Edjumuhcashun

Sitting idly in the Guidance Office I overhear quite a bit of information.  Most of the time it’s silly high school drama, but because the end of the year is approaching, a lot of students are coming in to speak about their class schedule for the upcoming year.  That’s something I definitely miss, the excitement of choosing my classes and receiving a syllabus and, in general, learning.  I mean, I get that life in and of itself is a learning experience, and that on-the-job experiences are a lot more practical than the things you learn in books (for the most part).  For instance, the things I have learned this year about counseling students and how to speak to specific audiences, financial aid and the application process and the institutionalized racism that occurs when it comes to financial assistance and standardized testing*.  I never would have learned how college admissions works if I was sitting in a classroom, and I probably wouldn’t be able to empirically speak to the problems facing suburban high school students living in a low-income, old mill town.  Yes, I can do these things, but I yearn to be back in midst of academia where I’m up all night reading things that never in my life would I read otherwise, discussing topics that probably won’t come up again in regular banter unless I choose to make an arbitrary reference.  I think that, all in all, I’m just not happy with being outside of a classroom and being in the Real World, America.  This is probably something that all other college grads go through for the first year or two, but I'm seriously not ready to accept that this is going to be my life.

*On that front, if English is not the official language of the United States, then why are such mandatory tests as the MCAS (Mass. state high school tests) and the SAT/ACT not offered in every language?  Jus sayin.