January 14, 2011

What Colour is Your Hoodie?



As many of you know, I started bridging classes at the U of T this week. I'm enjoying the energy my prof has to offer although we're still focusing on how to learn history and he hasn't really taught us anything yet. Next Tuesday we have a tour of the big library on campus, Robarts. As a child, my son said it looked like a big rooster. Yes it does.



The class is much bigger than I expected - upward of 40 students. I took a quick visual survey of my classmates and I'm the second oldest female, (which also means the second most fabulous!). On my first day of school, a group of hardies were standing on top of a 20 foot pile of snow playing Oh, When the Saints on extremely cold brass instruments in minus 18 degree weather.  It was a very cinematic experience.

Looking South from King's College Circle. Photo found on Flicker: Chris Orbz

My class is on the main floor behind the third and fourth windows right of the door. It is actually much snowier than this now. Photo found here: wvs.topleftpixel.com/08/12/22/


Now I shouldn't bitch, but I probably will, but as I'm trudging through the snow looking like a Terry Gilliam cartoon for Monty Python, I've noticed that out of the 45,000 students rotating to different classes at the campus, 44,999 of them are wearing black. It's like I've been plonked down amid a huge group of pious novitiates, not a campus of open-minded, free-thinking, hard-partying students.

The kids waste money on cell-phone plans and beer - they should waste some cash on a bright winter coat. That is my thought for the day. Now I must catch up on my reading.

8 comments:

Kat Mortensen said...

I agree! I was into black in my days on campus, but I had a puffy red coat (think Michelin Man) or else I wore seriously colourful scarves. (That's an oxymoron, isn't it?)

Robarts was always a behemoth to me and I kept clear.

Ima Wizer said...

Ha, ha,,ha,ha,ha,ha, great post! Good for you! Oh, and my hoodie is brown......... :-D

Tess Kincaid said...

Hah! This is a great post. Good luck with your studies.

Hels said...

Way to go! Mature aged students are always more interesting and satisfying to teach than are 18 year old students - I have taught both and I know :) What history will you be most interested in?

What do bridging classes bridge you from and to?

The Clever Pup said...

Hels, Thanks for your interest. Bridging classes prepare students who have been away from formal education for a number of years and who don't have an undergrad degree to be able to join the ranks of first year nubiles with fresh information in their heads straight from high school/grammar school.

One must be 21 in order to sign up.And under 65.

The registration process was quite silly as I had to dig up my high school marks from 1980 to prove I wasn't smart enough. Another woman in the program had to itemize what she'd been doing since 1971.

Eventually, I'll be taking part-time classes in Art History. Part-time because my son doesn't want me eating into his post-secondary coffers.

The class I have to take for bridging purposes is Canadian History. I have some interest in WW1 and my second research paper will probably focus on that.

Kate Hanley said...

That's so funny about everyone wearing black. I hope your coat is a bright color, you should stand out! Good luck with classes, it's so great you are going back to school. Can't wait to hear more about it.

Rachel Fox said...

How exciting!

secretfragileskies said...

great post! -your pov is too funny! and yes, you are fabulous! congratulations on your new adventure.