"What's a Degree?"
The shop at work is getting a new roof. My boss’s brother is a roofer, so naturally he got the job. His two sons have been catching a ride to the office after school, instead of going home.
This afternoon I was sitting at my desk working when Wesley, probably 9 years old, came into the office for a drink. After getting a drink, he climbed up on a stool near the water fountain and said, “I’ve got a question for you. I heard—from one of Wayne’s girls, I think—that you’re going to college. Are you? And why?”
The way he asked the question amused me, and I thought it sounded like it could be an interesting discussion. I was a bit unsure of how I should respond. There are several answers to that question. I decided to go with the simplest answer and see where it would take us. “So I can get a degree to do accounting,” I said.
“What’s a degree?” was his next question. Oh, help! How in the world do you explain a degree to a 9 year old? My answer sounded extremely lame to me—“It’s a piece of paper that says I know how to do accounting.” I explained to him that a doctor has to have a degree and that a nurse has to have a degree. I could think of other degrees but wasn’t too sure if he would get the concept of an architect or a social worker, so I stuck with professions that he could relate to.
About that time, one of the guys from the shop came in to give me a message and when he left the office, Wesley followed him out, our discussion forgotten. I had to wonder—why would a couple of 6 to 12 year olds be talking about me going to college? I would have enjoyed eavesdropping on that conversation. I wish the conversation could have continued. I think it would have been interesting.
It was a bit of a weird moment for me. I can graph a parabola or a hyperbola, but I didn’t know how to explain a degree to a 9 year old. He needs to ask me again, because I think I could handle it a bit better the next time—now that I’ve had time to think about it.
This afternoon I was sitting at my desk working when Wesley, probably 9 years old, came into the office for a drink. After getting a drink, he climbed up on a stool near the water fountain and said, “I’ve got a question for you. I heard—from one of Wayne’s girls, I think—that you’re going to college. Are you? And why?”
The way he asked the question amused me, and I thought it sounded like it could be an interesting discussion. I was a bit unsure of how I should respond. There are several answers to that question. I decided to go with the simplest answer and see where it would take us. “So I can get a degree to do accounting,” I said.
“What’s a degree?” was his next question. Oh, help! How in the world do you explain a degree to a 9 year old? My answer sounded extremely lame to me—“It’s a piece of paper that says I know how to do accounting.” I explained to him that a doctor has to have a degree and that a nurse has to have a degree. I could think of other degrees but wasn’t too sure if he would get the concept of an architect or a social worker, so I stuck with professions that he could relate to.
About that time, one of the guys from the shop came in to give me a message and when he left the office, Wesley followed him out, our discussion forgotten. I had to wonder—why would a couple of 6 to 12 year olds be talking about me going to college? I would have enjoyed eavesdropping on that conversation. I wish the conversation could have continued. I think it would have been interesting.
It was a bit of a weird moment for me. I can graph a parabola or a hyperbola, but I didn’t know how to explain a degree to a 9 year old. He needs to ask me again, because I think I could handle it a bit better the next time—now that I’ve had time to think about it.
posted by Sharon @ 5:03 PM
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