depression

yesterday in my saturday grad school class my professor announced she was switching careers. she is currently a professor at two different universities in the area and a director of the middle school at a fabulous school for kids with learning disabilities. she is one of the best professors i've had in my masters program, and is clearly fabulous with kids, managing staff, and managing special ed law. why would someone so fabulous and so knowledgeable leave our profession?

being curious, and assuming she had to be doing something so incredible and education-related to want to leave her director position and university teaching positions, we questioned her during our break. when she told us someone laughed loudly and said, "right. no, seriously, what are you doing?"
she is leaving our profession to work for a private company, one that gives her a blackberry, a fabulous pension and retirement, and benefits no school can compete with. for her family it's the best move she could make. for us, and the education world in general, it's a great loss.

it just made me angry. how unfair is it that the great people in our profession can be poached by private companies? we need the best! we deserve the best! yet the best deserve to be paid the best, and there is no way education can compete with that. in a private school i'm sure they have merit-based pay, so i'm sure that's not the answer to this particular situation. but there are some health care plans, retirement plans, and benefit packages no school, private or public, can compete with. i know it's the way the world works. but it still makes me sad. no one should have to go from running a school, helping kids, teachers, parents, and grad students to having to work for corporate america and sit at a desk all day.

perhaps i'm just sad knowing such a great professor wont be out there anymore. or that such a motivated, knowledgeable teacher wont be there to make sure kids are getting the best. i wish the world could pay her what she deserves and what she needs for her family so that the rest of us wont have to suffer.