Rodney Dangerfield, Back to School, and Why Learning Still Matters
Rodney Dangerfield wasn’t exactly your typical leading man. Sweaty, self-deprecating, and always on the losing side of life—he made a career out of being the underdog. But in the 80s comedy Back to School, he gave us more than laughs—he gave us a lesson.
Thornton Melon (Dangerfield) is a millionaire who thinks Money can buy anything—including a college degree. His first move? Bribe, cheat, and even hire Kurt Vonnegut to write a paper on… Kurt Vonnegut. Spoiler: he fails.
But with an English professor pushing him to try, and a business school dean heckling him into proving himself, Thornton finally starts doing the work. He studies, shows up, learns. And by the end, he’s delivering a commencement speech on the dangers of shortcuts and the importance of Education.
So what’s the takeaway?
- Be honest about where you are.
- Accountability isn’t punishment—it builds trust.
- Shortcuts always catch up to you.
- Great teachers make all the difference.
Or as Thornton puts it: “If you don’t got an education, you got nothing.”
Who’s the teacher that changed things for you?
#humor #storytelling #RodneyDangerfield #learning #accountability
Rodney Dangerfield in the film Back to School (1986)
The Learned-It-In-Queens Communications Playbook: Winning Against Digital Distraction
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Julienne B. Ryan began her professional career at age five when she did TV commercials and learned important things like “the teamsters always eat first,” her social security number and how to endorse checks for bank deposit.
Ryan studied psychology in college because she wanted to understand humans. She conducted her “field work” in a variety of roles, hearing the phrases “merger synergies, reorganizations, downsizing and rightsizing for change” more times than she cares to mention.
Later she enrolled in an Ivy League graduate school where she paid oodles of money to validate her prior on-the-job learning experiences. However, she did learn to name drop up-to-date theories and trendy psychologists with alarming ease.
Ryan evolved into working in “Talent Management,” a fancy way of saying “try to find people and keep them moderately happy.” With inadequate budgets and staff allocations, she had to find creative ways to encourage her staff to work effectively. These ranged from begging and borrowing resources, improvising childcare, telling stories and even giving snacks as rewards. She tried to convince herself that working a bazillion hours and “multi-tasking” equaled achievement.
Her work took place in cubicles, conference rooms or, with luck, in offices with a door. Occasionally she would make the time to emerge from her allotted real estate to really talk to people. Ryan learned something transformative in the process:
Yes, she was effective. But not because she used fancy theories – or gave great snacks. Ryan’s success, her staff believed, was a result of her uncanny knack for weaving storytelling with humor to motivate and encourage them. Crucially, they encouraged Ryan to de-emphasize “that normal HR stuff” and focus on bringing her unique storytelling skills to a broader stage.
Thanks to them, Ryan continues to collect, connect and tell stories in her work helping people find their “true selves in the world of work.
She is the author of the humorous, all true "The Learned It In Queens Communications Playbook - Winning Against Distraction!".that now includes a workbook and is available at booksellers across the globe..
She is a guest contributor to The Procurement Foundry, LifeBlood, and the global storytelling community.
Certifications include
Accumatch (BI) Behavior Intelligence
Narativ Applied Storytelling Methodologies
Collective Brains – Mentorship Methodologies
Who’s the teacher that changed things for you?
