Thursday, July 25, 2013

Things I didn't learn in B School

When I was young, people always used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up (actually, I'm starting to get that question again). In high school, it was the same question, but the answer seemed more important. My parents are both teachers as is my uncle and my grandfather is retired university professor. I constantly got, "So you think you want to be a teacher?" To which I rapidly replied, "No, someone in this family needs to make some money!" I had no interest in teaching and if was ever going to teach, it was going to be after earning a Ph.D. so that I could teach at the collegiate level. "Kids are brats. I'm a good kid and I'm a brat. I wouldn't want to put up with me everyday!"

Teaching  English to kindergarten and first grade students in Thailand clearly wasn't what I had in mind when I attended the Kelley School of Business (KBS). But sometimes God just like to laugh at us, so here I am. In the less than two months that I've been here, it's become blatantly obvious that KBS did not prepare me for everything. (Arguably, they probably didn't think they needed to prepare me for these things as my "office" isn't quite the typical office environment) I find myself laughing at these moments pretty regularly and hope they are amusing to you as well.


1. I never thought after graduating from B School that I would start my day by pulling clay out of child's ear... clay that they didn't seem to even realize was there and that I just happened to notice because I was sitting next to them.
2. Watching a child strip down to his underwear and start dancing Gangnam style is far more exciting that any breaking 3 quarter records.
3. Starting the day with dancing or singing is highly encouraged in my "office", bonus points if you incorporate both.
4. Counting to 10 is a breeze, recognizing those numbers at random, not so easy. The same applies to the alphabet.
5. Repeating yourself is not only encouraged, it's necessary, always. (I want someone to sit in my classroom one day and count the number of time I say, "Sit down please.")
6. Need an incentive for your minions? Bonus packages out.... High fives in!
7. After lunch, brush your teeth and take a nap!
8. Hair braiding. This class wasn't even offered!!
9. At the end of the day, it's always good to spend some time playing with Legos.
10. Victories are counted by the number full sentences used, not the number of dollars earned.
11. KBS did teach me to budget for dry cleaning. They never mentioned it would be because their was clay ground into my favorite dress pants.
12. And probably the most important thing I learned, not while earning a degree, but from my Kindergarteners... Sometimes in accidents happen - and then you change your pants.




posted at 8:17 PM   ::   1 comments