A few nights ago, I was talking with my partners father. He is an intelligent man who works in the same field I got my degree in. He is witty and fun, and I generally enjoy his company. But, we don't see eye to eye on alot of things.
At this point, he's aware that I'm pretty hard left leaning. His last visit ended with He and I staying up till 3am drinking and talking about politics and labor, all sorts of stuff. He gave me the “I worked for 7000/year at your age” spiel. I countered it with an inflation calculator and pointed out his free housing vs our 2k/mo one bedroom. He didn't love that. Boomerism and bootstrapyness, etc.
Anyway. Fast forward to our recent conversation.
I had asked him his opinions on qualifications to work as an English teacher in International Schools. He has worked in that field (International and speciality education administration) for most of his life. He went with, of course, not actual advice but a way to talk about himself.
“I care more about the integrity of the person than their resume. In fact, if a resume prioritizes certifications, I tend to discount that applicant.”
Ok boomer. I'm competing against thousands of people and all applications are online. Whatever.
I ask him what I could expect.
He gives me a hypothetical, riddled with boomerisms and subtle racism.
“Say you get a Korean student. The parents want their kid to be challenged, so they write you saying they want extra homework for their kid and want it to be checked every day. What do you do?”
I respond: “Well, I'd want to meet with administration and see what we can do to meet their needs as well as my contract. Extra practicum for a student isn't a bad thing, but I couldn't in good conscious prioritize one over the rest. I'd ask administration if they can create time in my contracted schedule to accommodate for this situation.”
He laughed at me. Mind you, I'm a trained educator with a decade of experience in and our of the classroom.
He says: “administration isn't going to give you that. They will want you to work extra. What are you going to do, quit and breach contract and leave those kids??”
I responded: “Well. If there's a contact, I'd read it before the meeting and cite it. If they are asking me to work over contract uncompensated, that sounds like they are breaching contract, and I can find another job. ”
He laughed and said “Fuckin A! Your generation doesn't get it! I'm giving you a short quiz and you're giving me answers that weren't approved!” verbatim.
So. The idea that I, a professional, wanted to observe and respect the boundaries of a contract sent this boomer into an absolute fit of rage to the point where his ivy league facade fell away and he just spouted expletives at me.
It's truly amazing that these people who hold most of the wealth and power think we don't “get it”. Motherfucker, we get it. .
We won't go quietly. Do not tread on us.