Fun Fact I learned today…anytime anyone hears I’m a hopeful teacher, I’ve apparently just told them that I love to hear their opinions about education. Not only that, but somewhere in that statement I’ve also volunteered to serve as a representative for the Education system as a whole. My advisor in grad school actually warned us about this when we first started, but I thought she was kidding. Like, oh funny – people not involved in it want to talk about education…ha ha?
Tired of the same old thing, I left my apartment today for a local coffee shop, hoping to get some work done in a new environment. In line, I got into a conversation this with polite elder lady, told her what I do and BAM. I’m not saying her points were bad at all, because in reality, they weren’t. But I’ve never met any other profession where people feel as though they are total experts due to their experience as students, and don’t hesitate to share it with the person whose perspective they’ve never had – the teacher.
The comments that crack me up the most are those almost PTSD in nature. Someone had the teacher from hell in elementary school, and want to make sure I know all the bad things this person did so I don’t repeat the same mistakes. As long as they’re not rude at all, it doesn’t bother me – but I am starting to wonder if this is something that happens to other teachers, or if my advisor was warning me alone because I give out an inviting vibe for education criticisms.