I think I was 'outed' at work

[forever ago]

2 year. public.

I believe they're going into education, no shockers there.

They DID sign the consent for dad to talk to everyone under the sun, which is unfortunate because I like hiding behind FERPA too :). (on the plus side, FERPA applies to their education, NOT their work study...as their supervisor, I can refuse to talk to parents--and I have)

I've dealt w/ more than my share of helicopter parents and this guy feels more controlling than helicoptering, but they can look a LOT alike.

Ugh. Yeah, he's probably way more controlling than helicoptering. I feel bad for those girls, not being able to get the education they want...

[luckylibrarian]

Most of my professors were very left-wing, but I went to a very liberal Jesuit school in Los Angeles. It was where I first learned what real feminism was, instead of my father's interpretation of feminism. I feel sorry for these fundie girls who are being cheated out of the most important aspects of a college education: the ability to choose their major, try out different courses, and figure out what they believe away from the watchful, critical eyes of their parents. It's sad.

Next semester I start teaching a for-credit semester-long course. Apparently, the students in the class are often very immature. I'm expecting that I'll have to deal with the helicopter parents.

loveandwar, how did he set off your creeper alarm? I had this creepy professor pull me aside during freshman year and tell me that he had written poetry for a student in the class. He wanted to approach her and declare his feelings, and he wanted me to tell him it was okay. Uh...no.

[O Latin]

Jeez, even in high school I was pretty much expected to sort out any problems with my teachers by myself. Now, in college, I would only ever think of involving my parents in school issues if it was a financial thing (since they are the ones paying), but if I had an academic issue I would go talk to the professor or other involved parties and figure it out, probably without even telling my parents about it. And I register for my own classes, thank you. I don't think my parents have ever even offered suggestions. I'm sure there are classes that they really just think everyone should take, but they also assume, rightly so, that I am more familiar with my degree requirements than they are.

My favorite "helicopter parents" stories are the parents who call up their college students to wake them up in the morning. If you have managed to graduate from high school and get into college yet you are still incapable of waking yourself up in the morning, there is something very, very wrong.

[FakePigtails]

I remember my mom going with me to meet with my advisor to pick my classes before starting my freshman year but it was just to sit there (students were assigned days to come to campus and get academic and housing things set up). A few years later I noticed that the days new students were on campus for their advisor meetings there was a sign pointing parents to a waiting lounge. Apparently the crazy really hit here between 2006 and 2009!

[demgirl]

[quote="O Latin"

My favorite "helicopter parents" stories are the parents who call up their college students to wake them up in the morning. If you have managed to graduate from high school and get into college yet you are still incapable of waking yourself up in the morning, there is something very, very wrong.

[alphaeta08]

I've never seen a helicopter parent in action or had a classmate who had a parent solve a problem, but I guess they must exist. I didn't know parents actually knew what classes their kids were taking, because my parents definitely didn't. I basically told them when I'd be graduating and they showed up. They had no idea who my professors were, so they wouldn't have known who to call if they wanted to. Kids must be doing a lot of whining, or parents must have a lot of time on their hands to stalk their kids, because I don't know how they even have this information. Even in high school, I'm sure they couldn't have named all the classes I was taking.

[Brainsample]

pie, even!

Bring it to 'em in this:

http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/cgi-b ... TEM=VC4603

You'll look extra erudite, and you can make the excuse that the pie is just to have an excuse to show off the plate.

[Brainsample]

A good description of the "helicopter" parent (as opposed to the "drill sergeant" and the "consultant"):

loveandlogic.com/pages/threetypes.html

This group offers a nice Pearl alternative and other alternatives...

[O Latin]

I've never seen a helicopter parent in action or had a classmate who had a parent solve a problem, but I guess they must exist. I didn't know parents actually knew what classes their kids were taking, because my parents definitely didn't. I basically told them when I'd be graduating and they showed up. They had no idea who my professors were, so they wouldn't have known who to call if they wanted to. Kids must be doing a lot of whining, or parents must have a lot of time on their hands to stalk their kids, because I don't know how they even have this information. Even in high school, I'm sure they couldn't have named all the classes I was taking.

Sort of OT, but this, definitely. I'm constantly having to remind my mom that no, I can't drive my brother to his dentist appointment (or whatever) on Tuesday afternoon because I have English on Tuesday afternoon, just like I have all semester.

[DamnPrecious]

A good description of the "helicopter" parent (as opposed to the "drill sergeant" and the "consultant"):

loveandlogic.com/pages/threetypes.html

This group offers a nice Pearl alternative and other alternatives...

My dad was a drill sergeant parent, and my mom made everything seem like everything happened by magic. I don't know how she did all she did, I've tried to do that for my father and husband, but I fail soo hard. She was a fucking saint. :angelic-flying:

[Elle]

I have heard a number of stories of young adults in college being defended by their parents. If the physics professor made it through that situation without poking their own eye out with a dull, rusty object, they deserve a cookie.

I've got friends and family who work in positions of hiring people, and every single one has interviewed at least one person accompanied by a parent. The surest way to NOT get another interview....

[lilwriter85]

During my sophmore year of college. I took a geology class for awhile one semester and at the time I was attending a small community college. There was one girl around my age who had been homeschooled off and on when she was growing up. She told me at one point her parents used a Christian homeschooling curriculum that rejected evolution. I think this girl was most likely fundie lite. I hung out with her a few times on campus and she told me that about her mom's accounting business and she said a few other things that suggested that didn't seem too fundie like. I had to drop the geology class about halfway through the semester because of a family event. The next semester I had another class with some of the same people from the geology class and that they told me that particular girl's mother had a meeting with the geology instructor about her class being the" work of devil".

When I transferred to another college a year later there was a science professor who had said that his campus mailbox was being stuff with flyers about creationism. There are always going to be parents or students that will cause drama on campuses when instructors or certain courses don't meet with their beleifs.

[loveandwar]

loveandwar, how did he set off your creeper alarm? I had this creepy professor pull me aside during freshman year and tell me that he had written poetry for a student in the class. He wanted to approach her and declare his feelings, and he wanted me to tell him it was okay. Uh...no.

Eww that's worse than mine!!

He singled me out a lot during lectures. It was so noticeable that a guy in my class that I didn't even know came up to me afterward one day and was like, "Wow, I think Dr. [insert name here] calls on you more than anyone else!" He also had personal space issues. He pulled me aside a couple times after lecture and he'd get REALLY close when he talked to me. I was like, "Seriously...personal bubble!" The thing that really bugged me was when he approached me before class one day and needed to get a note proving I was sick. (I'd had a bad cold or something and missed a day of class.) That's when I went to my dad and was like, "Dr. [insert name here] wants a note proving I was sick earlier this week. Can you email him?" Dad's response: "Your professor wants a WHAT?!" It was really strange.

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled topic. :D