Q: Why does your book focus primarily on physical injury when there are so many forms of disability, such as learning disability or mental health issues?

A: Two years ago, I was the fortunate recipient of the Dale M. Schoettler Scholarship.
I later learned the award had stringent rules established by the benefactor’s will:
only students with physical disabilities or vision impairment
could receive assistance.

When I started editing Changing Your Work or Career: Howto Explore Self-Employment Options After Injury or Illness I recalled the Schoettler award guidelines and decided to use similar rules to narrow the scope of the material I would include in the book.
I limited the topics to those I had firsthand or related insider information about

Dee Adams’ Online Class
Can you answer the following three questions?

• When a bored, restless barrel maker used his innate ability to observe, that talent helped start a company that would come to be known internationally. Who was the barrel maker? What was the industry he pioneered?
• Which sporting industry evolved from illegal activity?
• Agatha Christie submitted her first mystery novel to a publisher in the early 1920’s, and the company loved the manuscript.How much would you guess she was paid for the book in British currency?.
  

  2,500.oo
  250.00
  25.00
  25,000.00

Answers

Allan Pinkerton changed his career from barrel maker to founder of the National Detective Agency.
Source: BookTV.org
The Hour of Peril…
http://tinyurl.com/lj38bka

NASCAR evolved gradually as the result of moonshiners transporting alcohol and trying to outrun federal agents in their autos.
Source: Travel Channel.
Aoltv.com
http://tinyurl.com/kh4gfvl

25 pounds
Source: Extraordinary Women PBS
Agathachristie.com
http://www.agathachristie.com/christies-work/stories/the-mysterious-affair-at-styles/41

How observant are you? If answering the first question was a challenge, did you note all the questions in this quiz had an underlying theme which provided a clue?

The popular web-based series,
hosted by Greg Edwards, is a collaborative effort.
Each person, including an actual Ph.D, contribute their knowledge and skill in creating each video, according to Edwards.

Thug Notes is an innovative teaching method that spoofs traditional literature using Rap.
But as the New York Times points out, the concept is being done well…and to death by many others.

So are there other hard-to-grasp subjects, currently overlooked, that might be spoofed in some other unconventional or unexpected way using a method other than Rap?
What might the next popular trend be?

References
PBS.org
Tavis Smiley Interview with Greg Edwards
http://tinyurl.com/p9bgjeu

Nytimes.com
Homies in Verona, Gangstas in Elsinore
Thug-Notes and Other Sites Translate Literature Into Rap
Neil Genzlingerjan. January 24, 2014
http://tinyurl.com/kfcfe88

I Got Schooled…

Update: Video and two reference links for Teacher Salary Project are added at the end of the post.

Contents

• Post
• Quick Quiz: Teaching Fact or Fiction & Answers
• References Press Release
• Entrepreneurial Teachers & Related Issues

The title of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan’s latest book on school reform also accurately describes what I learned when I took a close look at the economics of teaching from an entrepreneurial viewpoint.

It’s no secret that teachers are poorly paid. But I suspect that many people do not stop to think about what that reality means in the daily lives of educators. And the cost to society overall. Previously, Jonathan Kozol’s essay Savage Inequalities assigned for a social policy class in 2009 was my primary point of view as was Morgan Spurlock’s Inside Man on Education and the little girl who began to cry when informed she’d have to undergo more testing at school. And of course my fond and not so fond memories as a student.

But what I recently discovered is that personal experience limits understanding of a large, complex problem. Activists in the field of education present compelling arguments but often focus on students…one part of the elephant in the room. The problems viewed through a business lens are primarily one of ineffective infrastructure and longstanding historical issues yet to be addressed.

Consider these words spoken during an episode of a popular ’60s western set in the mid-1800s. Outlaw Frank Coulter revealed why he’d changed his occupation.

“I was a schoolteacher tasked with educating the children…and I was held in high esteem, but the decent people paid me 30 cents a day and one day, I’d had enough…” –  Frank Coulter

Today, philosophical and political differences continue to bring overall positive change at glacial speed. And the bureaucracy continues to ignore the math, spending more than 7 billion dollars annually to replace teachers who burn out from low salaries and overwork, according to the National Commission on Teaching. The popular notion that teachers have the summer off to work is a myth.

Many educators work second jobs after school during the academic year. While the infrastructure turns slowly, there are bills to pay, incidentals, such as school supplies, rent, food, health insurance, and student loans. In some cases graduate students in the teaching profession attracted to the finance industry for part-time work, discover they can make far more income and leave for greener…literally… pastures, according to a Sam Houston State University professor.

Ironically, moonlighting, by its very nature stressful and time-consuming is viewed as a problem-solving solution allowing educators to continue to afford to teach… The teaching profession yields a larger number of part-time entrepreneurs than other professions, which makes sense when you consider how widespread moonlighting activity is within the profession versus the general population. But there is also the issue of entrepreneurial traits, which many good teachers possess.

Quiz
Teaching Fact or Fiction

1. True or False? In the 1960s teacher, Jonathan Kozol was fired for reading the poems of Langston Hughes to children of color
2. *In Russia Teachers, earn an annual salary of a. $48,000 b. $4,800 c.  $29,700
3.**How much do teachers spend on school supplies during the year…each year?
a. $600-$2000 b. $250- $500
4. True or False IRS Rules allow nearly all expenses spent on supplies as a write-off.

Answers

1. True. Some say the resulting publicity helped propel his career as an activist.
2. b. But professors at Sam Houston point out significant differences in socio-economic policies, in Russia. For instance, health insurance is paid for by the government.
3. a. Almost $700, according to the recent Sam Houston study. But one teacher in the Parham study reportedly spent $2,000.00.
4. False. $250.00 is the maximum allowed for deductions.

*Source: Sam Houston State University researchers TSTA 2012
** Source: Sam Houston State University researchers & Parham dissertation.

References

Sam Houston State University School of Education Survey: TSTA Texas & Russia, 2012 Note: Survey conducted or the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA)

Niche Creativity Press release – Online PR Media.com
https://onlineprnews.com/news/475783-1397016889-increase-in-teachers-schooled-in-moonlighting-entrepreneurial-tasks-inspires-new-guide.html/

Fordham.edu Savage Inequalities: Children in American Schools, Beauford, 1991, pdf.
Circumstances of Kozol’s firing on page 4.

Amazon.com Reading Between the Lines – Note: An assigned textbook with Jonathan Kozol’s work.
http://tinyurl.com/bqzj8t8

City Journal.org America’s Most Influential—and Wrongest—School Reformer
Note: Description of firing and resulting publicity starts in para. 4.
http://tinyurl.com/loszhks

Chicagoland/CNN.com
http://tinyurl.com/n2r5nok

YouTube: The Big Valley Tunnel of Gold, 1966.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M86N6DJkEE

Abc News wfaa.com: More Texas teachers moonlighting to make ends meet
http://tinyurl.com/ks7ahjn

Digitallibrary.txstate.edu
Moonlighting; A Reality for Many Public School Teachers Dissertation,
Janis Newby Parham, B.S, M.Ed…Texas December 2006
Note: Profiles of several moonlighting teachers begins on page 51.
Sobering inside look at the daily life of a teacher. Some of whom already exhibit entrepreneurial activities…one in particular. And arguably, this resource is a script in a reality TV show.
Parham’s suggestions include better and realistic career counseling
information for aspiring teachers. A good argument
could be made that reviewing this dissertation would be a good starting point.
http://tinyurl.com/lebsye3

Globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com
What Finland Can Teach America about Education
http://tinyurl.com/kbzfbpo

Insideman.blogs. cnn.com
Inside Man Morgan Spurlock
http://tinyurl.com/mbwcyzs

Texas State Teachers Association
Note: Press release discusses survey
findings from Sam Houston State University researchers.
http://www.tsta.org/sites/default/files/Moonlighting13.pdf

CNN.com
Linda DeRegnaucourt Skilled Math Teacher
in Florida Forced to Quit Beloved Career
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/07/20/why.quit.teacher/

Public News Service.org
Moonlight Madness for North Carolina Teachers
http://tinyurl.com/kqlfvpz

Ncpublicschools.org/pdf
North Carolina: educator effectiveness survey
and the turnover report include a list of dissatisfaction.
http://tinyurl.com/kc4mwdl

Dallas News.com
Kristie Smith…Opinion Teachers are
overworked underpaid and moonlighting
http://tinyurl.com/p8utolj

McKinsey on Society.com
Closing the talent gap: Attracting and retaining
top-third graduates to a career in teaching
http://mckinseyonsociety.com/closing-the-talent-gap/ –
See more at http://tinyurl.com/luu6ssd

National Center for Education Statistics Nces.ed.gov/pubs/pdf
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013153.pdf

Bureau of Labor Statistics.gov
New data on multiple job holding available from the CPS
http://bls.gov/mlr/1997/03/art1full.pdf

Edpolicy.org Note: Policy analysis for California education
http://www.edpolicyinca.org/

Scholastic.com/primarysources/pdfs
Note: Survey in which teachers describe ways to improve the system http://tinyurl.com/ydaldy2

CNN.com
Why one good teacher decided to quit Note: Florida math whiz leaves
beloved teaching for a nursing career.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/07/20/why.quit.teacher/

Nctaf.org
National Commission on Teaching Education
Note: pdf Cost of Teacher Turnover policy brief estimates
cost at more than 7 billion annually in 2003-2004.
http://tinyurl.com/lonblm2

Ashley Lewis-Cook Authorexpress.com
Note: Blog post by Texas educator: Our Teachers & Leaders
are Leaving the Profession in Record Numbers…
http://tinyurl.com/mj3hwhe

Entrepreneurial Teachers & Related Issues

Artez.nl Dance teacher as an entrepreneur
http://finals2013magazine.artez.nl/en/dance-teacher-as-entrepreneur/

So You Want to Become A Freelance Online Teacher
Niche Creativity.com http://wp.me/P3Kr4S-1dG

NYC.gov
Conflicts with teacher ventures and governmental policy.
http://tinyurl.com/lmz5bql

Edsurge.com
Arrested development when teachers
are blocked from building edtech products.
http://tinyurl.com/m46c7zn

Learnlaunchx.com
Note: Boston-based accelerators for ed-tech start-ups
names seven ed-tech startups for the 2014 accelerator program.
http://tinyurl.com/m82bpdb

Sireview.org
Stanford Social Innovation Review
Teachers and Social entrepreneurs
http://tinyurl.com/knn6eu8

Science Explorers.com
Note: Fun after school science activities
https://scienceexplorers.com/ask-jupiter-jen/

Heartland.org
Edventures Teachers/entrepreneurs
http://tinyurl.com/kccdch6

TechCrunch.com
Teachers Making Moola on the Web
http://tinyurl.com/nyh59y4

Learnlaunchx.com in the News
http://learnlaunchx.com/in-the-news/

Bioeyes
Note: Nonprofit established to teach children science using fish
http://bioeyes.org/inthenews.html

The Moonlight Attic Note: Former teacher discovered her skill at photography and creating postcards for her church was the beginning of a business
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheMoonlightAttic

Habits of mind.org
Note: Australian teacher leaves
the classroom to start an educational company based on her “Gift of Gab.”
http://www.habitsofmind.org/resources?page=2
http://tinyurl.com/m3hrxcb http://spectrumeducation.com/portal/index.php

Diverseeducation.com
Moonlighting becomes them: college faculty
become entrepreneurs, high-priced
consultants off-campus – African Americans
http://diverseeducation.com/article/7586/

Nytimes.com New Breed of Teachers
Become Entrepreneurs & Roving Innovators,
Peter Applebome, Published: May 31, 1995
http://tinyurl.com/l5hfufl

Teacher Care.com Personal Childcare Agency Staffed by Teachers
http://www.teachercare.com/userreviews.htm

Infographic Edupreneurs: Could Teachers Become the Next Batch of Startup Entrepreneurs?
http://www.bestmastersineducation.com/edupreneurs/

SFChronicle.com
Why Do Teachers Need Side Jobs to Pay Bills?
Op-ed by Ninive Calegari
http://tinyurl.com/pnnm2xq

The Teacher Salary Project.org
Infographic
Short Videos

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wr6pmSquvw?feature=oembed&w=1200&h=675]

Childhood Inspiration

Think back to when you were growing up.
What were your most memorable and positive experiences at home, school, or at after school events or social gatherings? Did someone you observe leave a lasting impression? If so, in what way?Can you make a checklist of your recollections? Might there be a business idea hidden in your answers?

Florida administrator, entrepreneur, and community leader Efferem Williams grew up in the South and observed how his cousin, nicknamed GQ, had a style for fashion and ties that set him apart from others in their church.

By age 10, Williams started wearing stylish ties to school on a regular basis. And twenty years later, he and his cousin launched a business that designs and markets, exclusive designer, silk neckwear, including prized bowties.

Company motto?   There’s Knot 1 like it! 

Today with the help of his preteen son and daughter you can’t help but detect the makings of more budding entrepreneurs. They have contributed names for the ties, such as Brown sugar, Lemon drops, Dreamsicle, and Charleston Lime among many others, reports the Florida Times-Union.

Takeaway lesson: Childhood experiences often hold the key to successful ideas and point to personality traits that may signal entrepreneur. In the case of Efferem Williams, How many 10-year-olds would decide to wear ties or bowties to school…every day?

Reference

The Florida Times-Union, June 30, 2009, Charles Patton.“Jacksonville entrepreneur passionate about his neckwear.”

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New material added weekly

Coming next week: Tips for teachers considering moonlighting or starting a sideline business.

Squeaky Knees…and Tail Lightz

If you watched last week’s episode, then you saw the segment with a couple who invented leggings with a built-in squeaker toy for crawling infants. The idea was to be able to monitor the child’s movements by hearing the sound… of constant squeaking as the infant or toddler crawled.

Unfortunately, the presentation didn’t go so well.
The sharks hated the idea of clothing with nonstop audio.
Apparently, no one told the couple beforehand that they had a major flaw in their design…noise.

Testing or surveying others for honest feedback before manufacturing the product was either not done or negative feedback ignored in favor of others who said they “loved” the product.

Tail Lightz
Getting honest, objective feedback from family and friends can sometimes be difficult. For instance, during the early season of Shark Tank a male hopeful appeared on the program with patches that would attach to the back seat of women’s jeans. He was accompanied by two girls who modeled his patches .

The sharks disliked the concept and designs…and apparently…so did the models.
When questioned one reluctantly admitted it on national television.

Lesson
Inadequate product research and falling head over heels in love with an idea can be costly.   And sometimes embarrassing. The basic premise of Squeaky Knees might have
had better possibilities with a revamping of the idea…something that ideally should have been done before they maxed out their credit cards to fund the wrong design.

References

Shark Tank
http://sharktanksuccess.blogspot.com/2014/02/squeeky-knees.html

Tail Lightz
http://sharktanksuccess.blogspot.com/2013/08/tail-lightz-update.html

Wisconsin University Innovation Center
http://www.uww.edu/wisc/

Wisconsin University LibraryResearch Guides
http://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/content.php?pid=13984&sid=93978

Beyond Youtube

Q: Do you have a video that you would recommend?

A: Canadian entrepreneur Cameron Herold covers a lot of subject matter in an entertaining irreverent fast-paced talk entitled Let’s Raise Kids to Be Entrepreneurs.
It’s a TED  video from 2010.  Other sources you can investigate include
Prendismo.com’s subscription service, which starts at $20 for six months. Or the Stanford University collection.

Prendismo
https://www.prendismo.com/collection/

Stanford Teaching Resources
http://stvp.stanford.edu/teaching/resources.html

Food Babe.com  Vani Hari’s recent appearance and demonstration on a TV morning show was not only eye-opening but disturbing. Hari’s efforts previously publicized more widely how plastic additives, also found in yoga mats, was included in the bread many people gobble down each day at Subway. Now I don’t understand why it took exposure for executives at Subway to decide to remove a chemical that should never have been there in the first place… but I digress. Hari demonstrated how a natural brand of green tea actually contained pesticides. Consumption on a daily basis would be especially dangerous for someone who drank a lot of the “healthy natural liquid” believing that the label “natural” meant safety.

Take Away Lesson Food is an  essential tool for a would-be entrepreneur who must think effectively and have the energy to function efficiently. Chowing down on a steady diet of  assorted pesticides, plastics, and other chemicals supply the brain and body with toxic substances contributing to fatigue and brain fog.

Critical thinking and problem-solving becomes harder to achieve successfully. Create a simple set of safe healthy nutrition rules for your circumstances. For instance, paying closer attention to ingredients in the foods you’re consuming and the impact on your energy level and mood and avoiding negative substances is an excellent start. References Food Babe CNN http://tinyurl.com/lajb6yo Food Babe.com http://foodbabe.com/ Food Babe Eating Guides http://foodbabe.com/eating-guides/