Am I in the right class?

O.K. Blogger Lesson 245.5... in reference to the previous post, one might check to see if one's post was posted to the correct blog! Believed to be lost and gone, my post from Wednesday - on my first English class - survived! It somehow was posted to one of my other blogs.

So... read on... (and pretend it's Wednesday!)

Yesterday marked my first official day as a University student. Class is in, and so am I.

What an experience!

It just wouldn't do to be tardy on the first day, so I left the house in plenty of time to make my 6:00. I literally walked into the classroom weak-kneed, I was that excited. Or was it nervousness? After all, I haven't been in an English class for... 20 years? 18 anyway...

Turns out, despite my apparent "teacher's pet" status (which I'm sure has more to do with my age than it does my academic standing - and I'm sure the status resides mostly in my head, not in the sphere most know to be reality) I was not the first body in the room.

O.K., I was the third.

So essentially I was able to watch most of the class arrive, one by one.

Approaching class start time, in walks the first person to appear anywhere CLOSE to my age. This lady walked in, sat herself down in the first seat in the room. I'm thinking to myself,

"Ah, good. I'm not the only grey-hair here!"

Boy, was I wrong.

In walks our dear prof., M. - whom I adore, by the way.

As is the custom in most "first classes", we run down the attendance list - "face-to-a-name time". This lady turned out NOT to be on the list of registered students!

Turns out she was from Career Services and was present to... present!

So here I am, "Dad" to a room full of... yung-uns. Seriously, I'm old enough to be everyone's Dad!

It didn't help that I'd had lunch that afternoon with my friend N. who - when I was complaining about the pain in my knee - said,

"Um, Dave... you're almost 40, ain't ya?" 26 years in to our friendship, he calls me old. what's with that??

Anyhow, I digress...

I knew I was going to enjoy this course, I didn't realize, however, that I would be on the floor in stiches within minutes of the class commencement:

On with the presentation from Career Services. This lady whoes name I've forgotten, described their purpose, progamming etc. and said,

"We would appreciate your input. We're trying to grow the programme."

At which point our dear prof., M. literally interrupts to say

"To what?"

"To... grow the programme?"

"Pardon me?"

"To... what?"

"You said "grow the programme"?"

"Yeah."

Looking rather red in the face, our presenter from Career Services had wheels turning in her head faster than I've seen anyone in a long, long time.

"We're expanding the programme... (pause)"

"Much better, carry on..."

And so she did.

Little was I or anyone else to know what we were in for last night. But I loved every minute of it! Among all the lessons we learned, we were gently drilled on the selection of "a better word for that". It started with the banning of the word "just". A number of times it was said "Oh, I'm just an English Major."

Oops. You don't say THAT in M.'s class.

"Why shouldn't we use the word "just"?", she asks us.

I knew the answer. And I got an affirming nod. It was cool!

We are English students. Not "Just English students". "Just" limits us. "Just" minimizes us.

This was not the only word she drilled us on, but one of many which (or is it that?) was followed by "Assert yourselves!"

I liked her already, but this woman has now attained "language goddess" status in my books. Every time she opens her mouth, wise, golden educated words spill out - by nature, not rehearsed, not phoney. Our prof. is genuinely educated and worldly wise.

Through the various exercises, I began to wonder if I wasn't in the wrong class. Is this an English class, a Philosophy class or a Logics course?

I could go on and on about the first class, but I'll try to break these stories up a bit. Long blog posts get to be much like "family slide shows".

More later on this same station.