Not me. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't want a networth with 9 zeroes behind the first numeral, especially this week, with the lottery jackpot eclipsing 550 million dollars. People dreamed aloud this week about what they could gain from that much money even after the hefty tax bite Uncle Sam would give the jackpot. I considered more what I would lose: privacy, peace, the ability to live life on my own terms.
I never want to live my life hounded by press and paparazzi bullying me about how the public has the "right to know" how my life had changed since I won the big prize. I empathize all too well with Emily Dickenson, when she declares: "I'm nobody, who are you?" I don't want long-lost relatives coming out of the woodwork with tear-jerking stories of woe designed to empty my wallet into their hands.
On the other hand, I learned, about a decade ago, that public school teachers are public figures too, and that meant I did not have as much of a right to privacy as I would already prefer. Once, I was slandered, along with some other teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators, that he railed against in a website of his own creation. The rants were truly those of a thirteen year old, and actually, I was flattered to be villified in the company of colleagues whom I repected and admired. Our building rep for the union requested that we seek legal consul.
When the union lawyer explained to us our vulnerability in such a case, we chose to go no further. It did not matter that someone was publishing a rant, railing against the rigor of my class or the strictness of an administrator. I could live with that, but the idea that, as a public figure, the burden of proof in a civil suit was upon me to prove the statements false, shook me.
Even with the drama of being a teacher, and the tyranny of being shackled to education reforms implemented by politicians with minimal input from educators in the field, I rejoice in my portion. There is love in my life, support from family, friends, and colleagues, and I come to work every day to students who are genuinely happy to see me and who are waiting to see what they can learn from me.
