Dayna English
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I retired from investment banking at Merrill Lynch when I turned 50 and joined Teach for America in New York City.
Education had changed my life, and I felt that I had a responsibility and duty to return the opportunity that had been given to me. The idea of working on my backhand, training for another marathon and or just managing my own portfolio did not seem right.
I was an “alternative” candidate for TFA. They took a chance on an old person. I needed to deliver on behalf of my AARP peer group. I went straight from my retirement party to orientation at St. Johns University in July 2008. The next morning as we boarded our yellow school buses at 5.30 a.m.
If I had not been the “age-diversity” speaker at the opening ceremony, and brought my 12-year old adopted Samoan daughter on stage with me, I might have been mistaken for a clingy parent with separation issues.
My friends joke that, although I am still working investment banking hours, I barely break minimum wage. I no longer stay at the Four Seasons, fly first class or am I met at the airport by a limousine. It is all true. My Chanel suits and Ferragamos languish in storage. They have been replaced by comfortable flats, “fashion jewelry”, and a sturdy Swatch. I have returned to shopping at the Salvation Army to find that unobtrusive pre-loved look. Being a fish out of water is really healthy as growing a new type of lungs and learning to breathe a totally different type of air.
Today, I am a Mathematics Teacher at Humanities II New Visions Charter School. I stand at the threshold of my classroom in the Bronx, shaking hands and welcoming students. Not only do I work on developing a solid hand shake, I also look deep into their eyes to determine redness and ability to focus while getting a quick whiff for cigarette or pot smoke, or clothes that have not been washed for days.
Then (read hovering mom) I can have a side conversation about drug use, and how that hampers their learning, ask where they are sleeping and if they need a safe place to stay. I have been known to take a load of laundry home from time to time, as well as keep fruit for anyone needing a snack. Like a concerned aunt, I want my students to know that I am on their side.
The best way I can express how much I love what I do is by those tears of joy and pride when someone you know and love is not just headed in the right direction, but is actually getting there.