On Professionals

I have an opinion with regard to the difference between professionals and experts. I believe that professionals do it eight hours a day while experts do it twenty-four hours a day.

I mean no disrespect to professionals, only a cautionary note: As we go through sixteen plus years of school we are pushed to find the one right answer as per the latest textbook or school of thought. Most textbooks are filled with gobs of theory and, unfortunately, theory, (which usually involves labeling (dislabeling) and pigeon-holing), works great only in theory.

Because we do not live in either a vacuum or a petri dish, theory does not translate well to reality. Theory tends to neglect the “human” variables like dreams, aspirations, self-direction and the faith and support of family and friends.

The moment we put a kid (or an adult) in a box for the convenience of management, we do him or her a great disservice and quite possibly irreparable harm. We, as professionals, can ill afford not to listen to and learn from the wisdom of the “experts” we work with.

Robert Louis Stevenson said, “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” This requires vision, faith in one’s self and cause and, as importantly, support from those with the power to either inhibit or set free.

A Quote:

"Children should be the first to benefit from the successes of mankind, and the last to suffer from its failures.” - James Grant