Mid term and more

Organising myself to pen entries for this eclectic journal has proved a challenge of late, largely because so much of my time is going into the two days a week that am I teaching Computer Literacy to post-secondary students at a local college.

Since I am teaching an existing course I am – thankfully – spared the necessity of creating a curriculum from scratch, or of having to produce the considerable quantities of material involved. I am obliged, however, to acquaint myself each week with all that is necessary for the delivery of two classes, for two ninety minute lab sessions and for homework assignments. I must – in addition – mark all submitted coursework and maintain office hours on campus so that students may avail themselves of my good services should such be required.

Had I started on this endeavour with a little more lead time than I did I might have been able to prepare further ahead. As things stand I am having to pick up each week’s material just ahead of time and to run through it all at home on the days between taking it into the classroom. I am as a result probably actually working nearer three to three and a half days a week.

This week I have had also to devote time to the ‘delightful’ task of preparing (thankfully not from scratch) a Mid Term Exam paper, which my doughty band of apprentices will be facing tomorrow. Stout-hearted they may be but they are also a somewhat motley crew. Who knows how it will turn out?!

I must admit to finding myself – somewhat to my surprise – rather enjoying teaching again. Putting to some good use forty years of acquired knowledge in the realm of information technology does compensate to a degree for returning – however temporarily – to a field from which I had gratefully retired. As things stand I will certainly consider doing another term in the autumn (fall) and maybe one more next spring… if they will have me. That would probably be enough however, even though I would firmly expect such subsequent terms to prove a considerably easier ride.

Though we are just passed mid term at the college my first season of theatre workshops at our neighborhood academy of arts is approaching its final week. I realise – looking back – that I have thus far written but little about this, probably for fear of jinxing the project. I promise that I will make amends in a future post.

For now I can report that though our troupe of young thespists is yet small they are all clearly keen to be with us and have thrown themselves enthusiastically into the sessions. Further, both they and the academy have indicated that they want more, so a second term is being planned and is scheduled to start in April. This will hopefully all build slowly until the point at which it takes on a life of its own and sails off happily into the sunset.