This morning, while my students were working in small groups, one of my more affluent students was having a conversation with another student who is from a less-privileged background. The second student stopped me while I was walking around the room and asked if I had a job while I was in college. I said I did, and the rest of the conversation went something like this:
2nd student to 1st: "See? I told you! Everyone has a job in college."
1st student: "But I'm not going to need a job. I'm going to take out loans, but I'm going to earn at least $80,000 right out of college, so I can pay it all back."
Me: "Is that really what you think you'll earn immediately?"
1st student: "Of course."
Me: "When I graduated from college, I had a lot of loans, and I couldn't find a job. I ended up waiting tables. After a few months, I got a job that paid $30,000, and I was thrilled."
1st student: "Well, that won't happen to me. I'm going to be successful."
2nd student: "Yeah, a successful gas station attendant."
4 comments:
That 2nd student is my hero! :)
Do some of us need a reality check? I don't know where Student NO. 1 thinks he'll end up! Maybe a little nepotism, eh?
You know #2 is the one who will be successful.
Love it! And one day student #1 will realize student #2 knew what they were talking about. When I was in high school and people representing the vo-tech school would come into my "honors" classes & make a presentation I thought it was ridiculous. "Too beneath us." During college though, I realized those students were smart. They were learning skills that were actually useful in the world. They were making money.
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