Creating a Unique Environment

May 3, 2010

Friday afternoon my wife and I went for a spontaneous walk into the woods. We don’t do things like this too often, so it was quite the little adventure. The moment we set foot into the woods, my eyes were wide open and working overtime, anxiously waiting for some ferocious critter to jump out at us. Fortunately, no such thing happened. However, we did spot a rabbit near a tree and a few turtles sunbathing on a log in a pond. Our walk was a pleasant break from the norm, and it’s something that we should do more often. The most amazing part of the walk was that my wife was on her planning period. My wife teaches at a charter school and the woods we were exploring were part of her school’s 22-acre campus. If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is.

My wife enjoys many perks teaching at her charter school. As I just mentioned, the physical environment of her school is unique. I can’t think of many public schools that get to enjoy being so close to nature. Often, at PE, the kids go on hikes. Don’t worry, there are trails clearly marked for them to follow.

But some of her perks aren’t so obvious to the naked eye. My wife has more freedom in the classroom than most public school teachers enjoy. She has a set of things that she must teach, but she doesn’t have to stick to a strict schedule. If she feels the need to tweak her lesson plans just a bit, she can do so. Her school has a more relaxed environment. If she felt that a lesson could be better taught with the help of the great outdoors, she could hold class outside. Think how much that 22-acre campus must come in handy to a middle school science teacher.

Also, my wife takes full advantage of her school’s casual faculty dress code. And I can’t say I blame her, I’d do the same if I could.

Along with all the other teachers at her school, my wife could teach at an ordinary public school and likely earn close to $10,000 more a year. But we’ve both decided that the extra money isn’t worth it. Why? You can’t beat the environment that my wife works in. She’s happy where she is, and many of us search our whole lives seeking happiness in the workplace and never find it. So many of us make the mistake of thinking that higher wages will translate to happiness. But that’s not true. We all know that.

Think of what we can accomplish if we create an environment that people want to be a part of. What if we create an environment that people talk about. And brag about. An environment that others envy.

We all know what it’s like to work in a miserable environment. At least I know what it’s like. And it’s not fun. It makes the job seem much worse than it actually is. But what about an environment that you look forward to seeing every workday. An environment worth getting excited about. I wonder what that must be like.

Oh yeah, I can just ask my wife. She says it’s awesome.