Tea Cart/ What is Education for?
Page Delano, BMCC
 

The Tea Cart 
 

I think there are some places where they serve sherry in the late afternoon, and at Columbia there’s tea for graduate students, and I know there are a lot of offices in the city where there are coffee carts in the morning – I mean you pay for it, it’s not free, that’s cool.  Now it’s time to create the tea cart.  It’ll roll around on the different floors and you can go out into the main hall and buy tea or coffee and a little cookie or fruit tart and talk shop, talk union, talk books, talk dreams and things you’re working out.  I mean I know we have a lot of different schedules, but the talking tea cart will give you a little boost between 3 and 5 whenever it rolls by your office, and the cookies can be in the shape of administrators’ faces, or magna cartas, or photocopy machines which the office staff haven’t yet had repaired, or in the shapes of countries where our students come from, and the prices will be pretty good, since our paychecks seem to be shrinking, shrinking so good prices are important.  We can make it an event that everyone wants to take part it – when’s my time to work the tea cart? people will demand.   
 
 

What is Education for 

I’m here because I want to make more money. 

I’m here because my mother, who died a few years ago, inspired me to go to school.  I’m 43, she started when she was 48, and died at 53.  She had earned her B.A.

I’m here because I want to show my daughter it’s important to try to better yourself.

I’m here because I moved here from California and it’s time for me to get my life together.

I’m here because my parents wanted me to be in school.  And I’m one of six girls, and I have two brothers.

I’m here because I want to be a writer, a nurse, an astronomer, a cop, my family is all teachers but I don’t want that, I want to go into computers. 

I’m here because I have a degree from Russia but it doesn’t do me any good so I want a new degree. 

I’m here because I want to be a nurse, I want to help people, even if it’s only one person at a time, I was a dancer but I can’t do that any more I need to do something else. 

I’m here – well, I’m just here, I don’t really know why, I’m here because I know it’s a good school, it has a good reputation. 

I’m here because it’s cheaper than the senior colleges. 

I’m here because I want to get a few credits out of the way, because I failed my entrance tests and then I’ll transfer to a senior college. 

I’m here because it’s a convenient location, I work just a few blocks away.   

 

go to
Top of Page
Our CUNY vs. Their CUNY
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
HOME