Trouble in the land of Beauty and Health

So, I might have made an...uneducated...decision. I have enrolled in Beauty School to obtain a license in aesthetics and a certification in massage. Though, I have earned myself a bachelors degree in psychology, in this economy, that means all of jack and shit. With my upcoming nuptials and a craptastic economy, I figured the most responsible thing I could do was give myself something at least semi-marketable (and with the help of my last few months of GI Bill, another few months worth of rent). But, oh-my-holy-bat-mobile-of-doomishness, I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. 

Perhaps uneducated is the wrong word to describe this decision. Perhaps I just didn't do my due diligence in researching the programs I was about to enroll in. As a full-time student at this "academy" taking classes in the massage technician program, I am getting my weight in "woo". I pride myself in being logical, rational, academic, intellectual, and truth seeking - these values are not so welcome in this new environment. Though our education is based on anatomy and physiology, the teacher, whom I'm simply going to guess lacks a degree in anything, seems to have a severe problem with proper pronunciation (that's not even to mention his apparent allergy to proper grammar and basic English skills!) and a vague-to-nonexistent understanding of the material he's lecturing on. 

He also has a penchant for the unconventional techniques, including spiritual wellness, chakra balancing, and other "special" skills (please read "special" as scientifically-unsupported-most-probably-nonexistant-unregulated-bullshit-woo). Upon a conversation regarding what fed our "spirit", a conversation I attempted to abstain from, that I learned that not only will absences destroy your spirit, but that in order to be a good massage therapist, one must be spiritually whole. Well, you can imagine, after I explained that the word spirit meant nothing to me, the class atmosphere got awkward quickly.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so quick to judge these very strange and naive people. Many of them lack substantial life experience, and more lack a solid educational foundation. Perhaps their very sudden decision to ostracize me for what they see as cynicism, is actually a fear of what they don't understand and are unwilling to question as of yet. I know that completing this program will challenge me, not academically or intellectually, but a challenge of the mind overcoming the mindsets those who don't understand, and those who are willing to blindly believe. God help me.