Books and laptop in my bag, schedule pulled up on my phone, wandering through campus to try and find my classroom: I’m that girl. I’m the girl who is totally lost and frantically looking for Schermerhorn Hall on the first day of school.

I recently decided to go back to school. I’m taking business communications courses at Columbia University. It’s been an incredible month so far (and I now know how to get to my classes, and pronounce the building names!), but it has caused me to reflect on my unconventional career journey that has led me to the Upper West Side campus.

Here’s what I know: pursuing an undergraduate degree in secondary English Education was the best decision I could’ve made for MY life and career. In the education or employability space, we hear a lot about the importance of “soft” or “transferable” skills—skills like problem solving, empathy, critical thinking, or relationship-building.

Research shows that these skills are crucial for children to develop today to be able to find a job in the future, as around 65% of students “entering grade school this year will end up working in careers that haven't even been invented yet” (Cathy N. Davidson). 

I taught incredible 10th graders at William Penn High School (see photo above) in Delaware. I learned that even just a short period of time in a classroom can teach you tremendous skills:

·     Listening: high schoolers either have *a ton* or nothing to say… you have to be able to listen to the words and the silence.

·     Content creation: how in the world do you make grammar interesting?!

·     Public speaking: keeping the attention of sleepy, hormonal teens… not easy!

·     Effective presentation skills: see point above.

·     Relationship-building: how do I connect with these sleepy, hormonal teens so we can have a classroom built on trust and respect?

·     Synthesizing complex information: good news… you have approximately 39 minutes to deliver a whole lesson explaining the entire civil rights movement before reading A Raisin in the Sun.

·     Collaboration: you have an existing lesson on grammar!? You’re a beautiful human.

·     Working long hours: anyone interested in grading 100+ essays, lesson planning, staying after school for extra help and supporting kids at their sporting events?

·     ETC, ETC, ETC…

So, yes – I absolutely gathered invaluable transferable skills teaching (and learning from) a classroom full of diverse, vibrant, dynamic, amazing students. These skills have actually helped me transition into a corporate setting today. But, there’s also another piece here… passion. I love, and have always loved, what I do. And, I think that’s the special sauce to a successful career.

I’m considering doing a LinkedIn blog series on this topic, delving into the transferable skills listed above with a mix of supporting evidence from my studies at Columbia and personal/professional experiences at Pearson and beyond for a couple of reasons:

1)   To give corporate professionals visibility into how their skills, competencies, experiences translate to teaching, and vice versa;

2)   To truly raise awareness of the great work teachers do – in an effort to elevate the teaching profession. We, as business professionals, can all learn a great deal beyond academics from educators.

Ultimately, this is could also be an opportunity for me to connect the dots of my career and educational journey—writing is a tool I’ve used as self-expression for my entire life, and I would love to share my learnings and begin a dialogue with you all around these topics.

Looking forward to sharing, listening & learning together….

Jenn