PTSD

white unicorn*

PTSD's lessons of life, part Xth

If teaching a class in less than a week's time, you might think preparing for it, emailing your kids, setting up schedules for the librarian and the computer bloke to come talk to them,** making a timetable for the week for yourself, watching loads of clips on YouTube and Guba that you think you may be able to use in the class, writing down the dates for each of the classes on the syllabus, posting your syllabus on Blackboard are good ideas but they are not. Rather, they are all tasks that should be left until the day before your class starts.

Why do I say this, yous ask? Well, I spent most of the past weekend doing the abovementioned tasks. Memories of last-minute panics last semester over the unavailability of the (one and only, or so they told me) librarian capable of talking to undergrads (and having to do the "library session" class myself) and having to teach the kids statistics (again, because of a sad lack of preparation on my part) loomed as large as the (mythical) white unicorn. I sorted everything out, changed dates and times (and readings) on my syllabus and sat back well-pleased at being organised for the first (and probably only) time in my life.

What happened today? I get a call from BigAdministratorPerson (BAP) asking me to teach a different class. Different time. Different days. Different Schedule. Different Kids. Starting in less than a week.

I am taking this as a sign that nothing is meant to be done before the "last possible minute". Nothing. It's enough to make even me believe in karma. Or, maybe, I've been watching too much of Earl.




* I'm assuming this is a bit like a white elephant but even more useless. At least white elephants can be passed off to others.

** Thus giving you much-needed breaks on those days.

posted by Priya @ 9:45 PM