Hard, Hard Week

The first week back at Villa Maria after a two-week break was more than I expected. Lacking a personal laptop means devoting more time to preparing lessons because you now have to factor in the time to getting to an available computer. The climax of the week came on Friday when I taught three classes for the first three periods. In total, I taught 7 classes which doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re a heavy planner like me, making sure the lesson is covered from every angle, planning & teaching one lesson can be just as tough.

Thursday offered some warmth because it was a Professional Development (PD) Day. Rather than teach young students, the teaching faculty was treated to a presentation of how to implement the new curriculum into the classroom. The presentation was quite interesting, and high spirits were kept throughout the day with privately catered munchies. Long story short, the new curriculum can’t be taught the old way, not just via textbook with chalk & talk. In the age of the Internet & social networking, the way to teach is in a process of transformation meaning lessons now have to be fun & interactive. The old way is boring & obsolete.

By Friday evening, the whole Hinau block in Ilam Village decided to share my feelings of overworked by suffering three power failures over the course of four hours. I’m guessing students were cranking up their heaters to the max because of no insulation, thus sending the power grid into overdrive. When the power quit, students flooded outside to gaze at the stars, and publically voice their displeasures. ‘I suppose this is what life is like in North Korea,’ I quietly reflected, before dressing myself in the dark after having a hot shower.

On a musical side note, CANTA's latest magazine issue contains two CD reviews by yours truly: I was reviewing the latest releases from NZ groups Sola Rosa & State of Mind.

Two of my associates will be away during the first half of next week, leaving me to fend for myself at the time when the college will be stopping by to conduct its final assessment of my teaching potential. I should be fine if I budget my time wisely.

Swine flu seems to be the new fad these days, but with the paranoid reactions being taken by Mexican, American, Canadian, and other world governments, I’m guessing this sickness will be a one hit wonder like SARS back in 2003. There have been reported cases here in Middle Earth, even in Christchurch, but it hasn’t reached the point where everyone is walking around with face masks.

Back in Canada, my Liberal Party will be paying their respects to Stephane Dion, a Quebec politician who was the party’s leader from 2006-08. It’s somewhat odd to hear this dedication considering the party treated him as a subhuman. He was forced out of the leadership because he didn’t win the last election, and was replaced by Iggy, a man who claims to know so much about Canada that he spent the last 30 years overseas. It was either him or a singing nudist. Dion was not the lowest point of the party’s history, it was the party itself because they are out of touch with reality. Most of the blame goes to Quebec, who wouldn’t let go of Dion’s Clarity Act in 2000. The most Iggy will ever get is a minority government, despite his charismatic nature. Dion will return in the future because there’s no one else to lead the party. If I were Dion, I would have fought until the bitter end; it would have taken more than an army to boot me out.

Back to lesson planning.