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I am reminded of an old saying about teaching:

"Teaching is one of those jobs that everyone thinks they can do
better than those people who actually have to do it for a living"

These days everybody works long hours.  This is different from "working
hard".  Steelworkers "work hard"; most people reading this "work a lot".
There is a difference.

I grew up around teachers, I am married to one and so do not have any
romantic notions about the job.  Every profession has its
share of heroes and bums.  Not every teacher is practicing to be Mr.
Chips.  Still, for the simple grind of never ending work (marking,
preparing lessons and tests, committees, meetings with students and
teachers, more marking), teaching must be close to unbeatable.

All that aside, I agree with Mia Rausa Llarena that museums and education
have a lot in common.  We used to believe that the creation of an educated
person and a citizen was a process without a real beginning or end.
Instead, I recently read an opinion piece by a local community
leader talking about the need for 'increased productivity' in education
measured by more students educated to a higher standard in less time with
fewer teachers.  He truly could be talking about Honda Civics.

He also could be talking about museums.  The measure of viability
of museums is increasingly their ability to attract and keep tourists,
generate revenue and do all of this with fewer resources.  The museum is no
longer part of a process; it is a factory to produce economically viable
museum visits.

Not what I got into the business for.  But a I guess most teachers would
say the same.

Ian Kerr-Wilson
Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology