I'm not used to waking up from good dreams. For some reason it doesn't happen very often. I had one this morning, however.

I was a high school teacher (teaching junior year civics, economy, and english, variously), giving a presentation before much of the senior class and other teachers in the school in an auditorium or lecture hall. After I was done, and the question and answer period opened, I took one question with a minor clarification from a teacher, and then got a surprise when one of my former students asked me a much harder question. I answered, after a pause, only to be caught immediately by another one, asking another critical question, disputing an assumption. A third brought in conflicting evidence. It turned into a veritable deluge of questions, some of which I could answer, some of which I couldn't, and the blackboards behind me turned into a mess of notes and diagrams.

By the time that time ran out, I was standing in front of something that had turned highly controversial, partly discredited, and grinning like a madman. I couldn't be prouder. I turned back to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen," I said, "let's have a round of applause. I give you the class of 2016. They can think!"

I awoke, smiling, the sound of clapping suddenly gone in an apartment all too quiet.

Every once in a while I consider changing careers to teach, either high school, junior high, or freshman/sophomore college level. I always end up remembering that teachers get paid less than janitors in many cases, and often get less respect from their communities, and chicken out. I'm too fond of my comforts, my toys, my high speed internet connection to take a 50% reduction in pay or more. Still, I wonder sometimes if it might not be worth it to have a more rewarding life. I'm good with computers, or so my employers tell me, but I'm not doing anything that will have a lasting effect on the world, even with my contributions to the Free Software community.