| | Adult. The word sounds so dirty and undesirable, except as a kid. Adulterous. Adulterated. We're never a rush to become one, yet it's the only acceptable path to take. Grow up. What classifies an adult anyway? Age? No, clearly that is incongruent to adulthood. It is truly a passage, when one undertakes enough rites of adulthood to be initiated. 26 and still living with parents? Not adult. 20 and working for a contractor and living in an apartment? Likely an adult.
I was called an adult by my family for the first time yesterday. It caught me so much by surprise that I could barely comprehend what was going on at that point. I mean, I guess I've been working for almost a year post college, about to become a teacher, a profession that is commonly associated with adulthood, have had several girlfriends, drink beers, work out, party, drive a car, am 23. What from these list of things made them believe I was an adult, I wonder. I mean, I went to a family barbecue today and as soon as I arrived, I was asked to prepare and grill the food. Wha wha what? I thought I was there to enjoy some seared meat. Relish your childhood kids. And your burgers as well.
Thanks to my good buddy Steve for coming all the way to Florida to spend a week and change with me. It's good just seeing people you've grown up with and being able to catch that familiarity of childhood while having a blast. But new experiences are fun as well. I've finally been to a few clubs, and thanks to my other friend for lending me a pair of balls, I've been able to club dance with some random girls, which I never would have had the confidence to do before. And heck, dancing is a lot of fun regardless. I've even been picking up ballroom dance on the side just to learn as a social skill. If I had more money, I would invest more time into it, but alas, one thing at a time.
So teacher training begins tomorrow and I am pretty stoked. It will be a hell of a process. They're taking brand new, out of college kids with no teaching experience and spending a month and a half getting them ready to teach in the classroom. Good freaking luck. Thankfully I have several years of experiences teaching, tutoring, and dealing with classrooms of students so it's not bad for me at all. Actually I had an interview last week where I taught a middle school class and I prepped a Chemistry Bingo game for them and it worked out gloriously. The students were gifted and asked so many wonderful questions and I wish I could have them for an entire year. When I left, a few people gave me high fives, and some of the students said I'd make a great teacher. I beamed with pride, hoping that the class I do teach will be that awesome.
It's time for some summer lovin'.
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| | Posted 6/15/2008 11:42 PM - 85 Views - 8 eProps - 4 comments
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The best criteria I've read involved the completion of certain "developmental tasks" that lead a person from late adolescence into early adulthood. I could not find the full list, but basically it involves certain tasks and milestones that you instinctively addressed, such as financial independence (i.e. getting a job or embarking on a career,) sexual maturity (having a girlfriend,) as well as the capacity for abstract thinking (such as would be present in adhering to principles, ideologies, values, etc.) Essentially, once those tasks and milestones have been achieved, then a person becomes an "adult", with all the responsibilities and privileges that distinction entails (such as BBQing, haha.)
Best of luck with teacher training, although as you said I am sure you will not need it. I do hope that you are assigned a smart class, that way your job can be more fulfilling and you can spend some of your time teaching your charges less about the material and more about how to think and learn.
P.S. I mysteriously have these "credits" that I am trying to use up.