If I would have used my energy and talent in a greedy feeding frenzy, chasing money like points in a video game, I would have been a millionaire. I would have voted for the Republicans who funnel money from communities into the bank accounts of the wealthy, and I would have been paying less taxes than I am now. I would have been rich.

If I would have valued dollar signs over human hearts, I would have found a way to lie to consumers and lobby politicians. I would have hugged my bank account instead of my family, and I would have fought with my money to make sure there was an under-educated lower class to fleece in the name of business. I would have been rich.

If I would have seen creativity as a road to excess, if I would have learned to milk my talent instead of sharing it so freely with my students, I could have laughed all the way to the bank. I would have been rich.

Instead, I am happy. I love my job. My rewards come in the form of smiles, lightbulbs going off in children's heads, and the immeasurable joy of a life lived in service of humanity.

Recently a former student shared something with a Facebook group for the alternative high school for at-risk kids where I worked in the late 90's.

"Honestly, I would have killed myself without your class."

Herman Cain, you are right. It is my fault I am not rich. I made another choice, one that you wouldn't understand.