It’s a funny thing about being a grad student. I feel that I work for a living (yes, I think reading and writing, not just teaching, count as earning my keep). But when I’m going off to do work at the college I think and say, “I’m going off to school.” I’m realizing that for many people that calls to mind lockers, lunchboxes, and third grade. For me, it calls to mind an office, a library, and college classrooms. Most of the time I don’t really think about it: everyone here knows Sydney and I are grad students, and many of our friends are, as well. But when I was home visiting my parents, and I interacted with my extended family, I realized it sounded a little funny to talk about school when they talked about work, and I was afraid of the images they called to mind.
On a related note, I realized that for many people work is related to a particular place. A professor friend of mine works in the sciences, so her work is closely tied to her time in the lab. Work means doing experiments in the lab. When I mentioned that I spent most of my summer at home, I saw this befuddled look cross her face, and realized she took me to mean I hadn’t done any work all summer. When I added that I had more than enough books at home to keep me working not only through the summer, but also through the next several years, she laughed a bit nervously.
Erin
Alan Schmierer
Yeah, I don’t think I ever say “going to school” since that’s pretty vague. I usually say either “going to the lab” or “going to the department” (which are like 1/2-hr bus-ride away from each other, so I usually pick one or the other on a given day).
I’ve also managed to work it that I usually work from home/psych dept on Tuesdays (e.g., don’t go into the lab that day). On the lab schedule it says I’m “at Charles River Campus”, which I consider to include both the psych dept & my apt. 🙂 Cheating, perhaps, but true. But yes, I understand the “working from home” phenomenon – I read better on my couch than in a lab full of distracting people. But much of my more productive-feeling work gets done in a more formal setting.
-L
I don’t think you have your professor-friend convinced.