exciting but expensive news

Tags

Benjamin Franklin, education, learning, news, quotes, writing

Back in April, on a whim, I applied to do a MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) in creative writing and I recently I received the good news that I have been accepted. And this exciting news even got better – I was offered a working-scholarship which will reduce the cost a little bit.

Delighted about this news now all I have to do is figure out a way to pay for the privilege of a year filled with writing, reviewing and excellent mentoring. And while I do understand that education costs, I just wish it wasn’t quite so much.

So, this week I will be looking for grants I can apply for, look at any loan possibilities and hope that somehow I can scrape the money together. It would be such an incredible adventure and my writing would surly improve – a once in a lifetime opportunity.

And while I am researching financials I can’t help but dream of some long lost relative with a big purse, or a crock of gold hidden in my tiny yard, or maybe some unreversible  banking error in my favour. Or – who knows- maybe my book will be picked up and my funds will improve.

What ever happens I am excited about this expensive news and just hope I can make it reality. So if any one out there has any helpful ideas please do let me know!

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest

Benjamin Franklin 

 

 

psyching myself out

Tags

education, freud, freudian-slip, Jung, Pavlov, psycho analysis, psychology, quotes, Sigmund Freud, Skinner, Watson

I found out last year that as lecturer, even a part-time one, I can take part in the courses that are offered, for free.

However when I tried to enroll in the spring the course I wanted to take was either full or was cancelled or something so I had to postpone my ‘academic’ curiosity for another year. But yesterday I sat my substantial bottom back on that school bench and listened to the first few hours of “Introduction to Psychology”.

With pen in hand and pad on my lap I was introduced to the father of psycho analysis Sigmund Freud. Of course we have all heard about him and may know a little bit about his theories, especially those who have ended up in our every day vocabulary, but it was very interesting to find out more about the man and his couch.

As the professor told his tales my Id, Ego and Superego all paid attention, quarreling about who was right and who should stay quite, no two ever of the same opinion. But when a guy in the back made a Freudian-slip and said ‘fraud’ instead of ‘Freud’ they all burst into giggles.

So today I feel all psyched out, too many thoughts in my head but I am sure over the next few weeks my grey matter will get use to the exercise and I will be the best of pals with Jung, Skinner, Watson, Pavlov and his dogs.

For now I have to get back to my lecturing duties and prepare, correct and grade but I will make sure to allow my Id a little time to play, my Ego to take a bit of a rest and my Superego to stretch a little.

The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but does not rest until it has gained a hearing. – Sigmund Freud

one down … a whole year to go

Tags

college, cycling, Dublin, education, quotes, teaching

After a week of teaching I have been playing catch-up on myself again. Somehow, over the long summer, I have managed to forget how much time things actually take and although I have spent the last few weeks preparing and getting all my files in order I am already struggling to keep up. But I am sure after a week or so, when the overwhelming sensation of new students, new names, new courses, new data inputting system and new everything has past, I will be back on track,

One thing I do have to say is that cycling in and out of town has been good, well nearly good. After just three days of pedaling round town I got a flat and since I had to teach all I could do was wait for a short break and wheel my disabled bike to a fixer-upper. So now I hope that this is not going to be a common occurrence as otherwise it will be more expensive than taking the bus, even if it does save me some time.

But overall the first week back has been good, a promise of  a wonderful year to come.

The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts. – C.S. Lewis

schools out for summer

Tags

Alice Cooper, education, entertainment, miscellaneous, music, random, school, Schools out for summer, summer, summer holidays, The Muppets

For me today is the last day of term, so school is out for summer. And I have to admit I do feel a little like my school-girl self, all excited about what the long (hopefully a  few hot) days of summer hold in store for me.

However while today may be my last day of educating I still have a whole pile of corrections, gradings and paperwork left to fill in, out and type up. But once that’s done I’ll have lots of time to play.

Of course not teaching means not earning, but I have been frugal over the winter and, like a reverse squirrel, have collected my spoils and stored them away for hard times.

So for now I will do my little “schools out for Summer” dance, boogie along with Alice Cooper and the Muppets and hope that nothing goes wrong today.

caught cheating

Tags

cheat, cheating, education, mental-health, society, students

People cheat, we fudge the scores to win in games, we pretend we have trained for 40 min when it really was only 35min, we sneak that piece of chocolate into our mouths even when we are the only one who cares. We basically take short cuts to make life easier or more pleasant for ourselves. And as long as we just deceive ourselves and no one gets hurt it may not be a big deal.

But when a student cheats it’s a different matter. Of course we all know that students cheat, in fact studies show that more than two thirds admit to cheating on exams, homework and assignments. And interestingly enough people with history of plagiarism as students are more likely to cheat on their partners, defraud on taxes and not follow the rules in workplaces later in life.

When I discovered that a student handed in an assignment that had been copied and pasted I not only felt lied to, but was all so annoyed over the fact that he thought I wouldn’t notice.  Now I am left with the decision over what to do and I am very unsure.

On the one hand I want him to learn a lesson, teach him that every action has consequences, something he will hopefully take on board and remember later in life. And on the other hand I don’t want to be too harsh, as he is only a second year student and the main reason behind cheating is feeling too much pressure.

However as cheating does change how a person views right and wrong, I think it better to fail him on the one paper, talk to him about the reason why and hope it makes a change. After all I believe that honesty is too valuable to throw away and the only way you can succeed in life is to be truthful to who you are, not cheat no matter how high the temptation and always remember there is a right and wrong.