Teaching at SWOCC, Fall '08 through Summer '0912 August 09: It's already the end of SUMMER term! I thought that I would have a small group of students given that it is summer time, not so. I had 19 new students and taught four sections, with some additional tutoring. When our last class met, students gave me a card that said, "Thanks for doing a good job." A few of them left in tears because they will miss the class so much, but they are well on their way to earning their GED's. One student who has been with me for more than a year earned her GED last week. This was an amazing accomplishment for someone with a language processing disorder in both receptive and expressive language. After some moments of celebratory conversation, she left saying, "Thanks for not leaving me behind." Teaching just doesn't get any better than that! I'm off for a few weeks to tend to family matters. Fall term begins on September 29, but there will be an orientation the week before that.
02 June 09: Where has the time gone? Winter term is over and spring term will be over this week! Sixteen of my students have earned their GED certificates this academic year, with 6 more probables within the next two weeks. The main campus reports that 70 students have earned GED certificates; if that includes our site, 35 (half) of those tested at our small satellite campus. Several students have earned one-term tuition-waiver scholarships. A few of these students made a presentation at the Board of Education meeting held here in Brookings in May. They spoke about why they wanted to earn their GED, what their experiences were like taking the course and the exam, and what they plan to do with it in the future. More students will be awarded certificates and humorous awards at the annual awards celebration tomorrow, June 2. Seventeen new students have signed-up for the GED course this summer and those orientation sessions will be held June 3 and June 10. RSVP Margaret Mart has been approved to teach the ESL course on Saturdays, so I will be saying "adios" to that group of students soon. I will miss them; we have had fun. Margaret and I have been co-teaching this course this term, so this should be an easy transition for these students. If enough students register for the course, I will be teaching HD 204, Positive Psychology, this summer term in addition to the 3 GED sections.
08 February 2009: Yes, the numbers grew! I have 31 students in my ABE/GED courses. If 25 students attend during the 3-hour session, I can give each student 7.2 minutes of individual instruction. That's not enough for students with many learning difficulties and emotional challenges related to previous school failure. Interim Dean Janet and I have agreed to cap these courses at 25, and we already have 7 new students on the waiting list. We'll see how many students graduate this term and how many return. Register early to get a spot! The ESL class has 10 students and we're having fun.
Some good news is that Interim Dean Janet has requested a full-time position via a grant to have a full-time transitional education instructor here at the Brookings campus; hopefully, that will be me! This may or may not happen any time soon ... I just learned that some money is coming our way to fix our leaky roof and get some lighting in the parking lot. Perhaps we can also have classroom 2 checked-out for mold and have it treated if necessary. I stay sick when I'm teaching in that room. Aleta did put an air purifier in there for me. Thanks, Aleta.
12 January 2009: Last week was the first week of the Winter term 2009. I have approximately 22 students registered for the ABE/GED course and 8 students registered for the ESL class, and more are expected to register this week. We have several new students registered for orientation this week so the numbers will grow. I am teaching a new course, Human Development 112: Becoming a Master Student. This course will take lots of planning because this will be the first time that I've taught it. I am very pleased that we have a growing ESL class and that many of the GED students are passing subtests on their way to earning their GED certificates.
02 January 2009: Holidays are over, sun is shining, and I'm ready to go back to teaching. Classes begin on Tuesday, January 6, and I'll be calling students over the weekend to invite them back.
09 December 2008: Bad day. Running late. Financial woes. Sick. Get to class. Run-out to get envelopes. Return. "Let's get started." One student looks at another student and asks, "Where's Kay?" I stopped. Slowed down. Took a breath. Let off some steam. Then we began our last class sharing portfolios. Students know when you're not yourself. Listen to them and adjust your attitude.
Although the term has ended for the students, I spent several hours yesterday doing paperwork for the state; however, such time-consuming chores are not included in my pay. Seems like teachers continue to be asked to do more for less and with fewer resources.
On a happy note, one student earnd his GED and several more are on their way ... yea.
28 November 2008: We're moving into our last few classes for this term. Several students are signed-up to take GED subtests in the coming weeks, including math. Math is definitely the hardest subtest to pass. Our last class is on 12/9. We will register more students on 12/16 and 12/18 for winter term. How many more students can I take? However many the room is allowed to hold per fire regulations. Go figure. I'm looking forward to winter break when I will plan a new course in study skills based on The Master Student, and clean out the garage so I can park my car in it during the rainy season.
08 November 2008: Bowling Day! Our community college sponsored a Rock-n-Bowl activity at the local bowling alley. Many of my students participated. I enjoy meeting their spouses and children. GED class is too big with a registration of 32 students; however, on average, 20 students are attending. I worry about big class sizes for this population of students who need so much individual attention, but our budget is so limited this year that we may not be able to address this situation effectively. I am looking forward to having a Democratic President again who may respond to educational needs with something more than "give 'em more tests."
16 October 2008: Major planning for the term is completed, now I just create the weekly activities. Light bulbs are coming on, or at least, they are flickering ... Two students passed the GED reading subtest this week, and several students are passing practice tests in math, as well as social studies and science. Some of the writing samples have been promising so I will use them in class as practices for editing and scoring.
07 October 2008: Last week was the first week of this fall term. Our enrollment is bigger than ever. This may be partly caused by the economic crisis and folks are out of work. Our small satellite campus has outgrown our small facility. A new building is in the works, but it will take years before it's completed. I am teaching HD 100, College Success and Survival, three sections of ABE/GED, and one section of ESL. I have been very busy planning for this term. I hope to get to know the students better this week.
Our current Dean is moving to Klamath CC. Our interim Dean is Janet Pretti who has been at the college for many years. She seems to really understand our communities' needs and our population of students.
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