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Monday, August 26, 2013

the return: day 1

At long last, I went to school today.

The morning was sunny, and a bit warm for my preference, but I won't complain.  I was just pulling out of my neighborhood when who should cross my path, but Bike Lady!

She was travelling perpendicular to me, and I was a few yards back, but I recognized her right away.  She acknowledged me with a smile and a nod, but I think it's a pretty good chance she didn't recognize me as Crossing Guard Lady.  Just as I would be hard pressed to recognize her without her bike helmet and glasses, I am probably equally unfamiliar to her with my bicycle commuter get up.

So it's nice to see that she's still at it.  And for those who are wondering - I know there must be several - the school has yet to find a replacement at my crosswalk.  The reliable June has been covering my old post while a backup from school covers her spot.

The ride in was pleasant if a bit warm.  It really is a nice bicycling route that I'm glad I was "forced" into.  I rode Tessa of the lovely green tires.

As expected, the bike racks were pretty full, but I managed to squeeze Tessa on the end of a primely located one.  I think the green tires will help with theft deterrence as she was the only green-tired bike I saw on the entire campus.  What's with our youth these days??

I'm just a part-time student, but as my schedule worked out, I have one class each weekday.  This morning was my math class.  It's not part of the licensure program, but my advisor thought I should add it since it's been so long since I took calculus.  I have this class and two others added to my schedule for that reason.  I refer to them collectively as my "Old Lady Classes".

True to form, I walked into a roomful of kids, it seemed.  When I first took this class in college, I was 18.  It was a bit strange walking in thirty years later.  There were about 45 students in the class, in a very warm room after my warm bike ride.  I'd refreshed myself as much as appropriately possible before class, but I had a very strong desire to remove my shoes.  I didn't.

Then I spotted her.  A woman with much more grey hair than I have.  I doubt that anyone else in there was out of their 20's.  I don't know grey-haired's story.  Not yet.

The instructor ("I'm not a professor, just an instructor") seems nice if a bit of a fast talker.  Probably a good ten years younger than I am.

After going over a bunch of first-day stuff, he launched into a review.  All thankfully easy stuff that I actually was a bit bored with.

Tomorrow, I have my first class that is part of the teacher licensing program.  I'm looking forward to that and to meeting my fellow license seekers.

In the meantime, I guess summer's really over.


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9 comments:

ShadowRun300 said...

Good thinkin' not to remove your shoes. :)

How cool that you got to see bike lady this morning! Maybe next time wear your vest so she knows who you are.

I'm guessing you won't be as bored tomorrow. I loved my teaching classes. And your classmates are all there for the same reason, unlike your calculus class. (But sheesh, you were bored today? Calculus would be a challenge for me.)

Hope you're getting your homework done. You know if you let things go, it piles up and pretty soon you're way behind and overwhelmed and can't get anything done. Oh, wait. Sorry. YOU'RE not Amp. I'm sure you'll have all your work done on time.

Abby said...

Yeah... homework. Time to practice what I preach, I s'pose.

terri said...

Sounds like you're off to a good start. And as far as being one of the more "mature" students, I'll bet no one thinks twice about it. SO many people from all walks of life are going back to school.

Riot Kitty said...

What kind of license are you seeking? You look young, so I doubt anyone knows you're "out of the 20s."

Abby said...

Yes, there are a lot of "mature" people walking around campus. I guess that's why I was a bit surprised that nearly everyone in the math class looks fresh out of high school. The teacher program, however, has a much higher average age!

Abby said...

I'm getting a license to teach high school math and science. Maybe if the others don't look too closely, I'll blend.

Anita said...

Someday, I may step back into a college classroom. I'd hope that as the grande dame of the class, I'd feel confident and ready to roll. (Guess I'd better stick with something easy.)

Can't wait to hear about the new relationships you're sure to have.

CiCi said...

So glad for you to have the opportunity and the drive and initiative to return to school and move forward to another level. Your tutoring was a step in the right direction it seems. Bless you for being one of the angels who want to share knowledge and encourage others to learn.

agg79 said...

Ah, nothing like the first day of class. All those fresh young minds to mold.

I figured you would be hard to replace as extreme crossing guard. Big shoes to fill.