I had promised you an article for Monday, January 10, which would explain the link between business and teaching – fear not you will get that article in your mailbox tomorrow – consider this article a bonus.

Many teachers have an identity crisis. When asked what they do for a living, most teachers will answer that they teach a certain grade level or a particular subject or a combination of the two. They fail to understand that they do more than teach (I’m not referring to the idea that some people have about teachers; they say that they did more than teach in the classroom – they are also social workers, nutritionists, police officers, etc.).

Teachers have transferable skills that they often fail to identify. My friend’s wife recently retired  from teaching. My friend had been a teacher many years ago; he is now  in upper management with a government agency. His wife asked him if there were any secretarial jobs that she could do at his place of employment. He got upset with her, because she didn’t seem to understand that she had more skills to offer to an employer than secretarial skills. Please don’t misunderstand me, secretaries are the backbone of many enterprises. My friend was trying to make his wife understand that she had to have a hard look at what skills she used in the classroom, because they are easily transferable to the business world.

The reason that I told you this story is to make you understand that you have a lot to offer. You are more than ‘just a teacher’. I want you to make a list of all the skills that you use in your teaching practice. How many are transferable to other areas or activities? How many of those skills can you use to create an online teaching enterprise? Take your time making your list, but as you write things down imagine the possibilities.