singularity's Journal: Frequent flying, and on being an RC at IMSA

I am leaving for Florida on Tuesday. I was able to get 2.5 days off in a row, and I would rather not hang out on IMSA's campus (I always get sucked into doing things when I stay on campus on my days off).

Anyway, I have purchased tickets on Southwest (have to love $65 total round trip from Chicago to Louisville) for the weekend of Nov. 16-17 and for Thanksgiving. The first purchase gives me enough credits for a free flight on Southwest.

I seem to be flying more and more these days.

Of course, the drive to Louisville through Indiana on I-65 is one of the worst drives I have ever made, and I would be willing to pay more than $65 to avoid having to drive that. The length is not too bad at all. The state of Indiana, however, has to be one of the more boring drives in the world. I assume that if you get off the interstate it is a lovely place. But the view from I-65 is horrible.

In other news....

Recently I have been thinking about my job a lot, largely in part due to some conversations I have had with some students up here. A lot of it also has to do with the minor controversy I seemed to have started with my now infamous post talking about beign an RC at IMSA and the job description.

I'd like to see the official job description for RCs. I don't doubt the importance of having them around for a lot of things, but I was unaware that the job description involved "teaching," because I certainly don't recall learning anything from my RCs.

As an exercise, I looked up the RC job description. It is a page and a half long. A sentence from the opening paragraph: "Resident counselor, through words and actions, teach students responsible behavior and decision-making."

The opening sentence includes this tidbit: "Resident Counselors... are charged with guiding students' development..."

Sounds a bit like teaching to me. But no one ever learns anything from RCs. They certainly do not teach anything.

IMSA students and alumni, however, seem to jump on the bandwagon of denouncing the RC position as necessary but largely just mindless babysitters.

That's the thing I'm trying to figure out. Did they radically change the job description of RCs, or is he simply self-important about his role as someone in the field of education? I just can't tell.

There is no greater feeling in the world than taking countless classes in college to work with gifted kids (many more taken that do not have web pages), and then turn around and work hard at a job only be unappreciated by some of the people you are there to help.

Why do I do this again? Why did I sign up for this?

What about those wonderful life lessons that [an RC] taught us? Like how to convince an RC that the wing's door handle just fell off. Seriously. Just like that.

Oh, I thought of what is worse - being thought of as ignorant and gullible. Do you honestly believe that I cannot see through the garbage that I am told on a daily basis? Do you truly think we are that big of idiots?

I realize not every IMSA student believes all of this. In fact, I am not sure that students that believe this are even in the majority.

It is enough, though, that it begins to grate on one's nerves. My sister taught English in a public school for two years. She talked about how the students not only did not appreciate the work she was putting in. You might argue with me about whether you even believe that I teach something, but I have seen the work that RCs put into the job, and I assure you that IMSA students and alumni cannot appreciate the amount of work that I have seen RCs put into this job.

"Early Morning Sneaking 102"

"Advanced Bullshiting 204"

"Patterns of Authority In The Recently Adult Male: An Introduction"

As an IMSA student, you can continue to believe that RCs are a waste of time, an annoyance in your educational career. You can avoid us at all costs because we will simply waste your time. You can complain loud and often at the very, apparently highly annoying programs we make you attend. You can go on believing us ignorant of what it is like to be an IMSA student. You can even go as far as to believe that we have no idea what it is like to be a high school student.

Or maybe you could just pause for a second and give us a chance. Who knows - we might actually teach you something (shudder at the thought).

Feel free to reply to this. Do it anonymously if you must. Discuss this rationally. Who knows, you might learn something from this!