Lessons on Life

Parks is asleep and Cal's at the school's first home game, and, since I have the time, I feel like I should blog.

My classes at Macon State are turning out to be a lot of fun. I was hesitant at first about whether or not I'd like teaching at night, but, as it turns out, I really love it. The schedule seems to fit my natural tendencies: I hate mornings, so I can stay in my pj's as long as I want to because Parks sure doesn't care; I get an energy spurt at night after dinner, and that's about when my classes start. Our only drawback is that Cal still has to get up and go quite early in the mornings, so he's ready for bed when I walk in the door at 10:15 on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I, on the other hand, usually need some time to unwind once I get home.

Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of my classes is the variety of students that I have. I wondered before I started about what they'd be like, particularly since I have night classes. In a lot of ways, I think that the time of day is what has brought me the wide range of people; I imagine that the day courses are filled with your typical, run-of-the-mill 18-year-olds, fresh out of high school and not real sure they're happy to be in a classroom.

These students of mine, however, seem to want to be there. Most are older than the average student, and many of them have had life experiences that, for one reason or another, prevented them from heading straight to college after receiving their diplomas. Because of that fact, they are fascinating to me.

The school is in Warner Robins, home of Robins Air Force Base, and, therefore, a lot of the folks that I teach have a military background. They've seen places and experienced events that I can only envision in the remotest regions of my imagination. Others have had close family members die tragically, and several have suffered through abusive relationships.

What an educational experience for me, a naive 31-year-old from upper-middle class Georgia! I have, blessedly, never experienced the loss and pain and (literal) warfare that some of these folks count as part of their everyday lives.

Last night, as I was checking over the outlines that I had the classes write for their narrative essays due next week, I began to realize that I might be able to guide them through the how-to's of writing a decent paper, but beyond that ability, I'm the student. I truly believe that, come the end of final exam night in December, I will be thanking them for all that they will have taught me.