You're Invited to Ron's Retirement Party! |
At Good Contrivance Farm! |
You're Invited to Ron's Retirement Party! |
At Good Contrivance Farm! |
For more than 30 years, I’ve taught kids in college. From an early age (circa 10) this is what I most wanted to do. I’m not sure what put the idea into my head, though I was always an instructive personality (i.e., “bossy”): I like showing people how to do stuff and, we hope, do it better.
While in college, I considered becoming an elementary school teacher. I was good with children and have always gravitated to a kid’s view of the world, where possibilities are numerous and limits are few. But I knew myself well enough to understand that elementary ed would consume every other aspiration I had. (I had so many aspirations!)
Are college kids today different than they were a generation ago? Sure. They may be more cautious and anxious but they are also the most progressive and forgiving. They may be staying home longer and waiting longer to get married, but what’s wrong with that? Their parents like having them nearby. One thing that hasn’t changed: they are as smart now as they have ever been and, at the same time, surprisingly sheltered from a global perspective.
I’ve always said to the kids I taught: “Stop thinking like a student.” In the main, American education is the worst thing that has happened to them. As students entering college, they know mostly how to get by, get over, cut corners, side-step, procrastinate, equivocate, and bullshit. I worried about them every semester, exhorted them to take control of their lives, question authority, take risks, and so on. If they heard nothing else, they heard me applaud their successes, however minor, and wish them well, always. I will miss them mightily.