Back to School

No, I’m not going to be one of those sixty-something students who finally pursues a degree! Kudos to them. I’m not the student, I’m the teacher.

On Saturday, I attended a teaching seminar at Fanshawe College where I’m about to begin leading a course on podcasting for journalists. The radio program is no more, but journalism as a vocation is thriving with a waiting list for students who want to take it. The course is actually called Multimedia but it’s mostly about creating a podcast with a journalistic focus.

I’m a Lucky Professor

This course is perfect for me. I’ll be able to draw on the many years I spent in journalism combined with my current role as a podcaster. I’ve also recently taken editing a mystery story podcast. And I was in a meeting last week, not related to school, where a marketing expert said social media popularity is starting to slide while podcasting continues to grow. This all bodes well for the course and for the students who take it.

Do I have first day jitters? Sure, I do. Especially about test-driving the course for the first time. (I have three groups of students in four-week rotations.) I had some templates to start from but I’ve pretty much built the course and tailored it to my priorities that align with what students are expected to learn.

Not My First Rodeo but A Bigger Horse

I taught part-time at Humber College for many years. I also had a previous stint at Fanshawe and one brief experience at Mohawk in Hamilton. But those were mostly about critiquing work, either audio or writing. This is a real course-course, and I have five hours per week with the students.

It’s been giving me flashbacks about students of the past. There were some great ones who went on to wonderful things. I’m happy to say I’m still in touch with some of them. But I also had some who are memorable for other reasons. Like the guy at Humber who was so nervous about writing my exam, he faked a car accident to delay taking it. He actually slammed his forehead on his car’s dashboard and punched himself to mess up his face. He got his delay.

I had a couple of students over the years who were so talented and “got it” to such a degree that I wondered what I could possibly teach them. One of them is still in radio. Another does a podcast. Another is a hugely popular vegan recipe creator. I’ve lost track of a few others. They had a maturity and clarity that would have seen them through whatever they wanted to do.

I’ve always felt lucky to be around students. They challenge you. They can smell phoniness a kilometre away so don’t even try to bullshit them. When one has trouble understanding something and you figure out a way to explain it, there’s nothing like the look on their face when it clicks. Best of all, teaching reminds you of the enthusiasm you had for the industry when you were starting out. It’s like an injection of youthful exuberance. Oh yeah, and you nearly fill your Pampers before you get that first class out of the way. For me, that will be Wednesday September 9. Please wish me glitch-free technical equipment and the ability to quickly access old files in my brain!