Let's take a tour of how we spend our teaching days. Here is the front of the University. The best part of this campus in descending order is the students and dedicated teachers, the smell of warm eucalyptus trees in the sun, bright oranges hanging from trees near classrooms, and the olive trees. The rest is in rough shape. The campus is surrounded by some run-down areas with graffiti, litter, and stray dogs. The university community is trying to put together some clean up events to raise awareness and impart some change. It is difficult though...the campus serves the entire southern part of the country and is incredibly over taxed. It was built for 5,000 students and serves 16,000! Classes are overcrowded, resources are limited and what they do have is outdated--a major frustration of students and faculty. There are daily student marches and protests demanding better conditions and services. It is a definite work in progress.
Here is the 'Faculty Entrance' to campus.
Some Eucalyptus and Olive Trees
One of my classrooms where students sometimes sit three to a desk.
The room has a number of interesting messages.
View from the window.
Here is some protest remnants where students blocked the blackboard. The 'white' board is becoming increasingly gray and clouded. In a darling display of defiance, the white board is refusing to erase, and the chalkboard has started to RESIST chalk. I felt like I was writing in invisible ink. I later found out that you can only use certain brands of chalk, not the one they sell in the copy center. Lesson learned.
And the best part of being here: these students
These are students in my Composition class. I laugh when I think about how it felt like such a burden to get 17 students in a writing class at UW. These students turn in ESSAYS....as far as the eye can see! But they are so lovely, you will gladly give them feedback until your hand becomes a claw you've been holding a pen so long!
