Idealism, and watching people lose it.
This semester, I'm in a class called Health Issues in Childhood. It can be taken by any major, and is designed for education and nursing. It's a good class, lots of information, but there is one problem.
Idealism.
Stars in the eyes.
"I'm going to be a teacher, and all my students will love me, and they'll all be so brilliant and respectful, and, and... yeah."
Well, I'm the one non-education guy in there this semester, and the prof says I'm the one student there who isn't trapped by idealism.
Kids act out. Kids talk back. Kids don't study. Kids do drugs sometimes, or have unsafe sex, or smoke. It's the way it is, and every class period, when the stats are brought out, I see a little more of that idealism dripping away. Reality is setting in.
Before you say I'm cold for wanting to see the idealism gone, consider this...
What if I went to medical school and expected that I would never have a patient die? You'd say I was insane. Same here. Life demands that problems happen, and it seems some of these folks have made it to 20, 21, 22 years old without seeing that.
So, I just sit back on my nice fat 98% in the class, with a small smile, as I watch the future teachers of America step into life's classroom for the first time.
Idealism.
Stars in the eyes.
"I'm going to be a teacher, and all my students will love me, and they'll all be so brilliant and respectful, and, and... yeah."
Well, I'm the one non-education guy in there this semester, and the prof says I'm the one student there who isn't trapped by idealism.
Kids act out. Kids talk back. Kids don't study. Kids do drugs sometimes, or have unsafe sex, or smoke. It's the way it is, and every class period, when the stats are brought out, I see a little more of that idealism dripping away. Reality is setting in.
Before you say I'm cold for wanting to see the idealism gone, consider this...
What if I went to medical school and expected that I would never have a patient die? You'd say I was insane. Same here. Life demands that problems happen, and it seems some of these folks have made it to 20, 21, 22 years old without seeing that.
So, I just sit back on my nice fat 98% in the class, with a small smile, as I watch the future teachers of America step into life's classroom for the first time.
posted by Tirithien at 2:56 PM
2 Comments:
From a mother of 5 and now a grandmother I will say "ain't they in for a rude awakening!"
It's amazing how young college students, not so far removed from high school themselves, manage to completely forget the way they and their peers were!
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