Whiners...what DO we do with them?

I know I explained my job in an earlier post, but I have an additional job this semester that I did not mention earlier: facilitating discussions that follow up on a series of lectures given by one of our professors of philosophy (note: I only do this for the students that I work with). During the first semester, all new students take a “freshman experience” course (at Union, it’s called Gateway). My supervisor is the primary instructor for our kids’ Gateway class, but they have a series of lectures given by another professor that will- hopefully- help broaden their understandings of college and a “learning environment.”

Anyway, after Dr. B gives one of his lectures, I do a follow-up/review lesson in the next class. His lessons are really great, and I totally enjoy them. The students pay attention…ish. It’s early and most of them don’t go to bed until the sun starts to come up (ok, that may be an exaggeration for some students but definitely not for all of them). The first lesson he taught was entitled “Who am I?” and focused on identity. This last lesson was about meaning, answering the question, “Why am I here?”

Y’all. It was a great lesson. However, he used quotes from C. S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man and Nietzsche’s “The Madman.” Those are both rather dense works of literature. My students + 8:00 am + Nietzsche = huh? I took notes furiously during his lesson, because I knew that I was going to have to have a broad range of info to pick from. This would be essential, given that I watched the students’ faces and saw the blank stares that they were giving him during class. Seriously? Most people get stuck just trying to figure out how all those letters fit into the name Nietzsche, much less what he was talking about.

This weekend, I devoted a good chunk of Saturday night and then Sunday afternoon to developing a good solid lesson for review. I enjoy writing lesson plans, for the most part. I like the creativity that goes into it, and I like trying to tap into the different “intelligences” that they had us memorize in our education classes. I planned this one out and had Brad check it over to make sure I wasn’t butchering any of the philosophical aspects. I hadMad Gabs for us to play (hinting at the difficulty of finding meaning), I had small group discussions planned (because they only wake up when they have the opportunity to talk), and only moderate thinking outside of concrete answers was required. I was excited; I thought they were going to be grateful for the fun game, as well as the chance to talk and not get in trouble.

I think I was wrong. They whined about the Mad Gabs being too hard. They whined about having to move to get into groups. They whined that they didn’t get the assignment that they wanted. They whined that the assignment had THREE parts to it. They whined that someone from each group had to be the spokesman.

They were so whiney!

I got so frustrated with them. I know it’s the plight of the teacher to be unappreciated and whined at, but seriously, folks: we’re in college. Let’s put on our big people’s pants and appreciate the carefully-selected Mad Gabs.

I would have LOVED to play Mad Gab way back when I was a student…

(P.S. Jaclyn and Susanna: I thought about y'all the WHOLE time we were doing Mad Gabs. SUCH fun!)

The run-down

Since the last time I wrote, my student’s mother passed away. She sent me an email at 6:38 that morning to let me know. Surprisingly, she still attended her classes all day. The memorial service for her mother isn’t for another couple of weeks, so she is still here at UU until then. It’s been very encouraging to see the Union community come together and encourage her. In one of her classes, the professor canceled class that day and took all the students to the on-campus coffee shop for coffee. My student also had a class where the professor contacted all of the students and arranged for everyone to wear pink to class in honor of my student’s mother (who died as a result of breast cancer). Our Keystone students have been great at rallying around here and offering support, as well. In some ways, it’s almost better that she’s still here on campus right now, receiving that love and attention.

In other news:

-I’m going to see “Wicked” this weekend in Memphis! Yay, Brad.

-My friend, Molly, is getting married in less than 2 months, and I LOVE the bridesmaid’s dress for the wedding.

-I got to watch Tuesdae come in 2^nd place at the Cross Country conference race this past weekend. Go, Tuesdae!

-I facilitated class for my students this morning (at 8:00- they are SO not awake at that time of day), and no one boo-ed or threw tomatoes.

-We were under a tornado watch all morning (um, I REALLY don’t handle tornadoes very well any more), and the electricity went off 7 times, killing my computer to the point where it didn’t cooperate for an hour.

-I get a haircut today, which will revolutionize my life.

-Last night, at JCrib (the urban ministry that I’m volunteering with), I was responsible for the kitchen and for dinner. I was so afraid that I was going to poison them accidentally (I’ve never cooked in that massive quantity before), but it went so well.

I know that everyone wanted to know all of those tiny details. I should have taken the time to develop each into an interesting anecdote. That’s really what most of my posts are: tiny details from life that I hyperbolize to within an inch of their lives. Maybe I’ll go back and do that sometime soon…

Here’s a “Mad Gab” that I used in my class this morning (Mad Gab is a game wherein you read a series of words that don’t make sense together, but when read aloud, they sound like other common phrases): Half Ahab Bee Two Stay. Anyone get it?

I MISS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Who would have thought I'd ever say that? Goodness, not me. Anyone remember this? Or this? Or maybe this? It wasn't always my favorite thing.

Yesterday, though, I decided that I mostly definitely miss some things. Namely, I miss trains. I really like the convenience of train transportation. There are, of course, downsides to taking trains:

1. You're limited on what kind/amount of luggage you can take.

2. You are set on a time table, whether or not you like it.

3. You're on the train with lots of people- much like an airplane.

4. If you get motion sick, you're really going to want to avoid the backwards-facing seats.

Despite these negatives, the great, shining positive is that you don't have to be responsible for cross-country trekking. Don't ever minimize the value of not having that responsibility...

I spent part of my Fall Break in St. Louis, visiting my dear friend, Kat (some of you may remember her epic-like visit to Ukraine last year, including a little train-jumping that went down). We had a great weekend of good food, farmer's market, hanging out at the fire pit, building a fort, and enjoying the Botanical Gardens. It was GREAT fun! The tricky part came when I was navigating and driving myself back to Jackson.

I'm really and truly not bad with directions. I'm very good at following directions and at driving, but I have very dreadful night vision. On the way back to Jackson yesterday, I was doing great on navigating until I got back into West Tennessee. That's when the darkness set in, and my ability to see went away with the sun. Y'all- please note that when it is said that West Tennessee is "rural", that statement is to be taken most literally. There is NOTHING out there! If you, for example, miss your exit, there are no lights or signs to let you know where you are or where you're going. If this is the case, you may find yourself driving north into Kentucky instead of southeast into Jackson.

Good grief. I miss trains.

Discipline: The Glad Surrender

I read a book in high school called Discipline: the Glad Surrender, written by Elisabeth Elliot. It was such a great, straightforward look at how discipline is something that we all should incorporate in our lives. For the next week or so after reading the book, I was SO disciplined about everything. Then, I got over it and went back to regular life.

Over the past few weeks, I've found myself really interested in stories that revolve around discipline. For example, tonight M.E. and I watched Julie and Julia. It was so good! I loved almost every moment of it and was so inspired by the discipline involved in Julie's undertaking.

To read more about the project behind and the plot of the movie, click here.

I had decided to watch the movie because I'd read about how it had inspired the author of newdressaday.com. I LOVE to check this site on a regular basis to see what kind of crazy creative contraptions she's been designing. It's fantastic! Both of these women (Julie from the movie and Marissa from the blog) chose to tackle year-long projects: Julie- 500+ recipes in 365 days and Marissa- 365 new clothing items in 365 days for only $365. Di-sci-pline.

On a smaller and less famous note, I even drew motivation from here. I liked her ideas and the way she broke down her objectives into categories that would enrich her life or someone else's.

So, how do I make this applicable into my life? I want to be disciplined to do something cool and that plays up to a creative strength of mine. I also want to be disciplined to tackle some sort of spiritual discipline, like finishing the large sections of scripture that I often set out to memorize and only get partway through. I also want to commit to something that would serve others in an intentional and consistent way.

Do any of you kind and faithful readers out there have suggestions for a disciplined experiment to commit to for the upcoming year? I'm thinking and praying about how to become disciplined in my life...and how to actually structure something to make it happen.

On a different note, this time last year, I was in Budapest! In memory of that occasion, here are a few pictures to enjoy:

Oh, how I loved Budapest! Must go back one day.

I still love my job. I promise.

It's true. I do still love my job.

Sometimes, though, it's really sad. This week has been one of facing the fact that a lot of my students are failing; some are failing because of their lack of motivation and initiative, but some are working themselves to death and still not making the cut. I have such a hard time watching them struggle and then having to watch them come into my office, crying and asking me what else can they possibly do.

For several of them, the answer to that question is that I have no idea. What else is there to do after tutors, study and test taking skills, study sessions, paper critiquing, disability accommodations, changing study styles? There's not a lot left to work with.

Today brought a new low. My day was supposed to be primarily comprised of paper work and filing (midterms are going out this week). Most of the day was exactly that. At 2:00, though, one of my students came into my office and dissolved into a sobbing puddle of tears. After much effort to get the story through the crying, I found that her father had just called to tell her that her mother (who is terminally ill) was given two days to live. If that wasn't bad enough, her ride to take her home for fall break wasn't planning to leave until this coming Friday (if you're keeping track, that's two days away).

What in the world do you say to that? For the longest, I didn't say anything. I just hugged her and let her cry while I frantically prayed for something even remotely logical to say. I finally bumbled through something and prayed for her (of course, I totally broke down mid-prayer), and then spent the remaining time I had this afternoon trying to find a way to get her home earlier. Not so easy. Thankfully, the residence life office located a student headed the right direction who would be happy to offer a ride.

Y'all. It was a rough afternoon. I HAD to come home and eat an ice cream sandwich. And, I tried to commit my student to the Lord once again, praying that she makes it in time to see her mom.

I realize this wasn't a happy post, so here's some positive news to end on: God is still sovereign. I'm so glad!

Brain...zapped...mornings...evil

I know it's been a few days since I updated. It's not that anything particularly exciting has been going on to keep me distracted; really, I've just been so brain-dead at the end of each day that I can't come up with anything significant to say. Actually, I often can't even really put sentences together after a work day.

Most of my job consists of meeting with students, which I love. However, after that much talking, listening, being on the receiving end of an emotional unloading, repeating the same instructions, etc, I just can't even put original thoughts together at the end of the day. I'm always a little brain-zapped. Ask Mom, Amiee, or Brad. They will concur.

Anyway, the past week and a half has been full of much Academic Counselor-ing. Some was fun...some was not-so-fun. I always want everyone to succeed at everything (rival football teams excluded), and it hurts my heart when some don't. I guess I just have to accept the fact that some people will not succeed at everything. This includes me. I mean, I would never succeed at running cross country...

...which is why I opted for going to cheer Tuesdae on this past Saturday! Any readers remember my beloved Rowlands from Ukraine? Well, sweet Tuesdae runs cross country for Blue Mountain College, and their most recent race was at Union. So, Amiee, Kyleigh, and I got ourselves up and out at 8:00 in the morning (mornings...evil...out to ruin us all) to go cheer for Tuesdae (and the Union runners, of course). She ran her best time ever! I like to think it was the influence of our cheering. Here's my best cheer for cross country:

"RUN REALLY FAST!"

It totally worked. Good job, Tuesdae!