Knowing what you know about education (snowflakes, self-of-steam etc...) what do you tell / have you told your kids* about how to go about their education?
For Miserians without kids, what would you tell your hypothetical offspring?
I apologize to mine for the insider information that comes as "second nature" to them. My oldest complained long and loud about how the other fresh-folk didn't know the simplest, common-knowledge things (what a degree plan is, how to access the LMS, etc) and what a waste of time sitting through a week of orientation was before being allowed to register for courses that we had already decided on as soon as the schedule had come out, months ahead of time. Oh, they do not/will not attend where I work. It has also been ingrained in them that one "goes away" to college.
Sawyer, we're an academic family, too, and our two kids grew up knowing much more than they needed to about the vagaries of academic existence. It seems to me to be a two-edged sword: they have a leg up on the procedural nuts and bolts, but they've also heard a lifetime of unflattering tales about profs, admins, and students alike.
Besides apologizing to your own children, I hope you also asked them to be patient with their classmates who haven't enjoyed(?) the same exposure. I was the first in my family to attend college, and was surprised to learn, for example, that the library was a whole separate building. I caught on quickly, did very well in college, and had a fabulous time, but those first few weeks were quietly embarrassing.
Stop screaming and struggling as I staple their dicks to the floor? I rather enjoy the screaming and struggling though, and especially the BLOOD flying through the air!
[obligatory persnickety English teacher/grammar-police comment. Although I'm an English teacher, I'm not a particularly persnickety one, or at least not about the uses and misuses of "can." Don't get me started on apostrophes, though.]
Knowing what you know about education (snowflakes, self-of-steam etc...) what do you tell / have you told your kids* about how to go about their education?
ReplyDeleteFor Miserians without kids, what would you tell your hypothetical offspring?
*and how old were they at that time?
I tell my kids that life is full of idiots. Don't be one of them.
DeleteI apologize to mine for the insider information that comes as "second nature" to them. My oldest complained long and loud about how the other fresh-folk didn't know the simplest, common-knowledge things (what a degree plan is, how to access the LMS, etc) and what a waste of time sitting through a week of orientation was before being allowed to register for courses that we had already decided on as soon as the schedule had come out, months ahead of time.
DeleteOh, they do not/will not attend where I work. It has also been ingrained in them that one "goes away" to college.
You should have read my Rate My Professor reviews before becoming my child.
DeleteSawyer, we're an academic family, too, and our two kids grew up knowing much more than they needed to about the vagaries of academic existence. It seems to me to be a two-edged sword: they have a leg up on the procedural nuts and bolts, but they've also heard a lifetime of unflattering tales about profs, admins, and students alike.
DeleteBesides apologizing to your own children, I hope you also asked them to be patient with their classmates who haven't enjoyed(?) the same exposure. I was the first in my family to attend college, and was surprised to learn, for example, that the library was a whole separate building. I caught on quickly, did very well in college, and had a fabulous time, but those first few weeks were quietly embarrassing.
I'm the third generation of an academic family, and I certainly know more about HOW the process works than many of my fellow students did.
DeleteWhy can't my goddamned colleagues...
ReplyDeleteI can't go on. Just can't.
Stop screaming and struggling as I staple their dicks to the floor? I rather enjoy the screaming and struggling though, and especially the BLOOD flying through the air!
DeleteWhoa. Meta.
ReplyDeleteQ: Can you pose your own big thirsty as a reply to this comment?
ReplyDeleteI can, but will I? Should I? Shall I?
ReplyDelete[obligatory persnickety English teacher/grammar-police comment. Although I'm an English teacher, I'm not a particularly persnickety one, or at least not about the uses and misuses of "can." Don't get me started on apostrophes, though.]