cousin wants to go to MY school

[Breanne]

I am in college in the teacher ed. program. I'll be graduating with my early childhood-4th grade teacher certification in May of 2007. So I have about a year and half til I finish.
My younger cousin wants to come to my college. It irritates me a little that she might be coming to my college. She's 5 years younger than me, and has always loved following me around especially when we were kids. So I guess she wants to follow me to college too. She's only 19 and quite immature. I know this sounds negative, but I just don't think she has what it takes to make it in college. She hates to study and is so lazy. She barely graduated from high school last year. She graduated high school with all C's and D's and graduated in the summer because she had to go to summer school for a class she failed. On top of that she wants to be a teacher. She told me she wants to be a teacher because she thinks it will be "fun". She has no idea that being a teacher takes a lot of work. She says things to me like how she babysits her younger nieces and nephews and she likes children. Thats childcare, not teaching.
The good thing about my cousin coming to my college is if she does she'll be starting out in the core classes, while I am finishing up all of my upper level education classes. Then next fall and spring I'll be doing methods and student teaching. So luckily my cousin and I will not have any classes together if she chooses to come to my college.
I just think her reasoning for being a teacher is just hilarious. Her only experience with kids is babysitting. I have worked in preschools, summer camps, and after school programs and working with kids is hard work. My cousin just doesn't see that.

 

[Amee]

not to worry

It will be the job of the Education Faculty at your college to see if she can make the grade as a teacher or not. You already know first hand how much she has to get through - classes, research papers, exams, practice lesson plans, not to mention student teaching. "Fun" it definitely won't be, at least not for a few years. You'll have no responsibility here, so you can just be a very busy, friendly and supportive older cousin - gone in 18 months. She'll have to jump through all the hoops herself.

 

[SC]

Agree with Amee

I don't think it's anything to lose sleep over. If she can't make it, I'm sure the college will let her know. I don't know how big your college is, but when I was in college I never even would have seen someone that much younger than myself if I didn't plan it. Chances are you can make yourself unavailable and not have to deal with her. She'll just be another student at school.

 

[ORteacher]

following

I bet it would be hard to be followed. Since she thinks it will be "fun", you tell her to help out in classrooms for awhile before she makes the leap to college. This might help her see the true side of teaching.

 

[M.]

Re

-There is no rule that says she can't attend the same college as you! She can go wherever she wants to for college and you can't control that! She's going to do what she's going to do.

-Does your cousin have a lot of friends? Could it be that she doesn't, and she's coming to your college because she wants to be with you? Could it be that she looks up to you and wants you to be her friend? What's so bad about that? I don't know how close the college is to her hometown, but if it's not in her hometown, could it be that she wants to be close to someone who is family?

-Many people change majors. She may not become a teacher! She may change her mind! When she gets the experience through field experiences,education classes, and student teaching, she will see if it's right for her or not. As she gets older, she will also gain some maturity (hopefully) and see all of the aspects of teaching. When she observes in classrooms, hopefully she will see all there is to it! She needs to figure out it if it's right for her or not. She knows herself the best, not you. She needs to be the one to make the decision if it's for her or not. If you tell her that it isn't right for her, and she listens, she will never know if it was for her or not.

-As far as her grades, maybe she will have a turn around. You never know! If not, she will probably be put on probation her first year. That might help her "see the light." Once again, she needs to realize for herself what it takes to be in college, how to study, when to study, how hard she needs to work, etc. She will realize it eventually! Also, when I was looking at colleges, all of the ones I looked at had a minimum GPA requirement that you needed to enter into the education program (usually 2.5-3.0) and they also had a minimum GPA requirement that you needed in education classes in order to graduate. If she keeps at it with these grades, she will either flunk out, or not gain admittance to the education program.

-What's so bad about her saying she wants to become a teacher because she think it's fun? I wanted to be a teacher all my life! I hardly ever baby sat, didn't do pre-school things, etc. I knew I wanted to be a teacher though! I knew what it entailed. I had a mom who was a teacher and of course, as a student myself, I realized that my teachers did a lot more than "have fun" all day long. However, I would like to say that planning educational activities, teaching students, and getting students excited about learning is SO MUCH FUN for me! Is that bad? I don't think so! Trust me, your cousin will have experiences in college that will help her gain more insight into what a teacher does. Who knows, she might even be an excellent teacher! If she baby-sits, and is looking into education, she must like kids and that's a plus! I've met people who go into this profession and don't like kids! How's that? I don't understand why anyone would do that! We need people who like kids and will treat them respect! If your cousin can do that, great! I wish her all the luck in college!

-Further more, you made this comment and it really bothers me. You said "So luckily my cousin and I will not have any classes together." What would be so bad about having a class with your cousin? She's your cousin! She's family! You're lucky you have a cousin, and if you ask me, she must look up to you! You're lucky for that! Please, treat her kindly and respectfully. If you are still upset about her chosing a college, don't let on to her that you are. Choosing a college is stressful, yet it should be an experience to remember! Don't ruin it for her by being mad at her for choosing "your" college. That's not right. I'm sure no one did that to you when you were picking a college!

 

[M.]

Re

I should also add that when one looks at a college, there are many aspects to wanting to go there. If your cousin is only going there because you are there, then she probably won't like it and might transfer or decide not to go there. Who knows, though, there could be other things that she likes about it!