Training

i have started teaching a general studies module at one of the local polytechnics. By and large, this part-time assignment is a good one :)

But the nature of this appointment is a little strange and many of my friends have been asking me about it. One ministry in the government is the actual sponsor of this course.

Which means:

a) they have an agenda, lol. They want to disseminate work-life balance/harmony concepts at the tertiary level. (i will list the course content in a short while)

b) they pay (er, i think they do) my fren who has a consultancy firm, to develop this course, which consists of 10 lectures and 5 self-directed learning units.My fren then recommended me, together with 3 others, to teach this course to all the schools/faculties in this polytechnic. For this semester, i am assigned 36 classes, mostly classes from 2 Engineering schools.

d) there are many admin issues to iron out since we are not staff of the polytechnic, like access to the lecture theaters, keeping track of students' attendance, grading of assignments, do we give students our contact nos, etc, etc. And the course coordinators from the different schools are not uniformly helpful :( So even before we begin Lecture 1, between the 4 trainers, we all have differing levels of admin challenges depending on the schools we are assigned to.

e) the government/ this particular ministry is my paymaster. (Of course you can argue it's taxpayers money, i won't disagree either, lol) Which further means that to get paid, my students will have to complete an evaluation form at Lecture 5 and Lecture 10 according to guidelines. The officer from the ministry will administer the evaluation forms and collect them back. All the trainers protested against the extra work we had do if we have to administer the evaluation forms as well during the short 50-minute lecture. We already have the extra work of submitting photographs of the class as PROOF of our attendance. SEOW rite? i need to remember to whip out my phone to take pics of the class. Ya, those pictures you saw in my FB are the ones i remembered to take, LOL.


This is briefly what the course covers:

- knowing your directions
- understanding work-life harmony
- managing daily priorities
- managing career goals & expectations
- fostering meaningful & strong relationships
- managing work-life challenges
- managing financial well-being



Despite the admin challenges, i am happy to teach these young people. Yes, their attention span is short. Yes, some can be "elsewhere" (texting or talking), but on the whole, they are responsive and fun. And through their first written assignment on personal mission statement and goals, i have learned so much about them individually. Sometimes i wistfully hope that i am a staff member there so that i can relate to them at a more 1 to 1 level :) One of them approached me after class today to ask for advice for course of study in the university (i was covering career planning today) and it is interaction like this that makes the course more practical and meaningful. Oh well, not being a staff member and not having a physical office in the polytechnic shouldn't be a barrier. There is always FB, LOL