Teacher star of the show at career day

Because I Said So column for The Commercial Appeal

February 18, 2010

I was invited to Richland Elementary School to speak to Ms. Darnell’s second-grade class for career day last week. I prepared for it much the way I prepare to write for this column, over a cup of coffee and at the last minute. I figured I’d wander into the classroom around noon or so, mug of coffee in hand and, possibly, in my bathrobe. Just like any freelance writer anywhere.

I didn’t, though. I woke at a respectable hour, showered and dressed presentably. And I finished my coffee at home.

Fifteen minutes trying to explain what you do and why you do it to 25 7-year-olds is daunting. Most kids, I think, don’t fully understand what their parents do every day once they leave the house. How do you describe human resource management or certified public accountant to a kid whose hero is a little two-dimensional, mustachioed man named Mario? If you were leaving the house each day to traipse through different worlds, squashing mushrooms and jumping on turtles, well, that would be easy. To this day, all I really know about my own mother’s career is that she does “something with computers.” . . . (read more)