Every once in a while I will read about something that happens in the world that either makes me feel helpless in the face of such sorrow or disgusted.  Lately I decided that if I had the power to reprogram human nature, the one trait I would delete would be greed.  I used to focus on eliminating war, poverty, senseless violence, but if you think about it, these all stem from greed.  I can think of little that is positive emerging from our country’s current financial free fall, but I woke up this morning like Pandora peeking into the box.  I saw a glimmer of hope.

At the beginning of every school year, I ask my students to tell me what career they would like to pursue later in their lives, then I make big posters that group my students’ names by profession and post those at the front of the room.  I refer to them often as I teach to help the students focus on the fact that the reading, writing, and thinking we do in our class will be, not just useful, but essential to their future success.  When I’m working on the posters, I have to make sure to leave a lot of room for “Pro Sports” because I know many of my students will declare that as their dream job.  However, in the last 10 years, “Business” has challenged sports as the number one goal.  I always ask, “What kind of business?”  It rarely matters.  “Just business, I want to make as much money as possible.”  I tell them that money, like fame, is never the goal, it’s the byproduct–then I pause dramatically–”like sludge.”  I make sure that when we talk about the Hero’s Journey, the students understand that one of the ways you know you’re on the right path is that your “fulfillment”–that which you seek–improves your life, but also improves the lives of others.  If your guides are mentors, they will offer insights that lead you to your authentic self.  If your guides are demons, you will lose your way.

The idea that comforted me this morning is that the people who have based their lives on greed and the belief that money will provide the respect and power they lack in their personal lives are now the villains.  My students see this when they turn on the television, listen to the radio, and glance at the headlines.  Maybe, just maybe, this group of teenagers will choose careers that will allow them to support themselves and their families, but will also bring out the best in them–the best in human nature.  It will not make up for the devastation that has occurred in their parents’ and grandparents’ lives, but it could help them choose a path worth taking.