Day 2 - 249 -- Back at the Beginning

This time of year always reminds me of trips to Saskatoon with my Dad and all manner of boxes. We met with some of the first year students who are entering our program this week. It is exciting to see the new faces and begin that longer relationship. The students come from across the nation with most coming form smaller communities. As usual, most are female -- though there was one male present (of the half that attended). This is our largest intake ever -- exciting and frightening as few additional resources exist to help us deal with larger class sizes and greater grading loads. Yet, without there being any students, I wouldn't be employed <smile>. So, seeing a growing number choosing this degree program is heartening. In other programs the number of students has been shrinking rather than growing in recent years.

This fall begins my 18th year teaching. I had planned to stay for 2 or 3 years and then move closer to home for a similar job. Those plans were altered along the way. Each year there have been many wonderful students and several who remain in  touch. These special relationships would not be quite the same at larger programs. Smaller institutions put instructors in closer contact with students and the larger teaching load (without teaching assistants) allows each instructor to see students progress over the years -- a true privilege.

When speaking to the students, many of us spoke around the theme of 'never say never.' Try things here where you have the opportunity and try not to restrict your interests without trying something. There were many nodding heads, so I hope that means that they are open to try new experiences presented in courses. That reminded me of a song -- bet you didn't see that coming <grin>.  Enjoy!

You Can Do Whatever -- Yusuf Islam