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#CollegeInYour30s – Volume Three: “So That’s What Stereotyping Feels Like”
--snip--
I arrived at basement-level classroom about 20 minutes early. There was one other person there. Slowly people started to fill it. Interestingly, all of those filling in the seats were women, about a dozen in all – very culturally mixed, and me, of course.
The class was supposed to start at 2:55, but it was well past then when the door opened and in walked just about the last thing I was expecting.
I’ll admit I wasn’t sitting around pondering what the professor of an Asian Anthropology class was going to look like. I hadn’t given it any thought at all.
But what I wasn’t expecting was our professor to walk in looking like this:
[img]
[/img]
Our professor walked in, apologized for being tardy and began to pass around the course schedule. He began to explain the objectives and outline of the course and then spoke at length about his background. He’s an expert in the rise of Islam in Southeast Asia and has traveled back-and-forth between his native New York and Malaysia/Indonesia researching the mix between Islam and local Asian cultures.
After plugging his book – (brand new and a steal at $75), he asked if there were any questions. A few students had normal questions about upcoming essays and other coursework. Once those were asked, the professor said he wanted us to go around the room introducing ourselves and why we’re taking this class.
I had to ask my wife about it afterwards. She said that’s a common thing in Social Science classes. I was dreading it though, and for the 10 minutes I sat in the back of the class, awaiting my turn to introduce myself, I wondered what I should say.
Should I bring up that I’m a veteran and fought in Afghanistan? Am I going to offend the teacher, other students? Am I wrong for thinking they’ll be offended?
All this went through my mind when the professor’s eyes finally locked onto mine, signaling my turn to speak.
“Hi, I’m Jason,” I started. So far, so good.
The class was supposed to start at 2:55, but it was well past then when the door opened and in walked just about the last thing I was expecting.
I’ll admit I wasn’t sitting around pondering what the professor of an Asian Anthropology class was going to look like. I hadn’t given it any thought at all.
But what I wasn’t expecting was our professor to walk in looking like this:
[img]
[/img]
Our professor walked in, apologized for being tardy and began to pass around the course schedule. He began to explain the objectives and outline of the course and then spoke at length about his background. He’s an expert in the rise of Islam in Southeast Asia and has traveled back-and-forth between his native New York and Malaysia/Indonesia researching the mix between Islam and local Asian cultures.
After plugging his book – (brand new and a steal at $75), he asked if there were any questions. A few students had normal questions about upcoming essays and other coursework. Once those were asked, the professor said he wanted us to go around the room introducing ourselves and why we’re taking this class.
I had to ask my wife about it afterwards. She said that’s a common thing in Social Science classes. I was dreading it though, and for the 10 minutes I sat in the back of the class, awaiting my turn to introduce myself, I wondered what I should say.
Should I bring up that I’m a veteran and fought in Afghanistan? Am I going to offend the teacher, other students? Am I wrong for thinking they’ll be offended?
All this went through my mind when the professor’s eyes finally locked onto mine, signaling my turn to speak.
“Hi, I’m Jason,” I started. So far, so good.
http://thesterlingroad.com/2013/09/04/collegeinyour30s-volume-three-so-thats-what-stereotyping-feels-like/
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