Do you remember when you first told your parents you wanted to be a teacher? Did they respond with something like, “What a great profession! You really can make a difference in kids’ lives!” … Or did they say, “There’s no money in it, kid! Got any other ideas?”
My name is Paul Schaumburg and I came to work in Kentucky education by what probably is a very different route than yours. Despite the fact that my last name is not from the British Isles, I am a native Kentuckian with family roots here dating back more than 150 years. I attended public schools and colleges throughout my life in the Commonwealth. My educational and professional focus always has been communication, which is how I eventually came to work in education.
My father wasn’t totally a no-nonsense kind of guy, but he was pretty darned close! What little nonsense he did abide often took the form of the exaggerated German accent he’d effect in mocking the dense German characters on TV’s Hogan’s Heroes. … Yes, there is irony there because he also was quite proud of his own German heritage!
So, when I, as his only son and youngest of his three kids, informed him that I wanted to pursue a career in radio, guess how he reacted! … “There’s no money in it, kid,” he replied, “why not become an engineer, like me?” The real answer was “because I can’t… nor do I really want to be an engineer. I have neither the interest nor the aptitude. I don’t know which is the chicken and which is the egg, but I do know it’s not for me!” Of course, I didn’t say exactly that!
That conversation has to be a major reason that I am so interested in personality tests, including Myers-Briggs and RIASEC, the latter matches a person’s interests to careers.
After 15 years in radio, I was a reporter-photographer-columnist at the Mayfield Messenger newspaper for six years and, since 2002, I’ve worked as community relations director of the Graves County Schools. I also went back to college to earn the master’s degree that would qualify me to teach college communication classes. I’ve since taught more than 100 during the past 20 years.
I firmly believe that for many of us, our skill at communicating directly affects our happiness and success in life! Conversely, I firmly believe our backgrounds as individuals, ranging from gender to geography to generation and our reactions to those factors… tremendously influence our thinking, communicating, and living.
A few years ago, a student who had taken several organizational communication classes told me that of all his college teachers, I most emphasized what’s behind communication. I take that as a compliment and realize I love the influence of the “back story” on why we do and say the things we do and say.
Now, Rhonda Caldwell, Wayne Young, and their excellent staff at the Kentucky Association of School Administrators have blessed me with the opportunity to blog about communication and related topics. Thank you for reading my first blog! Please watch for more to follow.
I learned long ago that, when teaching a class or writing an article, there’s often one or more people who know more about a particular subject than you do! For example, in a class one night our discussion turned to nonverbal communication. Two law enforcement officers who were class members shared how they’d learned to spot when someone’s lying. Their insight was fascinating! I’m sure others can help expand the conversation on this blog with constructive comments on subjects that arise. If you’d like to write me directly, please email me at paul.schaumburg@graves.kyschools.us.
To conclude, anthropologist Walter Goldschmidt said the drive to meet social needs is so universal, that we could call it "the human career." So, in effect, we could call communication “the human career!” Wow! I wish my dad were still living to know that my humble beginnings in radio have transformed into “the human career!” I’d tell him that my daughter and oldest son also earned communication degrees and work essentially in PR. I’m sure he’d be proud. He also would be happy to know that my youngest son, his youngest grandson, recently completed a degree at the University of Illinois in mechanical engineering! …Maybe like twins in a family, engineering skips a generation!
Question of the Week: How does your continuing development of communication knowledge and skills help you grow in your daily interactions with others?