OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!

Okay, I am going to try not to do this too often, but it has been bugging me since I returned to school 2 years ago. It is time for the Bitch session. If you are an educator at a college please take note. This one is for you. With all due respect, of course…


I am not 17 years old. I am a grown woman with two children. I have lived on my own, taking care of myself and my family for a long time now.

DO NOT treat me and others like me as if we are a wet behind the ears know-nothing children. Nothing infuriates me more than being spoken to as if I have no life experience. I dare one of you to walk the tight rope I traverse everyday and see how you perform. I dare you.

Yes life happens. My life is happening every second and as strange a concept as this may seem to you, your class is NOT my life. I am doing the best I can with what I’ve got. You would do well to learn a little about the people in your presence and show a little respect. That whole bees and honey thing.

Please try to maintain your professionalism when dealing with students; All students. If you have a problem, deal with it personally. At least this is how the professionals in the rest of the working world tend to these matters.

I come to class, do my work, and make good grades. That should be enough. I am trying to let things slide. I am trying to maintain my Zen. But professor after professor insists on throwing their weight around. And frankly, the way I see it, it’s my time. I am paying for it, not getting paid for it.

So here I am ranting on a blog about it, because unfortunately I don’t think it would matter if I said it in person. That is a shame. As a person who has had that amazing teacher turned mentor relationship, I can say you are missing out on opportunities of what being an instructor is all about. And I’m not talking tenure here.

If nothing else, please PLEASE take this: Show some common decency when dealing with other people. Because no matter what you think you have seen or heard, you really have no idea who and what we are. That message is for everyone.

Okay, that’s it. I feel better now.