Continuity and Change

I seem to ask myself similar questions at the beginning of every encounter with new students.   It isn't "How will they be?", it is more "How will I be?"   While not as old as Tony, I am getting there.  And it is not just the annoyances of age, like arthritis in my knees; it is my "staleness" academically.   I still read some material in areas of ethics and PBL, but it is not with the passions of old.   At home in Nova Scotia, I sit in my breakfast nook and watch the sea and if not distracted too often, get a couple of the article's pages read before I finish my coffee.   Seems enough "work" for the day.   Maybe I should hang up my spikes?  But then I console myself with my own wisdom... If you don't know more than a first year student, you are probably dead!   Well, I am not dead, so 20 first year students get me again.

Besides me, there is my trusty side-kick, Tony Carr.  Not only are we teaching together, but we are living together and (surprise, surprise), we are both enjoying it...  This may just be the honeymoon - figuratively speaking.     He did come into my room and demand to see the bottoms of my feet, like a referee checking my spikes, to see if I had any warts because (as you know?) we are at risk for them.   I didn't know that, but if it keeps him happy...no big deal.   And I know which towels are for hands and which ones are never for hands, plus the natural and proper order of items in a refrigerator.  

This is our second time through the course we designed and wrote, so we are smoother and wiser.  
We did learn from last year's students and have made a few changes; the most beneficial for us (always the primary concern!) is to have the "Homework Questions" not be taken home, as some of the more verbose would write small epistles for each answer while others had just enough time to copy a sentence from another's sheet.   Scoring them was either a long or painful process -- and sometimes both.   So we have added 15 minutes to their time with us and the same sheet is given as an in-class exam.   This has limited the words of the first group and definitely "opened the minds" of the second.

If you think that we are making the course up as we go, you'd be right.  However, we are supposedly experts, so our making up stuff has credibility.   For example, we are trying to show that with well-designed problems, the tutors do not necessarily need to be experts in the subject matter.   So when one of our tutors was not able to be present, we recruited two former nursing students; and another time, a restaurateur and ice-cream king; and finally, a graduate student who was coming to the class just to observe -- we promoted her to tutor!

We are really fortunate this year with our regular co-tutors; they have added some rich flavours to the class.  Marysia and Claudette's participation has allowed us to keep the groups small - five in each.    Their experiences and difference in style have brought more blessings than burdens.   There are times, though, that I can see them shake their heads and almost say out-loud, "Did Tony really say/do that?"    For example, we needed to divide the class into groups, and as we have four men Tony chose the men to be the leaders in organizing the groups... a question of mathematics for Tony, but not for others ....

Claudette and Marysia have been helpful in asking questions where we didn't see any.   They challenge our assumptions and have already strengthened the programme... and they seem to be enjoying it as well.
My problem remembering names continues.  I have forgotten almost all the names of the Seniors that I memorized last year... And they have confronted my grunting!  They want me to take another "names" exam - of course for a pizza reward.  I am having enough of a problem trying to remember the names of the 20 new students .  With one week left before my Seniors exam, I think that I may end up buying pizza this year.  In my next lifetime I'll be better; it isn't happening this time round.

My impressions of Guyana this time are conflicted:  there definitely seems to be more construction of big buildings while the roads are worse and the same bridges that were fixed recently are being fixed again; the variety of food items seems less and Fogarty's shelves are really half-filled; an election is coming and no one expects it to bring any changes either to the governing party or the average person; all the third parties [non-racial] can't seem to get their coalitions together; Mercy hasn't started to rebuild.  I found that last fact kind of depressing; however, they have just awarded the contract for some of the reconstruction [I'll try and have more on that next time].  Many of the old timers have moved on - staff, nurses, doctors and new ones have come...such is life.

This has been a week primarily geared to getting our nursing programme going.  And yes, the computers:  we have the three added ones, locked and working in the Computer Cafe.    We are sorting out how to distribute "justly"... and "responsibly" the individual laptops, to which so many of you made a donation.  There are some students who have a laptop already and/or computer access at home.  We have drawn up a loan contract that goes something like, "Get your RN - Keep the Laptop"/ "Leave Mercy - Give it Back". 

Visited St. Ann's Orphanage briefly to arrange my weekly visits; got some shopping done, including a case of Parbo.   And I'm now trying to hide so I do not have to lead a Revival Crusade at King of Glory Lutheran Church next week.   "Elmer Gantry" O'Connor, I think not.