I decided to take this course now rather than later because I knew that If didn’t take this course this semester that I never would. This is because the longer I waited, the harder it would be to recall information from last semester. And furthermore, I would eventually regret not taking it.

I thought I knew how much time this would take because last semester I sat in on an EMT class. I was wrong. The reality is, this has turned out to be a very time-consuming endeavor. On the return trip home from our trip outside, I envisioned myself getting all these other things done. And in fact, I made a list. Now I’ve put off doing most of what needs to be done until December, after my exams.

Alys and Tyra

The exams are going to consist of a regular written final, a state-based practical exam, and a written national exam. I have been studying for the national exam, in part, by doing all the exam question exercises in my workbook. And I’ve been studying the practical worksheets. I suspect I’ll do just fine. But you never know.

We are working in groups – way fun. Also, there is a certain element of uncertainty in group work, which is why a lot of teachers avoid it. Drama (and there is always drama involved in group work) is inevitable.

We are like horses pulling a cart. Three of us are all pulling our weight. However, we have yet to find a fourth cart horse who will willingly pull along with us. We have one member who is erratic – he wanted to pull the cart himself, so he got moved to another group. Tonight, we had a new group member join us. Oh Oh. This guy is very friendly – and I really appreciated this, especially after dealing with our past member. However, he does not want to pull the cart at all. Instead, he wants to hang out and watch us three pull the cart. And nothing would please him more than if we all gave up on this pulling business and just joined him.

Well, I came up with a plan tonight, which I put in email form and sent to my two other group members. The first thing, I said, was to make him be the patient in scenarios. This way, we three can get our practice sessions in. The second thing, I said was to keep the conversation in our small groups focused on our work. I then attempted to give myself credibility by saying that I used to rely on the use of group work when teaching college writing. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime, I am going to do as much as I can on my own. If little gets done in groups, in class, I won’t suffer the consequences.

As I said before, I call this trauma drama.

Okay. So, I will pass. And after, I am going to celebrate my having done well by doing something really fun, like spend an afternoon kicking back and reading a book. And maybe I’ll also watch a like-video. Just a thought here, to keep me motivated.

Next: 272. 10/2/19: Back on the Soapbox