AT HEAD OF THE CLASS : BLOCH'S SON LEAVES THE FAMILY BUSINESS FOR TEACHING JOB.Byline: Barnaby J. Feder The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Even as a teen-ager, Thomas Bloch Thomas Bloch (born 1962) is a prominent classical musician specializing in the rare instruments ondes Martenot, glass harmonica, and Cristal Baschet. Receiving a Masters Degree in Musicology at the University of Strasbourg, Bloch has performed over 2500 times and appeared on over aimed to become chief executive of H&R Block, the company founded by his father, Henry, and his uncle, Richard. He cut high school classes to join his father on business trips, eagerly signed on as a tax preparer immediately after finishing college and rose to president of tax operations before he turned 28. In 1992, he was named chief executive. No wonder Bloch, now 42, recalls the April day nearly two years ago - when he announced his intention to quit the job that had once been his dream in favor of teaching - as ``the first time in my life I didn't have a road map.'' His father, like everyone else in the company, was surprised by the announcement. But the senior Bloch said he was pleased that his son had the courage to move on if he was no longer enjoying the job. Thomas Bloch had no teaching credentials A United States teaching credential is a basic multiple or single subject credential obtained upon completion of a bachelor's degree and prescribed professional education requirements. , but he eventually found a welcoming classroom at St. Francis Xavier Francis Xa·vi·er , Saint See Saint Francis Xavier. , a Catholic elementary school elementary school: see school. at the edge of a poor, mostly African-American neighborhood in Kansas City Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , Mo. In addition to teaching at St. Francis, Bloch is taking education classes across the street at a community college. He says he hopes his experience will make him an authoritative voice one day for innovation in education. ``I'm going after a totally different kind of fulfillment,'' Bloch said, describing his goal of mixing more time for his wife and two sons with work that is focused on people who struggle with poverty and other inner-city woes. He said that leaving behind his former job, at which he earned $618,000 in his last full year, did not create a financial hardship. At the time he left, his holdings in Block were worth $13 million. ``When you are a CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. in a public company,'' he said, ``you are fairly removed from where the good is really being done.'' Apparently, plenty of other high-power professionals harbor similar feelings. Bloch says he gets calls from business executives and others at the top of the economic mountain whenever a news article about his move appears. Bloch is not the only family member open to change. His uncle, whom Bloch credits for the entrepreneurial drive that fueled Block's early growth, stepped down as chief executive in 1976, after the company's first wave of expansion, but remained chairman. After recovering from lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. , diagnosed in 1977, he stayed on until 1982 when he resigned to devote himself to sponsoring cancer-related projects. And his father, who is still the company's chairman, managed to stay involved while gracefully grace·ful adj. Showing grace of movement, form, or proportion: "Capoeira is a graceful ballet of power and control, artists kicking and jumping in synchronized movement" Alisa Valdes. and cheerfully turning over power first to his son and then to outside successors, a feat that is far from commonplace in family-bred businesses. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Thomas Bloch, 42, left his dream job as CEO of his father's income tax company two years ago to become a schoolteacher. The New York Times |
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