Truant Blogger
I'm sorry! I'm sorry! :-)
I finished the workshop in Bungieville yesterday and made my way into E-town again to do some more packing. I stayed at Rosy's new house, and arrived quite late, so I did not have 1) time to post anything, or 2) any access to a computer.
I'm beginning to know that highway like the back of my hand. [Hey. Wait a minute.....that mole wasn't there before......!] This time I didn't tune into any country. I actually just savoured the silence. After two long days of trying to get a grasp of what the good doctor was preaching, and trying to get used to contain my living to a small room with 0.02% of my stuff, it was nice to just drive and blank out. Highway 28 is good for that.
In my interactions with the administration and new teachers at the workshop, I came to realize the value of the past eight months I spent working at Advanis/Travel Alberta. I convocated from university in the spring of 2004 with no intentions of teaching, and somehow ended up in the world of business. The professional atmosphere of the office has made an impression on me. From the day I started working at Travel Alberta, I was picking up the subtleties and nuances of survival in the business world.
It would be hard to tell you of all of the valuable lessons I have learned from Ryan [who was not only my trainer, but a fast friend], and Dean. Ryan's paranoia was especially useful. [haha] Ryan was always, always aware of who was watching, listening or scrutinizing him. This is not to say that Ryan would work any differently when no one was around. But he was aware, to be sure. Ryan had this standard of excellence that inspired me. He gave me the inside scoop on who was who and what was what, and I learned so much from his modus operandi.
Dean would never tire of regaling me with stories of his days at Shaw. He delighted in discussing the future, career goals, and how to get there. He taught me to keep my head up and look forward. He encouraged me and by believing in me, taught me to begin to believe in myself and my professional abilities.
What does the business world have to do with school? Everything. And nothing they teach you in university. There are no classes on "Interacting with The Big Boss", "Keeping Your Career In Mind and Your Mouth Shut: An Exercise on Keeping Personal Opinions Personal" and "These People are Not Your Regular Friends". The thing I noticed over the past couple of days was that there was a marked difference in the behaviour of the teachers who just came from university and those who have already been teaching, or have spent time working elsewhere. I wonder how Group A will do. It's a steep learning curve, that's for sure. For all of us.
There are still small moments where I feel completely overwhelmed. I get these sudden panic attacks where my chest tightens up and I feel like I can't breathe. "What am I doing here? I'm never going to be able to do this! There are so many things to do. I can't. I'm going to fail." Ouch! These episodes are usually quite ephemeral, lasting only a few seconds . I guess I just need to breathe, take my time, and remember all that I've learned in the last while. "I don't have to be perfect! It's okay to mess up."
And if that doesn't work, there's always:
"I am fast and fluid.... I am a cheetah!" :-)
==
PS: Going camping this weekend.....no blogging.
I finished the workshop in Bungieville yesterday and made my way into E-town again to do some more packing. I stayed at Rosy's new house, and arrived quite late, so I did not have 1) time to post anything, or 2) any access to a computer.
I'm beginning to know that highway like the back of my hand. [Hey. Wait a minute.....that mole wasn't there before......!] This time I didn't tune into any country. I actually just savoured the silence. After two long days of trying to get a grasp of what the good doctor was preaching, and trying to get used to contain my living to a small room with 0.02% of my stuff, it was nice to just drive and blank out. Highway 28 is good for that.
In my interactions with the administration and new teachers at the workshop, I came to realize the value of the past eight months I spent working at Advanis/Travel Alberta. I convocated from university in the spring of 2004 with no intentions of teaching, and somehow ended up in the world of business. The professional atmosphere of the office has made an impression on me. From the day I started working at Travel Alberta, I was picking up the subtleties and nuances of survival in the business world.
It would be hard to tell you of all of the valuable lessons I have learned from Ryan [who was not only my trainer, but a fast friend], and Dean. Ryan's paranoia was especially useful. [haha] Ryan was always, always aware of who was watching, listening or scrutinizing him. This is not to say that Ryan would work any differently when no one was around. But he was aware, to be sure. Ryan had this standard of excellence that inspired me. He gave me the inside scoop on who was who and what was what, and I learned so much from his modus operandi.
Dean would never tire of regaling me with stories of his days at Shaw. He delighted in discussing the future, career goals, and how to get there. He taught me to keep my head up and look forward. He encouraged me and by believing in me, taught me to begin to believe in myself and my professional abilities.
What does the business world have to do with school? Everything. And nothing they teach you in university. There are no classes on "Interacting with The Big Boss", "Keeping Your Career In Mind and Your Mouth Shut: An Exercise on Keeping Personal Opinions Personal" and "These People are Not Your Regular Friends". The thing I noticed over the past couple of days was that there was a marked difference in the behaviour of the teachers who just came from university and those who have already been teaching, or have spent time working elsewhere. I wonder how Group A will do. It's a steep learning curve, that's for sure. For all of us.
There are still small moments where I feel completely overwhelmed. I get these sudden panic attacks where my chest tightens up and I feel like I can't breathe. "What am I doing here? I'm never going to be able to do this! There are so many things to do. I can't. I'm going to fail." Ouch! These episodes are usually quite ephemeral, lasting only a few seconds . I guess I just need to breathe, take my time, and remember all that I've learned in the last while. "I don't have to be perfect! It's okay to mess up."
And if that doesn't work, there's always:
"I am fast and fluid.... I am a cheetah!" :-)
==
PS: Going camping this weekend.....no blogging.
posted by jacelyn at
8:41 a.m.
1 Comments:
The chickens have read, and discussed this latest blog. Wise, but fowl, these Chickens on the round table. Yes, you read it correctly: ON the round table. Not OF the round table. They prefer being on it. More comfortable, or so they say. They shy away from wearing armor and carrying swords for obvious reasons; the masks tend to cover them entirely, which makes it difficult to move around, no opposable thumbs, which makes sword-wielding difficult, and also due to the limited attention span...more chickens have lost their heads in battle than they care to admit. There are other issues, to be sure, but these shall suffice for the moment.
They have come to unamimous agreement that you will be a fine, fine teacher. Yes, there will be days when you doubt your abilities; everyone goes through that...uhh...not everyone doubting YOUR abilities, but each doubting his or her own abilities.
So, in these days of uncertainty, the chickens have concluded, the seeming departures from sanity are indeed answered by the first line in the last paragraph: "There are still small moments where I feel completely overwhelmed". We want to hold on to the familiar; what we know. At least that is positive; it gives you something to work on. Being completely underwhelmed simply leads to complete and utter boredom, and ending up in one of two equally at-home places for boring people (although one pays much better); pool halls or federal politics.
You will be fine. Repeat after me: "I am fast and fluid...I am a Cheetah!"
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Anonymous, at Fri Aug 19, 10:11:00 p.m. 2005
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