As a high school teacher, I dealt with a lot of teenagers who felt they were better than most and thus deserved more. I heard things like, "I like to park in two spots so cars are further away from my Audi," and "I showed up to class every day... why didn't I get an A?" All teachers have moments when they wouldn't mind slapping a kid around a bit because, really, who do they think they are?
When I started to notice that attitude in my students, I started to notice it elsewhere. Adults deal with it, too. (What?! SHOCKING.) We deserve more money, we deserve a bigger house, we deserve to have a day off, we deserve recognition. And while some of that might be true, is it right for us to demand it?
This has been a summer of lessons in entitlement for me. I started the summer by consistently saying, "This should happen to me because I deserve it." And, dammit, I meant it. But after a few weeks of carrying around that attitude, I began to really annoy myself. Because how does that attitude fit in with my faith? The gospel I read doesn't have Jesus telling others he deserves to have his feet washed because he's awesome. Jesus actually washes others feet because he's humble.
There is no room for compassion or gratefulness with an attitude of entitlement. Every time I find myself beginning to think I deserve something, which, let's face it - is often, I have to remind myself that there is no goodness that comes from such an attitude. And I think we'd all be better off with a bit more compassion and gratefulness.
When I started to notice that attitude in my students, I started to notice it elsewhere. Adults deal with it, too. (What?! SHOCKING.) We deserve more money, we deserve a bigger house, we deserve to have a day off, we deserve recognition. And while some of that might be true, is it right for us to demand it?
This has been a summer of lessons in entitlement for me. I started the summer by consistently saying, "This should happen to me because I deserve it." And, dammit, I meant it. But after a few weeks of carrying around that attitude, I began to really annoy myself. Because how does that attitude fit in with my faith? The gospel I read doesn't have Jesus telling others he deserves to have his feet washed because he's awesome. Jesus actually washes others feet because he's humble.
There is no room for compassion or gratefulness with an attitude of entitlement. Every time I find myself beginning to think I deserve something, which, let's face it - is often, I have to remind myself that there is no goodness that comes from such an attitude. And I think we'd all be better off with a bit more compassion and gratefulness.
5 comments:
And it's a good thing we don't get what we REALLY deserve.
thanks for sharing this Nic... good for me to hear.
You're so smart. Way to think this out. Love you. And thanks.
tomorrow Amber is dropping it on the guild blog. Go check it out then tell all of your friends about your wonderful writer, teacher, babe, friend...
after teaching junior english a few years back, i've become a firm believer that high school is only an intensely concentrated training ground for all the gossip, self-loathing, spiteful, demanding, autistic ways we act as adults. the highschool kids just aren't as good at being sly and covering it up like we've learned to do.
please give us classroom stories over the next year. good ones and bad ones. particularly, bizarre ones. i miss the classroom. i miss those little buggers. i can only take the grown-ups for so long.
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