Monday, August 24, 2009

Teaching

Here's some pictures of the school where I do a little part time teaching. It's a small private college originally founded by a Quaker organization in the late 1800's.

The campus is dominated by a really old (for Wichita) and beautiful building (Davis Hall) that now is used mainly for administration purposes. There is a really nice auditorium in the buiding that has amazing acoustics and they still have concerts there occasionally even though they built a new fine arts building many years ago.

Last Saturday we had a meeting for some of us adjunct instructors and I made it a goal for the week to ride the scooter to the meeting. I also wanted to take some pictures for the blog because I had written a couple of posts, but not yet taken some of the pictures I wanted to include.

This was my second ride on the scooter since the accident. I also had to visit the scene of the accident again since it was very close to the school. It was a little wierd to cross that intersection again, but there was no boogeymen waiting to make a left turn directly in front of me on that day.

My hip is still very sore, but showing steady although slow improvement each day. I plan on using the scooter for the daily commute to work starting immediately.

You know that the severity of accidents is all relative. My own accident was worse than some, but not as bad as many, and not as bad as it could have been. Many thanks to the people that convinced me that armored gear was a good idea.

But I am getting a little tired of reflecting on the accident. It is time to move on to other topics.
But I guarantee you that the experience has changed me and I will be more cautious on the road. I know it may take much longer for my hip and shoulder to heal up. I am just very thankful that the injuries will heal.
I have discovered that my riding routine will have to change a little bit with the new helmet. The new helmet fits in the top case, but not under the seat like my old one did. Therefore all the stuff that I used to carry in the topcase will now ride under the seat. Virtually everything will now be in a different place and the habits I used to have will have to change a bit, but not really a problem, just different.
Both of my children went to school here. My daughter is almost finished with her degree, just finishing up her student teaching this semester. My son graduated a few years ago and is now a high school teacher.
I am so happy that I don't have to write checks to this school anymore. In fact, now they write some checks to me for the occasional classes that I teach here. Sort of like getting them back!
This college, like a lot of others, has some traditional college age students. But. many students here are older and are going back to college to complete degrees that maybe they never finished up. Some local employers pay tuition to help employees get their degrees and the school very effectively markets for students like that.
I have been teaching accounting classes here for a couple of years. My students are not the traditional college age students and are in what the school calls a "degree completion program". They take one class at a time but can generally finish a bachelor's degree in 2 years in many cases.
The classes I teach are for 3 credit hours, but only last 5 to 8 weeks, so the study is rather intense and most of the students work full time as well.
The school has very good facilities and the business school here has good computers and audio visual equipment for instructors and students to use.
The campus is very nice with lots of gardens and other amenities.
As I walked through the campus that day I was accosted by this squirrel. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the squirrels on this campus have a reputation for not being afraid of people. But there is a sinister side to them as well as I later found out that they are secretly in charge of all surveillance activities on campus. So even though he seemed friendly to me, he was actually making sure I was not some sort of terrorist. Walking across campus in armored gear may have set off a silent alarm.
This is the building where my classes are held.
They don't pay their adjunct instructors a lot of money, but there are some other benefits. One benefit for me is that I can use some of my teaching time and count it toward the continuing education requirements that I have for my CPA designation. It saves me at least a few hundred dollars a year.
But the real reason I do it is that it is enjoyable for me and helps to keep me current in my profession and keeps me on my toes.
Then there are those moments when you see a student grasp a concept. Sort of like the proverbial light coming on when they understand something. Dan Bateman at Musings of an Intrepid Commuter has spoken very eloquently of these moments in his motorcycle safety classes. It can be a really rewarding and feel good moment. Sort of like making a difference in someone's life or abilities.
You really get many chances to connect with students. Some of those moments are priceless.
Then again, maybe I am just trying to get some of my money back!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

14 comments:

  1. good to see you back on your scoot!

    Bravo Zulu!

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  2. Beautiful campus!

    I know all about the dark side of squirrels - cost me around $1000 in repairs to 2 cars - don't get on their bad side!

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  3. cpa3485:

    Good that you are riding again, but don't overdue it. You don't want to strain yourself and delay the healing process. But only a rider will know how it feels to not be able to ride when you scoots looks over at you and whispers . . . "I'm ready if you are"

    bob
    bobskoot: wet coast scootin

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  4. Charlie,
    It is a good feeling to be riding again! I have missed it very much.
    btw, that picture of your son in his gear is precious.
    Take Care,
    Jim

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  5. Lance,
    I heard afterward that the squirrels on that campus are very famous. My son had a backpack chewed up by one one day as he was relaxing on a bench on the campus and had placed his backpack on the ground.
    I was amazed how close the little guy let me get to him.
    Take Care and thanks for stopping by,
    Jim

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  6. Bobskoot,
    I know what you mean and have been fairly careful. The mount and dismount from the scooter has to be done a little gingerly, but gets a little easier each day. Max has been wanting to go for a long time and I am feeling more into it now as well.
    Take Care,
    Jim

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  7. Loved the pics! Interesting college. With the Quaker founding of the college, I wonder... are there any Underground Railroad stations in the area as there often were when Quakers were present and acted on their anti-slavery beliefs?

    It is rumored that the squirrels on the campus of the University of Chicago read Hegel.

    Nice post!

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  8. Sharon,
    Wichita wasn't founded until 1870, so I don't believe there are many, if any, stations like you mention around here. The northeast part of the state is a little older (KC, Topeka, Lawrence and Atchison areas). There may be some around there, but I admit to not knowing a lot about that history.
    But Kansas has a very interesting history concerning the start of the Civil War. I have actually composed a blog post about that, but am waiting for Halloween to post it, and yes there is a reason for that. So stay tuned.
    Thanks for stopping by and Take Care

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  9. There were some squirrels looking for me the other day. They said they'd heard I was "nuts". Who can argue?

    That is certainly a beautiful campus, as Lance has already commented. I could wander around soaking up the atmosphere all day. While watching for squirrels, of course!

    There's certainly a lot of fulfillment in teaching, isn' there?

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  10. Dan,
    Cannot argue with your being "nuts" as that image of you with the Christmas tree is endelibly etched in my memory. LOL
    But I actually respect that kind of attitude toward life and it makes things more fun. On my next post you will see something I have done for fun that a lot of people consider quite crazy.
    Teaching is fun, too. I have had some classes where I have made really good connections with the students. Others that it seems no matter what I tried, things did not work as well. But at least I try and get them to learn and make them think on their own.
    Thanks for stopping by,
    Jim

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  11. Jim, did you really send that whole post up, pictures included, from your Blackberry?

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  12. Joe,
    The secret is out, and no this post was not entirely done from the phone. But you asked, so here's the deal.
    I have done 2 posts entirely from the phone, but they are text only. I can get to the dashboard from the phone but the edit box is cumbersome if I try pictures, so I don't bother.
    But generally, other posts are done where I write the text on the phone, e mail it to the office and combine pictures and text at the office where the dashboard is easier to deal with.
    Everytime I send an email from the phone that little message appears at the end of the e mail, and I generally do not bother with editing it out.
    I don't edit it out because I think it makes me look cool (which I am not), but also to see if anyone will take the bait and ask me about it.
    Congratulations! You are the first to ask me about that and that qualifies you for something, but don't ask me what because I don't know. LOL
    Take Care,
    Jim

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  13. The University was not originally founded by the Quakers. It was originally Garfield University and was only in existance for 3 or 4 years. The University was shut down and later purchased by the Society of Friends in 1898, well after slavery was abolished in the United States, and renamed Friends University. While it has a rich Quaker heritage, Friends U is technically a non denominational Christian University now.
    There are a few stops in the Underground Railroad in the northeastern parts of KS (mostly to get slaves out of our reluctant slave state, tiger loving, neighbor to the east, Missouri). However KS was not totally a safe territory because of the disputes regarding its entry into the Union as a Free or Slave state.

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  14. Darham,
    Thanks for the information. I knew the history professor in the family would come through. I should have consulted with you before I posted this. It appears that this university educated you pretty well.
    Thanks for stoppin' by.
    Bad-Dad

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