Wind In My Head: The Annoyance of Youth
Wind In My Head
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
The Annoyance of Youth
Apparently, I'm not entitled to a holiday and I'm totally ambivalent about the kids under my charge.My debate coach posted a pissy piece on her blog accusing me of not caring and bothering about training and going off to Canada. And she hates me for it.
What can I do? The foibles of youth. When we think we've been wronged and the whole world is out to make life difficult for us. There's no way I can defend myself, neither is there any point of doing so. It wasn't that long agon when I felt misunderstood and anti-establishment so I'm not going to try.
What bugs me is the expectation around it and this is coming at a time when Dan and I have been talking about the system we work within and how our personal space just isn't respected. Holidays have no meaning, everyone feels that they have the right to infringe on the time that is supposed to be time away to recharge.
This 19 year old's expectation of me is symptomatic of what society here generally expects of us. How are we expected be everything everyone wants us to be? We're supposed to work beyond the hours we are paid for because of this Confucian ethic we live our lives by, supposedly. We're supposed to have kids when we don't have the time to raise them since we're working so damn hard. Everyone wants a piece of us and truly, there isn't enough to go round.
So what can we do? We choose and incur the wrath of the ones not chosen. Such is life.
Ondine tossed this thought in at 16:49
1 thoughts...
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At 10:46 am
Tym said... That's why it's a hazard to read your students' blogs. I read one wherein the author proclaimed I was the worst teacher she had in JC. *shrug*
Been thinking lately that my next job better be one where I won't mind if it infringes on my free time --- because I love it so much --- which sounds like a pipe dream, but I know all sorts of people for whom it's true, most of them in the creative field, so that's clearly where I need to be headed.