October Update

It was a busy month, with assignments coming thick and fast, but I think most of 'em are behind me. The load was pretty heavy for a while there, and it seemed like papers and presentations were all due at the same time, making for a lot of stress on ol' Stig, I can tell you.
In general, life has been pretty good. I've adapted to getting up in the morning and handling the early class with a lot less difficulty than I had anticipated. I've never thought of myself as a morning person, but I find myself handling the class okay, and wanting a nap more in the afternoon classes.
The 'dean' of the program handles the curriculum design class, and we've started designing lesson plans with the Alberta Program of Studies guide, a massive document, as our starting point. We've just done PhysEd and Health. Next up is Math and science (ugh!).
I always hated doing lesson plans in Korea, mainly because I had no idea of what the fuck I was doing. Well, after studying the whys and wherefores of lesson planning in Alberta, I still hate doing them like poison. A lot of pointless busywork. It's okay to have the big overarching vision, and some goals in sight (which I almost never did in Korea), but the detail of working out to do in one class just makes my ass tired.
The field experience class is held once a week, and we just go over what we saw the last time we went out, and think about other things to look for next time. The prof is pretty good. All of the profs have had a lot of experience teaching, and bring a wide variety of experiences to the classroom. Our field exp. prof just completed a term as principal of a school. He said he left there feeling wrung out and drained, but has been rejuvenated by this class.
Another class dealing with society and education was the one that put a lot of pressure on us with assignments and so on. But the prof has pushed some things back and given us some breathing room after we whined and bitched and complained as much as we possibly could. I participated in one group presentation, which the class has been doing the past coupla weeks. We each had an educational philosopher to present. Mine was Friedrich Frobel, the inventor of kindergarten. I learned a lot about how people have influenced the development of education and educational theory. it isn't as dry as it sounds, because most of my classmates are pretty smart, and their presentations were really well done.
The fourth class is yet more theory about education. This past week, I did a solo presentation about "Cognitive Views of Learning and The Role of Attention."
Whew.
I had read the chapter on Cognitive thinkers in the text, and zeroed in on the role of attention out of all the various topics presented. mainly because I thought capturing students' attention was pretty important. The presentation went pretty well, and I got a lot of positive feedback.
I have been focused on school the past coupla months, with a little over one month left to go until the Christmas break.
Every once in a while, I'll start reminiscing about life in Korea, and sometimes I wish I was back on the patio at Dunkin's with Flint, smoking a cigar, laughing at the mooks and shamelessly ogling the hotties.
Sigh.
But, those days are gone for now. Maybe we'll get back there again someday. I'm fairly satisfied with the progress I've made in school, and I'm looking forward to continuing the process of developing my professional talents.
Take care.

September Update

Well, I've been back in school for almost a month now, and I'm very happy.
I'm taking a Bachelor of Education (After) degree course at Ambrose University College. A coupla years from now, if all goes well, I'll be a certified teacher in the province of Alberta.
Everybody at the university has been very nice. The professors have been supportive and at the same time challenging. It's been quite a change to go from lolling about the house surfing the net to cracking the books and taking part in classes again, but I think I'm starting to get a handle on the load.
The class is only 22 students. The university has capped admission at 25, I believe. I consider myself lucky to have been admitted, but the profs say they're the lucky ones, considering my experience.
There are four courses. One is about curriculum design, another's about the interplay of society and education, the third's about learning theory, and the fourth deals with our field experience. If it wasn't for the latter, it'd be tough going. Getting out to schools and watching professionals in the classroom reminds me of why I've chosen to pursue a career in education.
The past three weeks I've visited one school. Next week I'll go to a new one for three weeks (once every Friday), and so on. Next March we'll be at a school for a whole month, and that's when we'll actually get to teach a class or two. For now we're just observing.
I'm renting a basement about 10 minutes away from the uni, so the lack of a vehicle is not too much of a problem right now. It's great to be back in Calgary. It was always the place I thought of as home while I was away in Korea. So far the experience of being back there has been a pretty good one. The uni is on the western end of town, so I have to deal with spectacular mountain views, but it's a small price to pay, I think.
That's about all I have to say for now, I guess. I do want to get back to posting my old columns, both here and on What The Kimchi?, but all my time is going to be taken up with studying for now.
Take care.