When I first meet someone, either online or in “The Meatspace”, the first thing that usually gets asked is “what do you do”? For me, this is currently a complicated answer, as I have to run through the fact that I’m in Grad School, yes this is my second Masters Degree, yes I had an entirely different career path at one point, and no, I’m not working full-time right now nor have I been a salaried employee, so to speak, since 2008.
More often than not, the reaction I get to this is: “Cool. Wow, teaching is hard. Good for you”.
Every once in awhile though, I get “Oh, hurdy-hur-hur, can’t handle working? Perpetual student? MUST BE NICE to not have to WORK. Herpy-derp-derp”.
To me, this implies that “work” is somehow more difficult than “study”, and I think anyone who has ever pursued any education beyond high school or even college would be quick to dismiss that idea. When one is a “worker”, one goes to work, comes home, and (ideally) doesn’t have more work to do when he or she returns home. When one is a student, particularly in a Masters or Doctorate program, one goes to “work”–aka class, then returns home to even MORE work. Your profession, that of a student, follows you around from waking to sleeping, and, if you are a good student or endeavor to be one, you put a tremendous amount of effort into what it is you do.
In my particular program, I’m not just working towards a degree, I’m working towards the professional certification necessary to be a full-time, certified teacher in the state of Illinois. So there are even more hoops I must jump through: assembling a portfolio, getting hands-on field experience, and taking multiple mandated state tests. The culmination of this program is student teaching, during which we are not allowed to have another job, so even if I wanted to or could manage to do so, I couldn’t have another job.
During my first Master’s degree I did work, and in a very tough and time consuming, not to mention low-paying, position as the Marketing/PR Manager for a theatre company. This time around, I chose not to work, mainly because I wanted to devote as much time as possible to developing my skills as a teacher, and so I’ve done a variety of part-time and volunteer positions doing just that. Am I lucky that I don’t have to work 40 or more hours a week in addition to school? Absolutely, and I don’t forget that or take it for granted. Does that mean I’m lazy? Absolutely not.
Additionally, obtaining a full-time teaching position in the public schools is impossible without certification. I could be a teacher’s aide, but no school in their right mind would hire me as a teacher’s aide because I’d only be able to give them a year and a half, at the most, before starting student teaching and then I’d be certified and wouldn’t want to be an aide anymore. Would you hire someone who you know has one foot out the door? Didn’t think so.
Next time I get faced with one of these “work is superior to study”, I’m going to posit this question: “How would you have reacted if I told you I worked at McDonald’s? WalMart? Starbucks, even? Would you have held me in higher regard? Or lower, assuming I was uneducated and only capable of maintaining a minimum wage job?” I would think that most of these Herp-a-Derps, who are clearly judgmental to begin with, would think less of me, thus invalidating their argument that Work > Study.
I’m looking forward to the next person who throws this attitude at me so I can conduct this social experiment, because my instinct tells me it will end in one of my favorite things: a hearty round of Told You So. I already know that judging people based on their profession is closed-minded and a simpleton’s view of the world: I’m just eager to teach others the error of their own misguided thoughts. As a “liberal academic elitist” who “doesn’t know the value of a hard day’s work”, I’m hoping they’ll allow me that one small joy. If not, I’ll tell them to go take a long walk off a short pier. I’m thinking that’s an “everyman” sentiment they can understand.
Cat Hair Tumbleweeds 