Another day in the education factory. Well, that's a really unfair statement, as actually education has very little in common with factory life, however much one may sometimes wish that it could be so patterned and organized.
My job is about people. I actually do no teaching at all, but I find I know most of the faculty students, and obviously the staff. I increasingly know the online students as well. Interestingly we are finding that the relationships we make with the online students are as vivid and immediate as those with our on campus students. In fact, many of our online courses are a part of blended learning programs, so we do know many of our students face to face as well.
And people mean unpredictability. Yesterday I dealt with a member of staff who had forgotten to report back on a six month project, a student who had a gambling problem, a case of racial discrimination, and a student who had come back to study after she had had a family only to find that she is pregnant again. That's before I started on the academic matters.
But it makes life vital, being a part of an educational establishment is fun, interesting, and I know that education is the key to a successful and happy life with choices, so I really enjoy what I do.
# posted by Mary @ 2:37 PM
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