TheBanyanTree: Community college

[Linda DeMerle]

I was sitting at the kitchen table as C worked on her breakfast and S unloaded the dishwasher. Christine was telling us about her classes, one online class, in particular, a prerequisite for students planning to go into the medical field. Part of the credit for this class comes from class participation. Christine says,

“Out of all of the students in this class, only three of us are able to put together a comprehensible post.”

“You’ll get an A,” I said.

“I’ll get an A, everyone else is wasting their time. People keep saying things like, ‘Wow. I’m surprised at how many people are going into a medical field,' or, 'Hey. There are a lot of nursing students in this class.’ IT IS A FRIGGIN’ MEDICAL FIELD PREREQUISITE, PEOPLE!”

Steve: Welcome to community college.

Me: Yeah. Haven’t you ever seen “Community?”

Christine: Yes, well, it ain’t no lie, and then, THEN, there are two people in my class who are planning to be pediatric surgeons! 

Steve: Save the children.

Linda: Pediatric surgeons?

C: They are mothers who like kids.

Linda: If they like kids, why not just be a pediatrician? Why cut them up?

Stephen: It’s easier because they are smaller.

Linda: No, it’s harder, because they are smaller. That’s delicate work! how does someone decide, out of the blue, that they want to be a pediatric surgeon and stand over kids with scalpels?

Steve: Save the children.

Christine: I’m going to wind up alone in this class.

Steve: One time, I was in a class with only three people. That was an awful class, because the instructor was so BORING. He’d say, ‘I know it’s right after lunch, and the room is hot, and then turn off the lights and proceed to drone on until no one was conscious.

Linda: What class was it?

Steve: Biology.

Linda: What? Biology is interesting! There are charts, in color!

Steve: We were asleep, so we missed that part.