<p>Well said, BB</p>
<p>sunriseeast, Your son sounds terrific!</p>
<p>If you could cure personality disorders with a class, or a talk at the career center…what a great world that would be.</p>
<p>I used to teach a teaching methods course, and I always told my students to befriend the janitors, secretaries, cafeteria ladies, any staff people. These people are often looked down upon by others in the school, yet they are the ones who know to get things done.</p>
<p>I worked my way through college and law school as a secretary. Many people spoke to me as though I was an idiot.</p>
<p>Now that I am in the work force and have been for 30 years, I always treat the support staff kindly. I thank the woman who empties my trash if I am in when she does it. I am shocked and disheartened by the number of my colleagues (I am an attorney and so are they) who don’t even say please or thank to a secretary. Yes, it’s their job to do our work, but simple common courtesies can’t hurt anyone. My office has a system of assigning work but if the support staff person to whom the job would be assigned is out, I know that I can go to any other person and they will do my work. Many of my colleagues have to go to the office manager to get their work done.</p>
<p>My kids haven’t bought coffee and donuts for the janitors, but that is an awesome idea. I hope that kid’s guidance counselor knows about it so it can be mentioned in the recommendation letter. That type of kindness and thoughtfulness should, in my book, trump almost anything in life. It can’t make you a doctor if you stink at math, but it will make you a better doctor if you don’t. I would be proud to call that young man “son.”</p>
<p>As for the “educated women” - to me, she is a moron. I ride a commuter railroad (not Metro North) and the level of rudeness and lack of respect is mind-boggling. One of my favorite things to do is walk over to the person who has spread out over multiple seats and ask them to please move over. I do this even if there are other open seats.</p>
<p>She came from NYU, i’d be a elitist too, thats the greatest school in the world with some of most highly qualified individuals, I envy everybody at NYU, it takes alot to get in there. Shes obviously better then everybody on the train. if i get into nYu im definitely going to feel like a God to you janitors</p>
<p>I teach at the local YMCA…there was one janitor that I used to chat with quite a bit (he has since left the Y). I could tell by his way of speaking and his mannerisms that he was not “just a janitor”. Turns out he was an immigrant from Germany, dance champion, college professor, and later a college president (albeit a small college). He was retired, recently divorced, and trying to make a little extra cash while he was sending his daughters to med school. Many of my students at the Y never stopped to speak to him…and never heard his stories. They were fascinating. You just never know. </p>
<p>I think when he left the Y, he went back to a high level admin position at a local CC.</p>
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<p>S2 is graduating from HS next monday. Thanks for the plug anyway :)</p>
<p>(he got into his first choice school with a full ride merit scholarship, so he is all set now).</p>
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<p>Funny you mention this. My S1, who is going to school known for academic rigor, told me that he became a very good friend with a janitor there, and he was very humbled when the janitor told him how much he envies him and all other students for the amazing opportunity to study at an premier academic institution known for rigorous pursuit of all things intellectual. S1 told me the conversation with the janitor made him recommit himself to pursue his education with more appreciation and gratitude.</p>
<p>Nice attitude, basedboy. Sounds like you’ll fit right in.</p>
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Whooooooshhh</p>
<p>Anderson Cooper’s take on the incident:</p>
<p>[The</a> RidicuList: ‘Cell Phone Lady’ – Anderson Cooper 360 - CNN.com Blogs](<a href=“http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/18/the-ridiculist-cell-phone-lady/]The”>http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/18/the-ridiculist-cell-phone-lady/)</p>
<p>A note on “just a janitor”. A few years back I subbed for a math teacher that the kids obviously adored–he was out having back surgery. Another math teacher told me his story: at 17, he left Vietnam alone, on one of the last flights out as South Vietnam collapsed. He came to the US and got a job as a janitor at a school. One day he was cleaning the math teacher’s room and asked him about a problem on the board; that teacher began mentoring the janitor and helped him pay for college, then took him in as a student teacher. It took some years, but he brought twelve family members over–all of them gainfully employed now (except his mom).</p>
<p>@nrdsb4</p>
<p>This is a different incident, but still entertaining!</p>
<p>Oops.</p>
<p>Meant to post this:</p>
<p>[Anderson</a> Cooper 360 - CNN.com Blogs](<a href=“http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/?iref=allsearch]Anderson”>http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/?iref=allsearch)</p>
<p>It’s under “Educated Lady.”</p>
<p>I thought BasedBoy was being sarcastic; at least, I hope he was!</p>
<p>In thinking about the janitor story, I realized that I encounter people like that very often. I do personal injury law and a large part of my job is taking depositions of plaintiffs. Once, I deposed an older man who was a janitor. There was something about him so I asked him what he did before coming to the US. He had been a high level economics professor in the former Yugoslavia, with a Ph.D. Unfortunately, his field of study was Marxian economics and that, combined with his lack of English, led him to have to work as a janitor.</p>
<p>Another time, I deposed a former dean at a Latin American law school who worked as a livery cab driver while practicing his English. There was also the Russian doctor who worked as a home health aide because, again, his English wasn’t good enough.</p>
<p>Many times, these people apologize to me for not speaking English very well or because I have had to incur the cost of hiring an interpreter. I always tell them that they speak English better than I do their language and that they should not apologize. I can’t imagine feeling guilty for not speaking a language.</p>
<p>Jym—my post was to the original post’s unnecessary sarcasm. I thought that was obvious. But then, I love ya and all, but you earned the same comment on your last post to basedboy. </p>
<p>I calls’em as I sees’em.</p>
<p>I am getting lost. I was responding upthread to Fallgirl’s comment that we were bashing NYU. </p>
<p>Its hard to pick up sarcasm on these internet posts, which may have led to some of the confusion. Maybe we need to get educated girl (as Anderson Cooper calls her) here to give us all a few lessons.</p>
<p>Okay, but…weren’t you ?</p>
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<p>Sounds kind of bashing-y to me.</p>
<p>If his was serious, mine was serious. If his was a joke, then mine was a joke.</p>
<p>Mines was serious</p>