Counselling was previously billed as a 'fun session' this week, but Family Therapy is about as much fun as a visit to the dentist in my opinion. Six volunteers were required to take on roles within a close-knit family, who were all attending a wedding, suffering from a recent bereavement (of course!).
I deliberately stayed quiet when the performing roles were offered, and for my silence I ended up as observer and therapist instead. It was amusing watching your female classmates take on the male roles, and I was suitably impressed with their acting abilities under the difficult circumstances.
After forgoing our usual mid-morning break, we ended our first session earlier than usual, and gained an hour and a half long lunch. Luckily, we’re all good friends, and made full use of the time by gossiping.
After jacket 'n' beans we returned to class to discuss our three important assignments. This gave us the opportunity to grill our tutors as to the exact nature of the essay, and how to approach the skills assignment and the personal statement that’ll have to be completed during the festive season.
I.T. saw a change of venue, due to exams taking place in our usual locale. This meant that the luxury of taking the lift was not an option, and a pair of sturdy hiking boots became the order of the day. I arrived clutching my chest and wheezing like a 90-year-old asthmatic with a 60-a-day smoking habit.
Creating a posh front page for our assignments was a fun exercise. Once I’d put my brain into gear, and finally figured out how to highlight my border and insert a text box, there was no stopping me, and I merrily created matching front pages for all my subjects.
Following the essential hot chocolate break was numeracy, and the promised session on how to use our posh scientific calculators. This exercise sounded far easier that it actually was in practice, although it was, indeed, a welcome break from lengthy, mind-numbing calculations on large, lined sheets of A4.
Jacket 'n' beans was even more hurried than usual, due to a frantic attempt at completing most of the numeracy worksheet in class, leaving just 20 minutes left before study skills.
As luck would have it, our study skills project group members all bumped into each other for a spot of mutual indigestion in B Block refectory, and as we had no need to actually attend the class due to research we remained in the dinner hall and pondered over the fact that we only have 10 days in which to complete this task.
Two of the group then vanished into the library on yet another book-gathering session, whilst the remaining group member, and myself, hurried off to The Learning Link to nab a computer.
A gloomy cloud’s hung over my head these past few weeks between 3pm and 4pm on Tuesdays, but today I was ecstatic to learn that I’d obtained my level 3 for writing skills. Hooray.
Some mention was made regarding another test to be taken at some point, but I am afraid to say that the information went in one ear and out of the other; such was the joy of relishing the fact that I’ll be able to get a much earlier bus home on Tuesdays from now on.
A pneumatic drill mid-morning rather rudely interrupted Thursday's sociology lecture. It became almost farcical at one point, as the tutor valiantly attempted to instruct us as to the finer points of conjugal roles, whilst battling 100 decibels of sheer din just a few feet away.
After a comforting hot chocolate drink to steady the nerves, I was relieved to discover that I’d gained my second level 3 credit for the theories and methods module, thus gaining two level 3 credits overall.
It’s been said, on several occasions, that this term is by far the hardest due to the length of it……along with the fact that most of us are still finding our feet in regards to further education.
There are germs-a-plenty flying about, and a large proportion of the access students have some coughing or sneezing ailment or other. I feel that we’re rapidly becoming the lockets and lemsip brigade.
