Financial sector's loss could spell gain for teaching

— -- Looking for a silver lining in the financial meltdown? How about this: Your child's next math teacher could be an absolute whiz.

It's too early to say for sure, but a few observers believe public schools could be the beneficiaries of a brainpower shift from the trading floors of Wall Street and the hedge funds of Greenwich, Conn., to classrooms nationwide.

This fall, for instance, New York City's Teaching Fellows program, which trains career-changers to work in city schools, saw the percentage of applicants listing "finance" as their current job rise to 10%, up from 6% in 2006.

"As I've been trying to think of silver linings, that's the only one I've come up with," says Allan Taylor, a Greenwich attorney who chairs the Connecticut State Board of Education.

"We've taken some of the strongest mathematical minds and sent them to figure out computerized stock trading programs. I'm not an economist, but in my mind, the country would have been better off if some of them had gone into K-12 or college teaching."

At Teach For America, the prestigious program that taps graduates at top universities, the percentage of trainees who majored in business has grown to 10% as well. "The turmoil in the market, I think, has opened up a lot of possibilities for people in terms of options they would consider professionally," says Elissa Clapp, who directs recruitment.

A large shift to teaching is by no means a sure thing: For one, the meltdown is forcing school districts to cut costs. But many say it could end up having an effect similar to that of the aftermath of 9/11, which drove thousands into teaching and other service careers. In 2002, for instance, Teach For America saw applications nearly triple.

"These big moments — and I think Sept. 11 was the last big moment — cause people to look for work that has meaning to them," says Tim Daly of the New Teacher Project, which recruits teachers nationwide.

Tristan Rudgard spent 20 years in finance in London and New York — most recently at Morgan Stanley. But the economic meltdown — as well as the sight of his children, ages 6 and 8, going off to school — changed everything.