TLM and research work proposals were the highlight of my 3rd year. Level 300 second semester was pretty straightforward for me.
Lectures had been died down at this point specifically by the department so that most of the students get ample time to study for the final semesters. Since this was communicated to us by our lecturers. Many of my colleagues called it the “presentation era”. Complacency was a trait I never harbored on campus hence after these notices I took the opportunity to study or grasp lessons I had failed to understand or for some tangible reason failed to show up from its lecture periods. To be honest, the second semester at this level was truly enjoyable for all. I was at the hostel more. Maybe I got a hold of things now or I just wanted to rewind. One of my friends suggested a beach experience on one of our weekends and that almost started a journey of procrastination.
I recall going to the beach more simply because the entry was free thus we would hang out and drink soft drinks and enjoy the breeze as we fantasized about how great we were going to be once we completed school. It was during that time I realized that I had come to learn entirely with less socialization in the town. I was however less bothered because I was doing that now and no one was going to stop that. I made it known in my earlier post that each student in my class was assigned a lecturer who would later supervise our final research work before completion. Yes, that list was out at this point and many were anxious to send their proposals to them. This was quite a task because I was new to this. A sample of a research work proposal was put in the school group and that was how I got mine started.
After getting it approved, I proceeded to gather more information on the topic. I will let you in on the topic later. Presentations were a big deal this semester too. If I was to recall them correctly, they could exceed 6 in that particular semester. We were challenged to convince(that is, as teachers)our colleagues who were supposed to act as potential students with our chosen topics for the exercise. The situation got even more heated when one of the lecturers suggested to the department that he use the marks from the presentation as the final assessment for his course. As the day of the presentation approached, I had to grab a couple of long-sleeved shirts from the town’s market center at an affordable rate to look good for the occasion.
As I indicated earlier, our department is divided into 3 sections which are the Education of the Intellectually Disabled, Education of the Visually Impaired, and Education of the Hearing Impaired. Now each department was to have this presentation as part of general exams for the semester. If you would recall, I delegated my work to an artist before leaving for the vacation hence now was a good time to check up on him and ask about the project. I had to prepare my notes or what many of my colleagues referred to as “quick notes” to have all the ” 5 reasons why a student with a cognitive disability needs my teaching and learning material”. Also, I was expected to draw my colleagues in the whole process to make the presentation a top one. The rules were simple and thus many were fully prepared for it. I saw how massive this phase of our journey was in the coming days at lectures. It was the only thing many talked about.
Lecturers were also building up tension by reminding us mid-lecture periods about how it will influence our overall GPA so you get my point now right? It was very crucial. The next couple of days were wild because my TLM was not yet ready hence I needed to apply pressure on this artiste who was working on the products of other students. It was a mess at this point hence I nearly gave up. Two days before the commencement presentation, I received a call from him asking me on which surface I needed the Teaching and learning material. Though I was furious with him, I maintained my composure and answered his questions. Later that evening, I got my hands on it, paid, and left hurriedly to continue my preparations which at this point was a mirror type of presentation where I spoke audibly in front of my bathroom mirror.
Presentations in Winneba were done early in the mornings with lecturers and their teaching assistants positioned at the back of the class or seated at the doorway. Either way, they both have better views when the whole presentation exercise begins. All departments in Special Education were having this exercise the whole of the week hence you could feel the tension in the atmosphere. It was fun for me because I got the chance to hear most of my colleagues speak for the first time. As I earlier indicated this was a big situation hence as I sat at the ground, I could hear others already beginning with loud cheers. I sometimes miss the situation more because I failed to record some of these moments including mine.
I was to do mine with a couple of my colleagues. We were 7 in a group and were to take turns delivering our points with confidence to convince our supervisor/ lecturer. The whole process took a while hence after we were done I made my way to the hostel. Days later, we were informed that the results of that particular presentation would serve as an end-of-semester grade hence no exams were to be taken. We however took exams for others as well over the course of the semester. So after the papers, we were to select a Special School for internship. This was going to be done in the first semester of level 400. After going through a list of special schools, I settled with the Reverend Father John School in Winneba.
Well, I opted to do it here due to the resources available to us. More particularly, I felt this was a great opportunity to begin my research work and be ahead of everyone. This was a personal ambition and I was determined to achieve that. My parents seemed to be in on the idea and hence encouraged me to complete my studies in the town rather than moving from one region to another for an unpaid but insightful internship. Now at this point in school, my roommate who specialized in the area of the education of the visually impaired had revealed his plans to have his internship at the Akrongpong School of the blind as well. This meant a change of hostel because the cost for one person was very expensive. I took this as a challenge and looked for a cool room where I would sleep and study during my internship. I succeeded here as well by meeting a house owner who offered one of his rooms at a pretty low price. Okay so after packing my belongings from my former hostel into the new one, I set off to Accra for the vacation. I was happy and sad at the same time because I felt everything was gradually coming to an end and nothing was stopping that as well.
Continue tales in the next post