The First Week

I have survived my first week of work.

I always forget how tiring work is.  It's frustrating to be out of work but it's tiring to be at work. It's doubly tiring to try to look busy at work.

Now don't mistake me.  I am glad I'm back at work.  I'm glad to be working where I am but at the moment, there isn't a lot for me to be actively working on. Until I get credentialed (a process that is slightly different in each place but basically verifies that I know my stuff well enough and can present it well enough that both Epic, the owners of the software, and my current hospital system both feel that I will be a good representative for them) there isn't much to do. This time is usually used to learn curriculum, training methods, specifics for a specific facility.  I don't mean to brag because that usually gives the universe an opportunity to make you look the fool, but I'm a great trainer.  I don't have to learn training methods. The material here is about 95% the same as the last place I was a trainer and there isn't much (so far) that is special for here.

That leaves me with forty hours to fill and little to fill it.  There are a requisite number of hours listening to practice teachings by other trainers, or train the trainer classes on things like learning styles or training expectations. We use YouTube videos to bring people back from break so I spent a couple hours today building a YouTube library (suggestions welcome for funny PG rated under five minute videos!).

To make matters worse, it's been even harder to be at work this week because the weather has been amazing! The last couple of weeks, when I was off work, were gray, rainy and generally crappy. I started work on Monday and it was in the 60's and sunny and lovely.  It's been that way all week, into the 70's. This weekend it's supposed to be 57 and rainy.  That's proof that God created man (if that's what you believe) just to entertain himself and have a laugh.

Working with my contracting company (they hire and pay me to work at the healthcare facility but I still have to interview with the facility) was tough this go around too.  It took all week to finally get the everything they needed and vice versa.  I had to request timesheet submission information no less than four times.  I sent them back their start up packet and apparently missed a couple signatures.  I actually think two of the forms had been left out of the first packet but whatever.

I'm once again a working stif which does mean that weekends are significant again. With that, I'm off to daydream about making the most of my measly two days sans work.

SOSE Day survived

It's 2pm on Friday.  I arrived at work at 7am today and have since "taught" one class.  I use quotations because it was a blow off class, they had earned movie time and we also didn't want them to get ahead of a class that was losing their regular English class today.  Needless to say, it feels ludicrous that I'm here.  I've been puttering about on the computer for about three and a half hours.  I can go home in another one and a half hours and from where I sit, that might as well be 2015.

Courtesy of toonpool.com

The reason for this disjointed week is another JIKS special event, SOSE Day!! Que the trumpets please! Any regular reader of this blog will know that JIKS has no shortage of special days between the Indonesian holidays, the Korean holidays and the special school days.  SOSE (Study of Society and Environment) is a relatively new program here.  It's a social and physical science class taught by the native English speaking teachers to increase the amount of English instruction the kids get. I enjoy it more than the English classes.  They are interactive and interesting.  I feel like the kids are getting more new information. The downside is that because it's a new program we have to continue to sell the parents on it. Hence SOSE Day.  Last year there was one SOSE Day and it went so well, we were told, that they wanted two SOSE days this year.  If we'd know that we might have worked a little harder to flub up.

Courtesy of wireandtwine.com.  A SPECIAL DAY!

SOSE Day is a special lesson created to showcase the students abilities.  Most group do something involving speaking and posters, as we did in grade four.  In grade six we put on mini plays, or dramas, based on Indonesian stories we had studied.  On the set day the parents (in actuality we saw one dad, the other 90 odd grade four parents were moms) can come in and watch this special class. We had a big turn our of about twenty parents per class. It is by no means a regular class or any sort of representation of an actual SOSE lesson.

While in theory I see the value, in reality it's a mess.  The teachers all have to disrupt their curriculum for at least a week.  In grade four we spend five of our total six classes working on the projects.  That's a normal three classes of English and three of SOSE all converted to project time. Not to mention the prep day on Monday and Tuesday.  Everything else had to be put on hold.  How much of unit six English do you think they remember now since we're been away from it for over a week?  Not to mention the SOSE until that we're not quite half way into.

I was proud of my classes for the most part.  I haven't seen the parent feedback sheets yet; they have to be translated from Korean. Classes 4-1 and 4-3 surpassed my expectations.  A lot of public speaking here tends to turn into hushed tones as the kids are afraid of talking in front of their parents.  They can be hit at home for an inadequate showing.  Both 4-1 and 4-3 were louder and clearer than when we'd practiced. Class 4-2 fell off a bit but was still ok.  I'm relieved it's done and some of the moms cracked a smile.  Last year it was like performing for Stepford wives - no response, no reaction.  This was a bit startling as it's usually class 4-3 that can't get their act in gear.
After SOSE Day on Tuesday and Wednesday we got a respite on Thursday.  It was a holiday: Jesus Christ's Ascension.  Not to worry.  June 29th is Mohammed's Ascension so things remain even.  We were all delighted to have the day off, but now here I am, on Friday afternoon, struggling to stay awake and be
productive. 

Courtesy of mmorpg.com.  . . . TO GO HOME!!!