Monday 13 June 2022

The Thing About Maturity

 I was reading through social media commentary today, and someone jumped up....hyping that young teachers are 'so immature' today.  The impression given....that these teachers see young grammar kids as their 'peers/equals'.  In some odd way....they want to share their lives, their lifestyles, and be some weird way 'validated' (mostly by 7 to to 11 year old kids).

I sat and paused over this.  I came out of high school in 1977.....it was an odd bunch of teachers (probably 32 of them by the time I finished up).

First, with one single exception, I can't remember any teachers openly discussing their husband or wife.  Some were married (as you figured that out)....some were single, and beyond the car they drove....there just wasn't much of a personal angle.  

Second, there were three or four WW II vets, and they did occasionally go into 'we-were-there-in-Brindisi (or in the 3rd wave of Normandy)....or there was the one person who spent their summer vacation each year hitting national parks in Wyoming and Colorado.  We didn't ask where they lived....what brand of cornflakes they ate....or preferred cocktail.  

Third, it just didn't seem like we had time to BS or get real interested in sexing up with so-and-so.  

Finally, I just don't remember any teacher needing validation about where they were in life.  If you did need validation....getting that from a 13-year old kid wasn't going to amount to much.   

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