View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard
Angela and I went back to school last week, and it was pretty stressful for both of us. Angela commutes to London, and I’m commuting to Toronto; however, the stressful part was not the drive but the first day of school.
This was my sixth “first day,” and I think it might have been the hardest. It’s a lot harder when 100 students are looking at you – and expecting you to say something brilliant.
Being an instructor (I teach photography for journalism students at Humber College each Thursday) carries a great deal of responsibility, and I don’t want to be the one instructor everyone thinks is a hack (I’m sure you’ve had one at some point). It took me a few hours to get into the swing of things, but being an instructor of a skill I know well has already taught me a lot about myself and the education process.
Angela is a mature student at the University of Western Ontario, and I’m really proud of her accomplishments so far. She was worried about getting in and then about finding her way around the campus, but she already seems to have the hang of it. From the stories she tells me, life experience does pay off in a post-secondary environment. I am confident she’s going to do very well.
I’m going to do what I can to help Angela, and with my class occupying a day a week, some aspects of my daily work at the Strip will suffer. Please be patient – I’m going to try my best to continue producing the quality you expect from this paper. Don’t be surprised if I take a week or two off this winter.
* One person who will not be back to school this year is Sam Marshall, a Grade 10 South Huron student who died last month. If you’d like to take part in a memorial for Sam, the service starts at 2:15 p.m. Thursday, September 13 in the high school’s small gym.