High School Science Teacher and Coach
Concentrating more on his college football scholarship than academics delayed his career path until he decided to think long term about a career he would enjoy
ML was born in the Philadelphia area, one of three children. An older brother was an FBI agent. His sister was an elementary school teacher. ML’s mother worked as a courthouse administrator (Deputy Register of Wills). His father was a an attorney who told ML that “you could be anything you want to be.” Looking back now, ML agrees but it took him many years to decide what he wanted to be, long term.
ATTENTION TO ATHLETICS DELAYED HIS ATTENTION TO A LONG TERM CAREER
ML was a gifted high school athlete in several sports, including football and wrestling. He accepted a football scholarship to a college Division 1 program, where he eventually became the starting quarterback for several seasons. Upon enrolling in college, ML had no long term employment plan but opted for accounting courses, which required more academic focus than he was willing to give while football practices and weekend games required so much athletic focus to master running the football team’s offense as the quarterback.
Teammates suggested that ML drop accounting courses in favor of “phys ed” courses toward becoming a phys ed teacher but after adopting that focus for a semester, ML was persuaded by a family member to become a dentist to join the family dental practice. Soon realizing that acceptance to dental school would require high academic achievement in biology and chemistry courses, ML was open to pursue a different career path when a neighbor persuaded ML to turn his academic focus to “marketing” as a path to working for the DuPont Company upon college graduation. But once again, attention to football was primary so ML’s grades fell below the minimum threshold to maintain his athletic scholarship and he had to withdraw from college (involuntarily) to work at a national retailer’s local store in their display department.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A SECOND OPPORTUNITY TO ACHIEVE A COLLEGE DEGREE
Within a few months, ML was contacted by the wrestling coach at his former college, offering an athletic scholarship if he would return to school for his senior year and participate in their varsity wrestling program. ML had not wrestled competitively for several years and was not enthusiastic about the prospect of rigorous training to perform at a high athletic level but he accepted this opportunity to complete his college education for free. Upon his return to the classroom, he decided to devote more serious academic attention to his marketing courses and was rewarded with good grades, finally earning his college degree.
LOOKING BACK, HE SHOULD HAVE DELAYED COLLEGE ENROLLMENT
Looking back post retirement, ML realizes he was not ready to apply himself academically to any college courses when he graduated from high school. He believes that instead of trying to balance (1) high athletic achievement within a Division 1 football program with (2) paying adequate attention to his academic courses, he should have enlisted in one of the military services which would have provided the concurrent opportunity to play for one of their sponsored football teams. A military service time commitment of several years would have likely provided the opportunity for ML to take more seriously the requirements of his academic courses in order to pursue a career interest more directly.
FIRST ADULT JOB NOT A COMMITMENT TO A LONG TERM CAREER
Recalling the good business reputation of the Proctor & Gamble Company from many college marketing course case studies, ML submitted an application to P & G and was offered a job as a marketing representative in the Philadelphia area. ML’s primary job responsibilities involved promoting P & G’s product lines to major grocery chain stores, wholesalers and independent retail grocery stores. This was not a difficult task, mentally or physically, due to P &G’s extensive advertising and brand loyalty so ML began to redirect his career path toward something more challenging and which he knew he would enjoy: teaching and coaching high school sports.
FINALLY FINDING DAILY JOB ACTIVITIES FOR CAREER SATISFACTION
ML enrolled in a different college to obtain a degree in biology to qualify to teach that science at the high school level. Achieving that academic goal motivated ML to broaden his teaching certifications and enroll at his original college to earn his certification to teach chemistry.
Based upon his recent academic achievements to qualify as a science teacher, ML soon found employment as a high school teacher and sports coach. This career path lasted 30 years until retirement, involving employment at several high schools and eventually a dual position teaching science and marketing at a county Institute of Technology.
During a brief interval between teaching positions, ML worked at the suggestion of a friend in the garment industry in New York City, representing the best known manufacturers of women’s designer clothing in the fashion industry (e.g. Dior, Blacker, Lauren) traveling across the northeastern states to set up appointments to exhibit the entire clothing collections to chain stores (e.g. Wanamaker, Strawbridge, Hess). Unknown to ML at the time, this merchandising experience would later be utilized within his teaching curriculum.
ML’s outgoing personality created many friendships within the broad world of education. A friend knew of ML’s brief work as a salesman within the garment industry; combined with his years of high school teaching and marketing experience, ML was the perfect candidate to implement the “Classroom in the Mall” program for a high school technology program (ACIT), which had leased an empty space within a mall, to give students the opportunity to learn – first hand, in the real world – many of the ‘ins and outs’ of the retail world. ML was given the freedom to develop the type of retail store curriculum and chose “clothing.” He utilized his personality to persuade local merchants to provide many items for sale and display. This turned out to be the first program of its kind in NJ, which lasted four years until the mall space was no longer available. In the meantime, the program was in high demand and due to ML’s successful teaching role, he was retained to continue teaching marketing and science in a traditional classroom setting, while also serving as his school district’s School to Work Coordinator.
Utilizing his teaching skills and creative thinking, ML experienced a high level of career satisfaction. No one benefitted more than his many students. One such instance stands out: ML “coached” a young female student to give her confidence to obtain her very first job interview; she was offered an entry-level position and was appreciative of ML’s help. When the school principal heard of ML’s role in assisting the timid student, he said: “To the world you are only one person but to one person, you can be the world.”
AN OBSERVER’S PERSPECTIVE
Editor’s note: As ML relates his career journey, he may believe that his initial inattention to college academics is evidence of below average intellectual ability. However, ML’s early ability to run a Division 1 football offense from the quaterback position plus his eventual ability to master biology and chemistry courses – when he was mentally ready to devote himself to study those subjects to qualify to teach them – demonstrates his high level of intellect, which ML would never concede but cannot reasonably deny. Once he found a career path to accommodate his interest in teaching and coaching, ML found career satisfaction to last three decades until reaching retirement age.
One conclusion: low grades and even “flunking out” may only demonstrate lack of interest in the academic courses and not a below average intellectual ability; students who have been low academic achievers should not assume they cannot ever succeed in school or in any business once they are willing to devote sufficient attention to mastering the tasks. They can and often do! But success cannot be achieved without pushing ahead, one step at a time.
A sports metaphor would seem to be appropriate in overall perspective: Within each male and female sport, one individual has the responsibility to lead the others. A baseball catcher faces his or her entire team’s defense and advises the pitcher what pitch to make and where to throw the ball; a basketball point guard brings the ball into play and may direct the flow of his or her teammates; a football quarterback knows the intended movement of his other 10 teammates and while surveying the defense, guides the offense. Thus a quarterback is significantly responsible for the success of each individual, which in turn contributes to the success of the team.
A personality which cares about leading a successful offense on a playing field is consistent with later, well managing others in the world of business and is especially useful within the world of education, where the teacher is responsible to motivate and guide his or her students.
It is therefore no surprise that ML eventually found a successful career path for himself, to the benefit of his many students over three decades.
