Class Dismisssed
Tomorrow I return to lecturing television production at college. Only on a part time basis, and still keeping on all the other work I do. Gosh, now that it’s down in black in white I wonder what the blazes I am doing. All this work AND the resignation of my trusty cleaner could mean a Toxic Hazard sign appears on my front door before the month is out. No matter, I need to do it. I miss them pesky kids. I’ve missed college ever since I left over two years ago, it was part of my identity.
Bizarrely with a two year hiatus from something that became second nature to me, I am actually quite nervous. Working with students means anything can happen. I cast my mind over incidents that happened over the years the last time around. The male student that couldn’t handle doing a role play situation and pushed me over to get out of the room when one of his friends sniggered when he got tongue tied, or the time another girl student slapped a chap’s face in the studio gallery when he told her what to do. As the years go on you become able to handle almost anything, and compared to schools you don’t really have much in the way of discipline issues on the whole.
However you are never immune from making an absolute tit of yourself in front of a class.
About a few months into my time there as a full time Media Studies lecturer the Twin Towers were attacked. Of course as media students after a period of few weeks we looked at the news coverage and one afternoon we were discussing the common pattern that the television news coverage was taking in terms of the type of footage and media used.
“Right, you are compiling a television news report based on the newspaper article you have in front of you.” I said. “What material do you need to take into the edit suite with you?”
Some-one shouts out “Towers and the planes going in”
“Yup, the actual attack. What else?”
“Photo of Osama Bin Laden”
“Yes, and who else”
“The bombers- those mugshots…” someone shouts.
“And the dodgy video that Bin Laden released” another person ventures.
I’m frantically writing all this up on a board as they shout it out. “Yes, that’s all going in. What about the political angle. What are you going to show there?”
“George W Bush.”
“Yes,” I say turning to write the name ‘Bush’ up on the whiteboard. “You’ll show them a bit of Bush.”
One second… two seconds..three. I sigh and turn around to face them. The entire studentage is falling about laughing.
Class dismissed.
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