This is me letting it go...

I was teaching John Updike's shory story "A&P" this afternoon to my English 102 class. One of the students, a thin-faced woman in her mid-to-late-thirties, asked me where I taught full-time.

Hesitant, I responded, "Valley Fellowship Christian Academy."

Her mouth formed a half-cocked smile and she kinda chuckled, covering her face with her book.

Befuddled, I asked, "What?"

She just repeated her action as if I were some peon.
Again I asked, "Seriously, what?" At this point, I assumed she was either making some assumption about the religious segment of my statement or she obviously had a negative experience with VFCA. Needless to say, I had the feeling that she wasn't laughing at some incidental, ironic punchline in my statement.

Finally, she retorted, "I don't talk about religion or politics because it would be a bloodbath in here if I did."

I made some half-response and moved on with the class. But the experience was like a burn of the roof of my mouth. It annoyed me the whole drive home. I kept tonguing the experience over and over again. I think that it was odd (and hurtful if I was honest) that she assumed to know my religious and political beliefs all from the name of a school. I got my Masters degree at a non-religious school and I never felt directly judged because of my beliefs. I knew that a large majority of the class disagreed with me, but it was never really an issue. They truly did have a respect for different beliefs, which was amazing. And teaching at Calhoun Community College has softened my need to pass judgment. I've read personal narratives about being a stripper and driving drunk with kids in the car, both things that would rank pretty high on my judgment list. But I knew the person behind the story, and I realized that they were at Calhoun because they are trying to do something better with their lives. Their openness with me inspired mutual respect. And I think that my concept of mutual respect was trampled today by a middle-aged angry woman.