Boomer Support Thread

[mtnbkr]

Sounds good on the surface - I used the same argument with my kids.

Still, how many freshmen graduate with the degree they declared that first semester? I had seven different declared majors before I finally gave up and graduated. Though, how many kids these days can afford to be a pedagogical butterfly?

I've discussed that with her as well, though I'm not the best example as I did get the degree I intended to earn from the very beginning (and why I selected the school I did). This all came up when her school was trying to pin her down on a major when she was in Middle School and early High School. She was stressing out about it, so I pointed out how she'll likely change her mind several times as she gets older, gets exposed to more opportunities and ideas in life, and determines what she wants to do.

My advice to her on this has been to get a degree that gives her options so she can follow her aspirations. She has consistently wanted to be a teacher. I advised her to get a degree in a specific subject area and add a teaching certificate on top of that so she could be a teacher or work in another industry.

Chris

[SeriousStudent]

How could he? Texas state history hadn't been invented yet!

Dude, you know us old folks, we were making it up as we went along.....

[beenalongtime]

Thanks to all who have participated to make this thread a success. I am glad to see my support team fielding so many important questions.

If you have an awkward question about white socks, Depends, or that nagging back pain, feel free to post it “for a friend” here.

We are waiting to hear from you.

Shouldn't that be black socks with flip flops? (how high of sock should it be)
Bringing back memories of the neighbour girls and their Korean war vet father (late parent) and other memories.

[blues]

Shouldn't that be black socks with flip flops? (how high of sock should it be)
Bringing back memories of the neighbour girls and their Korean war vet father (late parent) and other memories.

I thought that was only German tourists, (so the muggers in Miami knew who to go after), and FBI agents.

ETA: Calf / crew length to be fashion appropriate in the above scenarios.

[trailrunner]

I've discussed that with her as well, though I'm not the best example as I did get the degree I intended to earn from the very beginning (and why I selected the school I did). This all came up when her school was trying to pin her down on a major when she was in Middle School and early High School. She was stressing out about it, so I pointed out how she'll likely change her mind several times as she gets older, gets exposed to more opportunities and ideas in life, and determines what she wants to do.

My advice to her on this has been to get a degree that gives her options so she can follow her aspirations. She has consistently wanted to be a teacher. I advised her to get a degree in a specific subject area and add a teaching certificate on top of that so she could be a teacher or work in another industry.

I also didn't change majors, but I do think it is hard to ask an 18 year old what they want to do for the rest of their lives. I told my daughters that they could change majors, and I gave them 5 years to graduate as long as their grades were decent and they weren't staying in school to party and avoid real life. My oldest daughter changed majors twice I think and wound up taking 6 years, whereas the younger daughter didn't change majors and got through in 4 years. Good enough. My youngest daughter also stayed home while she was in school, which helped us pay for a semester in England. She was an English major and went to Oxford, which was a fantastic experience for her. (For the record, my English major daughter has been very well employed since graduation, despite the concerns of her father when she first declared her major.)

My wife is a teacher in Fairfax County, and my daughter is a teacher in DC. I know a lot of Fairfax County teachers. In fact -- my best friend from undergraduate school now lives in CT, and his daughter wants to be a teacher, and specifically wanted to come to Fairfax County because they had such a good reputation. I was a little surprised that somebody from another state had even heard about Fairfax County.

[Stephanie B]

I had a mental image of most of you. But after reading this whole thread, you all look like my dad. F*ck

Thanks a lot, bucko!

[blues]

Thanks a lot, bucko!

Don't get mad, Steph, get even.

Now you can see this image when you think of @theJanitor

[theJanitor]

Don't get mad, Steph, get even.

Now you can see this image when you think of @theJanitor

I have the shirt. And maybe the hair...

[RJ]

Shouldn't that be black socks with flip flops?

I need to dip in here to make a ruling.

Black socks are appropriate with flip flops *or* sandals, but only before Easter or after Labor Day.

Carry on.

[MistWolf]

Dude, you know us old folks, we were making it up as we went along.....

Back in the early 1700s, there was a son of the Houston family patriarch that got himself into a peck of trouble. He had felled his mother's favorite tree because it blocked the view from his window to where the serving girls bathed their ankles in the river.

When the family patriarch asked his son if he had indeed chopped down his mother's cherry tree, the answer the son gave was so terrible, the patriarch had no choice but to strip his son of the family name and banish him to Virginia. The son squared his shoulders, looked his father in the eye and with no remorse or shame said, "Father, I cannot tell a lie..."