Thursday, November 05, 2009

We Don't Need No Education?

Aha! A blog post in just under the wire, for multiple good reasons. (One of them was my solo audition, which ran until after ten. The others are personal, but I can assure you that they were very, very good.)


Tomorrow I have the day off for parent-teacher conferences, a respite which can't come soon enough for me. (For those of you not in the loop, I work at a high school as a teacher's aide.) I haven't been enjoying my job nearly as much as I usually do of late, and I'm not quite sure why. Part of it is, I'm sure, the recent spate of sad events (two funerals in a week is the worst kind of week) and the toll they've taken not only on my mental state but on my sleep debt-- I drove for a total of 51 hours between the two of them. The rest of it is probably the fact that high school students are approximately as mature as two kindergartners in a farting contest. Being that my other job is working with kindergartners, this shouldn't bother me, but it does.


I think the biggest problem with my job, though, is the fact that most of my students just don't give a damn about anything we're trying to teach them. The moments when I do inspire some curiosity or appreciation for the world are the best parts of my week, but it seems like they're getting to be few and far between. A few of the kids told me today that if I were to go into teaching "...you'd probably get your spirit crushed. Especially because you're young. People are really mean to young teachers." Then they go on to complain about the bitterness of their older teachers. Well, guys...


I like to believe it wouldn't be true, in the same way I like to believe that the world is fascinating and people are good and decency will prevail (see yesterday's post.) But it probably is. Constant whining and disrespect does wear on me, and I have very little patience with apathy. I cannot fathom not being interested in learning things, and I don't particularly want to familiarize myself with the mindset wherein that is acceptable. So, am I out of luck with education at all, then? Should I hold out for the few kids who are as fascinated as I am, or should I find some more lucrative and less hair-tearingly maddening profession?


P.S. Roger, is there a particular area in which you would like to be challenged, or any goal with which you'd like your challenge to align? If not, then I charge you to play a game of Calvinball with at least one other person who does not know they are playing. If they can go the whole game playing along without figuring out what's going on, so much the better.

Posted by Silent Five @ 9:50 PM

Word of the Week

gymnosophy [jim-NAH-so-fee]

n. Philosophical, amusing, or nonsensical insights realized when naked, as in the shower or in bed. (recent coinage: att. S. Galasso, 2010)

Victoria and Albert enjoyed a spot of postprandial concupiscence culminating in a night of gymnosophy and coffee and crumpets at dawn.

The Silent Top Five: Bacon-Flavored Desserts

1) Bacon cheesecake.
2) Bacon gumballs.
3) Bacon ice cream.
4) Bacon-orange bars.
5) Bacon apple pie.

Standard Disclaimer

This is all in no way meant to incur copyright-infringement-related wrath. I'm harmless. I promise. Oh, and if you're offended by anything I may post herein, I guarantee I didn't mean to do so (unless, of course, you are a humorless prig. In which case, go right on and be offended, with my blessings.)