1974 seems like a date lost in the mists of the past, but it was then that what must have been a discarded building from some other galaxy made its entrance through he clouds and landed on a spit of land, previously a dump site, in Boston Harbor. It was this red brick edifice, with all its settling and cracks, that was to become the home of UMass-Boston.
We know where the name came. The University of Massachusetts is a hybrid born from the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1863 and then, in 1964, the venerable institution gave birth to the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Later, in 1982, U-Mass-Boston spread its newfound wings and enveloped Boston State College.
But what was Boston State College? It was founded in 1872 when the Boston Normal School was formed, and in 1924 it was renamed the State Teachers College of the City of Boston. Finally, in 1952, it was again renamed the State Teachers College at Boston and made a state institution. Obviously it was a school designed to educate young men and women to be teachers in the Commonwealth and it had this focus all the way to its demise when UMass-Boston assumed the mantle.
A lot of words to make a statement, but our ink supply is endless. UMass-Boston has too many major programs to list here but more often than not the professors, whether they be permanent or merely on loan from other Universities or even from the private sector, are inclined to make their courses more teacher -friendly than purely educational. For those of you who may not know what is going on in a class I will make it a bit clearer. Many professors are under the erroneous impression that all the students in their classes have opted for a career in teaching. This must be a virus that UMass-Boston became infected with when the merger with Boston State took place. Of course I cannot delve into students’ minds, so I do not actually know the exact percentages, but an educated guess would lead me to believe that the majority of matriculated students are not going on in any educational field. This does not mean that UMass-Boston does not produce a great number of fine teachers, but why should so many professors teach under the assumption that everyone is going to be a teacher? I could be a tad catty and say something like “misery loves company” and that the professors want more and more people to commiserate with over low wages and long hours but I will not belabor such a point here.
All I can do is point out the obvious and hope that some professors will take a closer look at whom they teach. Perhaps a shot of penicillin will eradicate the virus or even counseling by the fine staff of advisors the school has- oh, but they may be teachers too. Maybe students who do not intend to become teachers could wear an armband with a distinct color that differentiates them from the masses?
To the Professors of UMass-Boston, all I can say is to look on those students in your classes very closely; the females are of the new millennium and no longer must enter into only nursing or teaching. Their opportunities are as boundless as the males in your classes. When you are looking down on the young males, just think: some day one of them may be the doctor, dentist or sex therapist treating you in your dotage.