It’s not about the money but the value

As a society, we regularly talk about wanting to make more money. Most middle class and below people would love nothing more than to be millionaires and beyond.

I would love to be wealthy financially.

After listening to a podcast by Ed Mylett, something he and his interviewee discussed stuck out to me.

It's not about the money but the value we are seen as.

Money=value in todays society.

The more valuable you are to society, the more you are paid.

Teachers are incredibly valuable to the future of our society.

But we do not add immediate value. And therefore, we are not financially compensated for our hard work and effort.

If teachers were teaching currently successful adults, we would be considered more like coaches and paid for that value.

Students do not hold financial value to our society, they do not contribute to our economy (enough to make a major impact) and therefore, teachers are not compensated for the effort and value we add to the future.

What does that say about what our society values then?

Immediacy.

Shocking I know. Given how much Tik Tok satisfies our boredom. Amazon can deliver same day or next day delivery and that STILL is not fast enough for some of us.

In order for teachers to be compensated for our long term value, we as a culture need to gravitate toward long term thinking and planning.

The way that most successful entrepreneurs think.

If we shift the school system to teach students how to be successful adults in the ever evolving society, and our culture can put more value into the 5-10 year game instead of the 24-hour results, it would be remarkable.

Teachers would teach real life skills and models. Students would be better equipped to enter the bustling world. They would be less fear-driven to HAVE to go to college, and more excited to find a way to contribute to our society/economy.

We would be setting our future up for legitimate success instead of running through the motions of old patterns and structures.

If you google the richest people in the US, It is not the doctors or lawyers who took the traditional route of education.

The wealthiest people are those who may not have been top of their class in school, but worked hard and set sights on their goals, ambitions, and dreams to make something out of themselves.

How about we begin to teach our students those skills so that they don't have to wait until they are done with school, realize they don't even know how to figure out what they are passionate about.

Instead, let them explore, test taste, discuss, and collaborate in a direction of the future.