Ex-professionals rejuvenated by second career in teaching

"Why do I have to learn this stuff?"

If Lauren Heckelman hears that during the math class she teaches at B.T. Washington Elementary School in Champaign, she can tell students about how she used math in her prior job as an accountant.

When John Parks teaches how to write resumes in his business classes at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, he can refer to decades of working in business and hiring people.

The two teachers are part of the growing ranks of second-career educators, people who either started or completed jobs in other fields before they came to teaching.

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