I was listening to the radio this morning and heard the announcers declare how difficult it must be for a teacher to have 2 months off work and to start back to work... suddenly. Ha, I have been taking courses all summer and working on curriculum.
Ah, back to a new school year started with Lydia running around getting her hair done... flipped over to show the shaved side that I tidied up with our clippers the other day. She is growing up so fast and I am reminded of this as I check out the neighbor's children's first day of school pics..... they are all growing up so fast. I am readying myself for the day. I have decided to cover my sparse hairdo, quite in contrast with my daughter's funky hair, still sporting the remains of colour from a few weeks back. I have decided that I feel much more comfortable with a head covering.
I didn't sleep well last night... the neighbors are back from their vacation and their dog's barking woke me up abruptly at 11:23 pm. So much for getting back to sleep.....sigh. Today is CT day and the first day of school. I head into the labs and lo and behold is a classmate of mine from Western. It is his first day of teaching at Fanshawe in the Manufacturing sector. I have a number of classmates now working at the college this semester. There are few jobs available in the school boards and the ones that were offered do not even begin interviews until the late fall. Myself, I am happy as a clam to be back in my groove working with Sara, Mitch and John. Happy Happy Happy
The first lab began at 10 in the morning where I introduced myself and the lab content under the FOL website. This is administration week for all of the students in my program. Often times students do not have the funds until their OSAP money comes in. Typically this money comes in after classes start and for some students, much too late to get their parts in time. I designed the course with this in mind and as such made sure we had plenty of time in advance before needing the parts. The bookstore line-up winds its way outside and down the hall through the double doors into a building junction and past the variety store. By the time our parts arrive, the students will not have to wait in a line-up... we have parts on back order. I am also awaiting the arrival of the circuit board I designed for our final troubleshooting lab. The students are excited to be in class and we talk about our course and how we want it to be engaging, interesting and fun while learning top notch skills and developing a portfolio along the way. Western was time well spent as I am taking with me the tools I really liked and incorporating them into the classroom.
After class, I head off to my CT appointment at University Hospital. They recently had a C-difficile outbreak. I am conscious of this as I enter the hospital and sanitize my hands. Today I will find myself up on the second floor in the CT scan area waiting room with the angioplasty patients. One elderly woman looks at me and asks if I am having that procedure? I smile thinking that she is confused by how young I look. I took great pains to try to eradicate signs of chemo from my face this morning as I filled in my eyebrows, put on eyeliner and mascara and covered the rest in foundation. The headscarf looks decorative. I am called to the suite by a lab technician who will attempt to put an IV into my one really good vein.... and fail miserably. Yes, I think I have had enough pokes. The IV tube attached to the end of the syringe is halfway out and now she attempts to force saline through it to pop it into place. The tactic works and I am ready to be scanned..... only after I eat what amounts to a little pot of lotion. It is contrast for the throat. Yum. It coats the entire throat on its way down... I jokingly tell her that I am no longer suffering from hunger pangs. She is still feeling rather guilty about the injection and pats me on the arm. The scan takes a few minutes. I have to sit holding pressure on my vein for 10 minutes until I can leave in the waiting room. The technologist wishes me a good day and promptly takes the next patient down the hallway.
I am early enough back that I can help Mitch in the first practical lab with the logistics of creating a foldable for the student's lab reports. He is grateful for the help and I am grateful he is teaching the two remaining labs!!! He started teaching when I was just a kid fresh out of diapers and he taught me in technology over 20 years ago!!! I consider myself very lucky!!!
The final lab of the day will take us to 6 pm. A few students have misread their schedules and arrive at the end of class. I stay long enough to help them get their work done and head off home. I arrive home only to realize I have lost my cell phone!!! I log into my ipad's iPhone finder and discover it is back at the college. I contact Sara who graciously heads back in and we play the scavenger game of where is it. There is a key feature incorporated on this finder.... I can send a request for a tone. Sara had no problem finding it once this was activated. It was at the back of the lab under the keyboard??? Thanks Sara, dinner is on me!!!
All in all, a pretty darn good start to the season!!!!
I wish to dedicate this blog to all the teachers I know who will put in an incredible amount of work before classes start and to those that continually strive to educate themselves on their own time. Teachers totally rock!!!!!
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