what made you interested in that?
I went to two parties on the weekend. The first was a work thing, I and didn't mingle very much so I didn't really meet anyone new, although I heard later that by 2:30am they were dancing on the tables, so perhaps I should have stayed a bit longer.
The next day was an End of the Financial Year BBQ, which was also a MeetUp group meeting. If any of you out there haven't checked out MeetUp.com for your town, and you feel lonely and like it's impossible to meet people, I highly recommend it. You get the most interesting and ecclectic bunch, and everyone has some core thing in common which acts as a wonderful filter.
I had a great number of interesting coversations with people, most of them actually about what people do for a living which disabuses the view that you shouldn't ask about that and it objectifies people. I was just asking the usual batch of questions and got the most interesting stories out of everyone.
One in particular really moved me. I was talking to a young woman who works in a preschool and also manages it. And she's studying primary education and early childhood development, so she's really, really busy. I asked her, "What made you interested in that kind of work?" And she told me this very affecting story. She said she knew she wanted to work with children from a very early age. As a kid, she used to line up her teddies and make worksheets for them all (!). But she always thought that wasn't something you could really want to do. You should want to do something bigger, or more serious. Until one day, out of the blue, when she was about 15, her mother turned to her and said, "You know, you'd make a really good kindie teacher." And she said that was the crucial moment. It was like she finally had permission. Her mother had made it okay to want that. And so here she is, managing a long-term day care and preschool facility, being a scholar about how to teach kids more effectively, taking herself and her career seriously. I felt so moved!
So, everyone out there in the sisterhood, listen up. Working with kids is a legitimate career ambition. There's no reason someone can't pursue it to the highest levels. If your daughter wants to do it (or your son!), encourage them. No one should feel inferior for choosing that as a career. Especially not the lovely young woman I met at the party!
The next day was an End of the Financial Year BBQ, which was also a MeetUp group meeting. If any of you out there haven't checked out MeetUp.com for your town, and you feel lonely and like it's impossible to meet people, I highly recommend it. You get the most interesting and ecclectic bunch, and everyone has some core thing in common which acts as a wonderful filter.
I had a great number of interesting coversations with people, most of them actually about what people do for a living which disabuses the view that you shouldn't ask about that and it objectifies people. I was just asking the usual batch of questions and got the most interesting stories out of everyone.
One in particular really moved me. I was talking to a young woman who works in a preschool and also manages it. And she's studying primary education and early childhood development, so she's really, really busy. I asked her, "What made you interested in that kind of work?" And she told me this very affecting story. She said she knew she wanted to work with children from a very early age. As a kid, she used to line up her teddies and make worksheets for them all (!). But she always thought that wasn't something you could really want to do. You should want to do something bigger, or more serious. Until one day, out of the blue, when she was about 15, her mother turned to her and said, "You know, you'd make a really good kindie teacher." And she said that was the crucial moment. It was like she finally had permission. Her mother had made it okay to want that. And so here she is, managing a long-term day care and preschool facility, being a scholar about how to teach kids more effectively, taking herself and her career seriously. I felt so moved!
So, everyone out there in the sisterhood, listen up. Working with kids is a legitimate career ambition. There's no reason someone can't pursue it to the highest levels. If your daughter wants to do it (or your son!), encourage them. No one should feel inferior for choosing that as a career. Especially not the lovely young woman I met at the party!
posted by Ellen at 9:45 pm
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