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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm a Pre-Kindergarten teacher who is well traveled, well read, and has a Master's degree.  It's even worse when smug people are surprised about what you DO know. They act incredulous that I can hold a conversation on a variety of topics. It's annoying.[/quote]

This is so, so true. My DH works in construction and people often assume he's not that bright or cosmopolitan because of assumptions they have about his line of work. They are often surprised to find he is better read than most people, that he went to an Ivy, that he is fully bilingual, and that he knows a ton about music theory and film history. He's a big guy with a beard who wears a hard hat at work and lots of denim and flannel. People think he's a lumberjack, basically, and have very interesting reactions when they actually talk to him.

You probably experience this as well: many people assume his job can't be intellectually stimulating or complex because of their preconceived notions about people who work with their hands. Sometimes people will politely ask a question about his work and he'll reply with a nuanced comment about housing policy, government regulation, urban planning, or something else related to his work, and people will be so surprised that construction can be as intellectual as any white collar profession. I bet there are people who are the same with ECE, and don't understand that the pedagogy around teaching young children requires a lot of intellect.[/quote]

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