我爲何離開《金融時報》去教書

A year from now, I will not be at my desk at the Financial Times writing mocking columns about the madness of corporate life.

明年這時候，我將不再坐在英國《金融時報》（簡稱FT）的工位上寫着嘲諷瘋狂公司生活的專欄，

I will be standing in front of a classroom of teenagers in an inner London school teaching them the basic rules of trigonometry.

而是會站在內倫敦一所學校的教室裏，給一班青少年學生講授三角函數的基本原理。

There are various things about this change of career that are irregular.

這次職業變動有好些地方不尋常。

One is that I’m doing it rather late — I’ll be 58 when I start.

一是我轉行較晚——等我開始執教時就58歲了。

Another is that I am making this announcement rather early. I’m not actually off until July.

二是我公佈消息較早——實際上我要到明年7月份才正式離職。

The reason I’m giving so much notice is I want to persuade you to jack in whatever you are doing and come with me.

我之所以提早這麼多宣佈消息，是想說服你們拋下正在從事的無論什麼工作，加入我的行列。

Or rather I want to persuade you if you are a) of a certain age b) doggedly determined c) based in London and d) fancy the idea of teaching maths, science or languages, where the shortage of teachers is worst.

準確地說，我打算說服的是這樣的你：a) 到了一定歲數 b) 意志堅定 c) 生活在倫敦 以及d) 對教授數學、科學或英文這幾門最缺老師的科目有興趣。

During the past few months, in cahoots with people who know what they are doing, I’ve been setting up an organisation to encourage bankers, lawyers and accountants to spend the rest of their careers in the classroom.

過去幾個月，我跟一幫靠譜的人混在一起，在創辦一個組織，目的是鼓勵銀行業人士、律師和會計師們將剩餘的職業生涯奉獻給講臺。

Our outfit is called Now Teach, and aims to do a version of what Teach First has done so brilliantly — convincing the brightest graduates that teaching is a cool and noble thing to do before trotting off to work for McKinsey/PwC/Goldman — only the other way round.

我們這個組織叫Now Teach（現在教書吧），我們力圖效仿Teach First（先教書吧），說服那些最聰明的人相信，教書是又酷又崇高的職業，只不過Teach First是鼓勵最優秀的畢業生，在投奔麥肯錫(McKinsey)、普華永道(PwC)或高盛(Goldman)之前先去教書，

We want to convince people who have spent a career at McKinsey or wherever that teaching is a cool and noble thing to do afterwards.

而我們是反過來，想說服那些已經在麥肯錫或別的什麼地方度過了一段職業生涯的人改行去教書。

Not everyone thinks this is a great idea.

並不是每人都認爲這是個好主意。

When I told my fellow columnist Gideon Rachman about it he looked at me in befuddlement.

當我告訴我的專欄作家同事吉迪恩.拉赫曼(Gideon Rachman)這個消息時，他不解地看着我。

Let me see if I’ve understood, he said, brow furrowed.

讓我確認下我的理解對不對，他皺着眉頭說，

You are leaving a job you are good at, where you get money, praise, freedom, glamour and flexibility.

你要離開一份你很擅長、薪水不錯、爲你帶來讚賞、非常自由、光鮮體面而且非常靈活的工作，

You are swapping it for something that is less well paid, difficult, has no freedom, no glamour, is intensely stressful and you may be rubbish at it.

換一份待遇較差、難度較高、不自由、不光鮮、壓力非常大而且你可能非常不擅長的工作。

Or am I missing something?

還是我有什麼考慮漏了？

The answer, Gideon, is yes you are.

回答是，吉迪恩，你確實沒考慮全。

Nobody can go on doing the same thing forever.

沒有人能一直幹同樣的事。

In most jobs two decades is plenty.

大多數工作幹上20年已經很長了。

I’ve stuck at mine for 31 years because my job is the nicest in the world.

就因爲我這份工作簡直是世界上最好的工作，我才一直幹了31年。

But even so, it has been long enough.

但即便如此，這也夠長了。

With jobs, as with parties, it is best to leave when you are still having a good time.

對待工作，應該像對待派對一樣，最好在你仍意猶未盡時離場。

For me, the thought of starting over, learning something that is new and terrifyingly hard, is part of the point.

對我來說，從頭再來、去學一些全新又十分困難的東西，恰恰是部分意義所在。

So is the thought of being in a staffroom with colleagues who are my children’s age.

與一羣跟我的孩子們年齡相仿的同事們共處一個教研室也是部分意義所在。

But the biggest thing, which readers may find hard to swallow given my entire career has been based on ridiculing others, is that, for my next act, I want to be useful.

但最主要的意義在於，我希望在我的下一段人生旅程裏做一個有用的人。考慮到鄙人整個職業生涯均建立在諷刺他人的基礎上，這一點或許會讓我的讀者們難以置信。

Yes, I know sticking pins in pompous chief executives is useful in a meta kind of way but that’s not the kind of useful I have in mind.

誠然，我知道戳破那些首席執行官的自負在某種意義上也是有用的，但那並不是我心目中的有用。

A few months ago I wrote a column pointing out that there were hardly any 50-somethings left in banking, corporate law or most managerial jobs.

幾個月前，我在一篇專欄文章中指出，在銀行業、公司法或大多數管理職位上已難覓50幾歲的人。

Underneath, a prescient FT reader wrote: time for Teach Last? It is time.

一位有先見之明的FT讀者留言道：到了終於去教書(Teach Last)的時候了？是的。

Schools need teachers.

學校需要老師。

My generation has mostly paid off mortgages; we have pensions and can afford a pay cut.

我們這代人大多已經還清了貸款；我們有退休金，也經得起減薪。

We will live until we are 100, and will work into our 70s.

我們將活到百歲，也將一直工作至年逾古稀。

If Leonard Cohen could do world tours until he was 80, I can surely find the energy needed to be in a classroom all day, teaching kids my favourite subject.

如果倫納德.科恩(Leonard Cohen)可以環球巡演到80歲，我也肯定有精力在教室待一整天，教孩子們我最愛的科目。

Various people have protested that it won’t work as my generation will be hopeless at controlling unruly teenagers.

很多人斷言那也沒用，因爲我這歲數的人不可能降得住那些難以管教的青少年。

But I’m not dumping myself and fellow Now Teach recruits in schools unsupported.

但我不會把我自己和Now Teach招募的其他人丟在學校裏不管。

We are in partnership with Ark, the educational charity, which knows how to train teachers.

我們與教育慈善機構Ark有合作，Ark懂得如何培訓教師。

I’ve sat in on some of its sessions and have learnt how to stand, and what to do with my voice to make kids behave.

我參加過他們的一些講座，並學會了用怎樣的站姿和語氣能讓孩子們老實。

I’ve practised in front of the mirror: I almost managed to scare myself.

我在鏡子前演練過：我的威嚴幾乎把自己都震懾住了。

For now I’m banning all FT readers from emailing me to say goodbye as I’m not off yet.

眼下我禁止所有FT讀者們發告別郵件給我，因爲我還沒走。

I’m staying until the summer and, even then, will not be making a clean break.

我將一直待到明年夏天，即便到那時，我也不會跟FT一刀兩斷。

I will go on writing for the FT, whenever I have a spare minute from all that trigonometry.

在教授三角函數之餘，我一有空就會繼續爲FT撰稿。

Instead, I want only to hear from people who have a view on Now Teach.

我只希望大家來信告訴我對Now Teach有何高見。

Better still, I want to hear from anyone who is ready to chuck in the corporate life and come with me.

我更願意獲悉有人已準備告別公司生活，加入我的行列。