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My Brilliant Second Career

By Heather Wolpert-Gawron

An Illinois newspaper recently reported an increase in second-career teachers. But really, aren’t most of us "second-career" in some sense? I mean, unless we bopped straight out of high school into a B.A., into an education program, and directly into the teaching field, surely we had experiences in civilian life that contributed to who we are now in the classroom. Having had a childhood back-dropped by the Hollywood sign, I don’t think anyone could say I skipped down a neatly paved Yellow Brick Road to reach my ultimate destination as a teacher.

Let’s open up my travel diary and see just where my path has wandered. Maybe it will inspire you to also take a walk down memory lane and mull over the road that led you to this great career. Besides, everyone’s got a flying monkey or two in their closet. Here are mine.

2 years old: My father, who was the producer of "The Price is Right" at the time, hired me as a toddler model for that week’s grand prize—a carousel. What did this bring to teaching? Something funky to talk about in the classroom...