Another Monday rolls around, another 5am wake-up (although I'd been awake since 4am, having been woken by the sound of Fred (I think) heaving up another furball (which I can't find)), leaving the house at 6.30am, after carefully checking that there was nothing remotely edible left out on the benches.
I got to uni in time for a brief pre-lecture coffee and muffin (they had the coffee, I had the muffin) with some classmates, and the 8am session went by quite well, with some interesting presentations from colleagues (the most memorable of which was the part presented in "Alien" to demonstrate what it would be like to not speak English). In the hour gap between that and the next lecture I went along to the Field Studies (prac) office, to get the contact details of my school. I hadn't heard back, and was supposed to have done a day's observation last Friday. It turns out that the person I contacted is away on holidays; I was put onto someone else. However, when I called, he had no record of me being one of the students they were expecting!
Argh!!
He said he'd look into it, and he'd call me after my afternoon of classes. Awesome. I'd just had a conversation with the Field Studies officer about how hard it was to find a wheelchair-accessible school (Education Qld doesn't keep any information on the accessibility of its high schools) and it was the list of schools I got from asking on Twitter and Facebook that lead to my placement. He also agreed that it was my best shot at getting future employment, as a successful prac placement will get me a good reference, and possibly even a foot in the door at the school, should a vacancy open up.
So I wasn't thrilled at the thought that the placement had fallen down, and I'd have to try to find another one.... but I couldn't think about that, as I had another two lectures and a 2-hour tute to get through.
Happily, they were good lectures and a good tute (not just because my classmates liked the cookies I'd baked in my role as this week's Snack Monitor), and as a result, I might be able to complete my next couple of assignments adequately.
The other guys in my tute got their first assignments back today (that's the one I submitted yesterday), and now I'm quite sure that I have failed that one. Sigh. Never mind, though, as I have two more opportunities to redeem myself - that is to say, I have two more assignments to complete.
During the last class we did a Poetry Walk, which meant wandering around the campus a bit, looking for poetic inspiration. I didn't find much, but did write a poem - or more accurately, a piece of doggerel:
Bush turkey, bush turkey,
Why are you following me?
You are distracting Dexter,
Who still needs to do a wee.
We did actually spot a bush turkey as we left class, which sent Dexter into a bit of a frenzy (not a good look for an assistance dog, but it's the only thing that he goes nuts for).
Arriving back at Hotel KaznSteve I was relieved to find that there had been no domestic disasters (that's two Mondays in a row!!), and just as I had established that there was nothing to clean up, I got a call from the guy at the school. He had found a more recent list of prac students, and I was indeed on it. Phew!!
However, this means that I have to do THREE days of observation this week! Eeek!! This is preparatory to my 20-odd days of prac, where I find out if I really can be a high school Engish teacher. Double-EEEK!! Meanwhile, I still have a heap of assignments that I have to keep working on. I see some hard days ahead....
I just hope I can get caught up during the vacation (2 weeks from the end of next week) so that my prac isn't complicated by having to also finish assignments. I'll keep working tonight - I'm now able to stay awake when I get home after uni on a Monday - and just keep plugging away. It's all I can do.
I have great company for a night of studying: King Fred on my left, Middy Puss on my right and Dexter at my feet.
I got to uni in time for a brief pre-lecture coffee and muffin (they had the coffee, I had the muffin) with some classmates, and the 8am session went by quite well, with some interesting presentations from colleagues (the most memorable of which was the part presented in "Alien" to demonstrate what it would be like to not speak English). In the hour gap between that and the next lecture I went along to the Field Studies (prac) office, to get the contact details of my school. I hadn't heard back, and was supposed to have done a day's observation last Friday. It turns out that the person I contacted is away on holidays; I was put onto someone else. However, when I called, he had no record of me being one of the students they were expecting!
Argh!!
He said he'd look into it, and he'd call me after my afternoon of classes. Awesome. I'd just had a conversation with the Field Studies officer about how hard it was to find a wheelchair-accessible school (Education Qld doesn't keep any information on the accessibility of its high schools) and it was the list of schools I got from asking on Twitter and Facebook that lead to my placement. He also agreed that it was my best shot at getting future employment, as a successful prac placement will get me a good reference, and possibly even a foot in the door at the school, should a vacancy open up.
So I wasn't thrilled at the thought that the placement had fallen down, and I'd have to try to find another one.... but I couldn't think about that, as I had another two lectures and a 2-hour tute to get through.
Happily, they were good lectures and a good tute (not just because my classmates liked the cookies I'd baked in my role as this week's Snack Monitor), and as a result, I might be able to complete my next couple of assignments adequately.
The other guys in my tute got their first assignments back today (that's the one I submitted yesterday), and now I'm quite sure that I have failed that one. Sigh. Never mind, though, as I have two more opportunities to redeem myself - that is to say, I have two more assignments to complete.
During the last class we did a Poetry Walk, which meant wandering around the campus a bit, looking for poetic inspiration. I didn't find much, but did write a poem - or more accurately, a piece of doggerel:
Bush turkey, bush turkey,
Why are you following me?
You are distracting Dexter,
Who still needs to do a wee.
We did actually spot a bush turkey as we left class, which sent Dexter into a bit of a frenzy (not a good look for an assistance dog, but it's the only thing that he goes nuts for).
Arriving back at Hotel KaznSteve I was relieved to find that there had been no domestic disasters (that's two Mondays in a row!!), and just as I had established that there was nothing to clean up, I got a call from the guy at the school. He had found a more recent list of prac students, and I was indeed on it. Phew!!
However, this means that I have to do THREE days of observation this week! Eeek!! This is preparatory to my 20-odd days of prac, where I find out if I really can be a high school Engish teacher. Double-EEEK!! Meanwhile, I still have a heap of assignments that I have to keep working on. I see some hard days ahead....
I just hope I can get caught up during the vacation (2 weeks from the end of next week) so that my prac isn't complicated by having to also finish assignments. I'll keep working tonight - I'm now able to stay awake when I get home after uni on a Monday - and just keep plugging away. It's all I can do.
I have great company for a night of studying: King Fred on my left, Middy Puss on my right and Dexter at my feet.
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