So you know how white people think that all Asians look the same, or all black people look the same, or how any race basically thinks any other race all looks the same?
I have learned that that phenomena also exists among different age groups. Apperantly there are three basic age groups. Middle Age, Old, and Younger-Than-Middle-Age. I fall into the Younger Than Middle Age category, so any middle aged person thinks that I look just like any other Younger-Than-Middle-Aged person and can't tell the difference between younger adults, teenagers, slightly older adults, or preteens.
I know I have mentioned before that I have been mistaken as a junior high student a few times at my job. Well it happened again yesterday, and I just have to talk about it.
I am sitting in a 7th GRADE class. Do you know how old 7th graders are? 11 and 12. Do you know how old I am? 23.
The group of women who usually substitute for the school are quite busy yesterday, and they all know who I am, but one wife of a teacher came in to help out, so she was the sub in my 7th grade class. I have never seen her before.
She is going around the room writing down the names of students who came prepared, and she gets to me and my student. She says "what are your names?" I try to be subtle and give her a hint that I am not a student by telling my student who was ignoring her to tell her his name. He does. Then she looks at me. "Are you a peer tutor?" It's that word. Peer. It really gets to me. I AM NOT HIS PEER! So as she makes that assumption and starts walking away, I say "Not really but sure."
We don't talk for the rest of the period.
However, for the next period, I stay in this classroom because I have another student who comes in then. When she sees me sticking around, she looks really confused. I should have just talked to her or something and told her from the beginning, but I think there's something about it that just annoys me because I think it should be PRETTY OBVIOUS that I'm NOT a JUNIOR HIGH STUDENT! So she walks over and asks "Are you staying here for ANOTHER class? So you're not exactly a peer tutor?" (Because peer tutors tutor their peers for a class and get credit for it, they wouldn't do it for multiple periods). At this point I simply say "No. I'm not a student. This is my job."
I let that sink in.
She starts chuckling nervously. Then she breaks into full blown laughter. I decide to rub it in more and show her my ring and say "I'm an adult, I'm even married." This makes her laugh even harder, like uncontrollable laughter.
I'm kind of sitting their awkwardly like, it's not THAT funny. She then says the same thing everyone says when they do this to me. "OH! I thought you didn't really look like a junior high student, but you should take it as a compliment!"
No. I do not take it as a compliment that you think I look like a 12 year old. You might wish you looked like a 12 year old, but I don't want to look like a 12 year old.
So back to my age phenomena. She is middle aged. I am Younger-Than-Middle-Age. She can't tell the difference between my age and any other Younger-Than-Middle-Age person, example: a 12 year old. She is not the only Middle Age person to have done this exact same thing.
We're all the same to them.
PS - If you can listen to "Older" by They Might Be Giants, it's our first choice pick.
I have learned that that phenomena also exists among different age groups. Apperantly there are three basic age groups. Middle Age, Old, and Younger-Than-Middle-Age. I fall into the Younger Than Middle Age category, so any middle aged person thinks that I look just like any other Younger-Than-Middle-Aged person and can't tell the difference between younger adults, teenagers, slightly older adults, or preteens.
I know I have mentioned before that I have been mistaken as a junior high student a few times at my job. Well it happened again yesterday, and I just have to talk about it.
I am sitting in a 7th GRADE class. Do you know how old 7th graders are? 11 and 12. Do you know how old I am? 23.
The group of women who usually substitute for the school are quite busy yesterday, and they all know who I am, but one wife of a teacher came in to help out, so she was the sub in my 7th grade class. I have never seen her before.
She is going around the room writing down the names of students who came prepared, and she gets to me and my student. She says "what are your names?" I try to be subtle and give her a hint that I am not a student by telling my student who was ignoring her to tell her his name. He does. Then she looks at me. "Are you a peer tutor?" It's that word. Peer. It really gets to me. I AM NOT HIS PEER! So as she makes that assumption and starts walking away, I say "Not really but sure."
We don't talk for the rest of the period.
However, for the next period, I stay in this classroom because I have another student who comes in then. When she sees me sticking around, she looks really confused. I should have just talked to her or something and told her from the beginning, but I think there's something about it that just annoys me because I think it should be PRETTY OBVIOUS that I'm NOT a JUNIOR HIGH STUDENT! So she walks over and asks "Are you staying here for ANOTHER class? So you're not exactly a peer tutor?" (Because peer tutors tutor their peers for a class and get credit for it, they wouldn't do it for multiple periods). At this point I simply say "No. I'm not a student. This is my job."
I let that sink in.
She starts chuckling nervously. Then she breaks into full blown laughter. I decide to rub it in more and show her my ring and say "I'm an adult, I'm even married." This makes her laugh even harder, like uncontrollable laughter.
I'm kind of sitting their awkwardly like, it's not THAT funny. She then says the same thing everyone says when they do this to me. "OH! I thought you didn't really look like a junior high student, but you should take it as a compliment!"
No. I do not take it as a compliment that you think I look like a 12 year old. You might wish you looked like a 12 year old, but I don't want to look like a 12 year old.
So back to my age phenomena. She is middle aged. I am Younger-Than-Middle-Age. She can't tell the difference between my age and any other Younger-Than-Middle-Age person, example: a 12 year old. She is not the only Middle Age person to have done this exact same thing.
We're all the same to them.
PS - If you can listen to "Older" by They Might Be Giants, it's our first choice pick.
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