As we were driving to my daughter’s school yesterday morn, we passed Stokes Elementary . . . Jessica said: “Why would JANITORS need TRAINING?”

There’s a bit of a “back Story” here. Stokes is a GRAND OLD building that was an elementary school for YEARS. My guess is that Metro Schools “decommissioned” it as a school because of the expense of up-keep, etc. It is now an “extra school” in the area for use by other nearby schools as their buildings undergo renovation . . . It is also a “Training Facility” for Janitors.

My daughters know this because they both spent a year in that building while our beloved Julia Green Elementary got it’s “Green, Environmentally Friendly face-lift.”

So . . .

Why WOULD Janitors need training?

Unlucky for Jessica, we still had 10 minutes to drive . . . so I began to unpack as many thoughts as I could think relating to this question.

• Choosing to be a Janitor is a Worthy pursuit
• I could imagine that there are some very intelligent and well-educated Janitors who chose that profession so as to have more time to THINK
• Perhaps they are “simple people” who don’t need to make a lot of money
• or wealthy people who don’t need to make a lot of money and seek something to do
• Likely, they take great pride in their work . . . when the place sparkles, they hear compliments.
• I’ll bet the Janitors sometimes feel unappreciated with pride as they KNOW they cleaned all of those unseeable areas that no-one else would ever notice
• Training? Wouldn’t it make sense for a Janitor to pay attention to efficiencies just like any other career? Which cleaning solvents work best? What’s the “Right equipment” for each part of the job?
• I can imagine that there are annual Janitor Conventions and trade-shows
• Janitor competitions? Yes, I know they exist.
• While I can imagine that a Janitor’s job is not completely stress free – There will always be those emergent situations – Big messes to clean or parties to prepare the space . . .
• I’m betting that potential for happiness for a janitor may be greater than for most other professions.

Poor Jessica couldn’t get a word in while I spewed all of these thoughts.

Y’see . . . I think my lesson for Jessica is a lesson that we might ALL benefit from hearing . . . There is NO career choice that is shameful for the person who has great passion for that work (art).

What matters isn’t the choice of career . . . What matters is the PASSION that drives that choice and turns the “job” into an art form.

and . . . Who is ANYONE to judge others?

Just sayin’

Best,

b