As someone who grew up in a Midwestern and middle class family of six I often wonder what life is like for my abundantly affluent students on a daily basis. When they claim they forgot their math homework because "their maid didn't put it in their backpacks" or "they left their homework in their chauffeur's car", I really have no idea what to say...or where to begin with a "you are 13-years-old!!!" lecture.
Guaranteed they are not all like this and they do exhibit a lot of humility and humanity on a daily basis, but their lives outside of school remain somewhat a mystery to me. I really cannot imagine a life with full-time maids, body guards (for some), chauffeurs and the like.
This week I experienced just a snippet of this when I went to the eye doctor on Wednesday morning before school. After scheduling this appointment at the last minute, so that my doctor could examine the my hot red eye before he left on a business trip, he asked how I would get to school that morning. As the parent of a student at my school, he is completely aware of how far (about 20 minutes if you drive straight there) his office is from the school.
I said, "Oh, I will just hop on the MIO (public transportation buses)."
He was shocked by this response, commented on how long it would take me (at least 45 minutes), and insisted on having his driver bring me to school. Sure enough, on Wednesday morning following my appointment I left his office at 8:02 AM and his driver drove me to directly school. We arrived a short 20 minutes later, before my first period prep time had even finished.
The verdict: Chauffeurs? Not a bad way to get around a city of two million people on a rainy Wednesday morning in February.
...but I am still glad that my mom and dad taught me to pack my own backpack, lunch, take the bus, make my bed, and wash my dishes :)
