Children are our future, supposedly.

Beer and snacks last night with another young couple, half of whom Brian knows through MSN. Another extended conversation about job prospects for humanities majors in a time of economic turmoil.

Brian starts prepeqs for a masters program next Monday. I do not envy homework, but the moving forward with new skills and ideas, the opening of new doors, the meeting of new people.

I looked at the UW College of Ed Programs again and still feel little excitement for Higher Ed Leadership and Policy Studies. Maybe if my job felt stagnant or I felt underqualified or I was actively trying to move up the ladder (or if there really was a ladder). It's not that grad school is wholely unappealing - an art history degree would be exciting, or literature.

Or a Masters in Teaching. Then I remember I've spent almost no time with kids, and very little time off a college campus. Would I teach high school social studies? First grade? I have no frame of reference, I can't even imagine what a first grader is like ... smallish, I guess, but more cute or more obnoxious? Do they read novels in first grade? Do they comprehend history or international relations? Do they pick out their own clothes? Shouldn't I have met some small children by this point in life?

I emailer SAM about volunteer opportunities with kids and the director is sending my contact info to the person who runs the youth and community programs. It might be more enlightening to tutor, but I know SAM is a solid place to volunteer, and helping toddlers paste feathers to masks seem like a safer step toward exploring my abilities with youth.