Double Triple That!

Study update for those who care.

Whilst most other teachers have been on holiday over the past two weeks, I have not... meant to be. But somehow I seem to have had a lot of down time. Can I blame some on being a good, kind responsible person who takes care of nieces and nephews in holiday time, and tends to friends who need post operative love and support? Sounds like a feasible explanation, so I'll take it!
I have achieved two major things; discussing my intentions with the two lovely teachers I hope to work with, and getting my Ethical Approval Application away. A meaty document supported by several letters to a range of stakeholders - students, parents, teachers. principal - and the data-gathering design that I can create at this stage of the process. Six copies (hence the title) clipped together and posted away in plenty of time - I hope.
And now once again, a little girl waits. The documents will not be reviewed until May 9 I discovered today. A fellow Masters student told me he had heard that only 10-15% of applications pass the ethics committee in the first reading. I am hoping those ones come from the A grade average students!
Until I have approval I am unable to proceed with any consent forms or data gathering. But I can chew away at my Methodology chapter (not a fun prospect) and my Literature Review (a much nicer task IMO)
I am hatching a plan to do some of this in another locale... watch this space.

Plasters are always best ripped off quickly

Dear Lynn,

We are pleased to inform you that your application for enrolment in the Master of Education by thesis programme has been successful. The start date of your thesis enrolment will be 2 April 2012 and your thesis enrolment end date (submission due date) will be 31 March 2013. 

It's taken a whole lot of necessary red tape to get to the stage I am at today. Finally, I am formally enrolled as a Masters student. The powers that be must have the confidence that I will pass Research Methods, the nastiest paper of them all, and thus achieve my PG Dip, and have approved my entry to the Masters programme.
This does not come without a degree of pain however. Financial pain. Best dealt to quickly, like ripping of a sticking plaster. So no sooner had I received notification, and the bill, I accepted the enrolment agreement  and handed over the money. So do I feel ripped off?  No, not really. I am uber fortunate to be able to be studying and still getting paid, having won a study award. So this is a fee I pay with gratitude. So she says now...

PS This might suggest I have done nothing towards my thesis thus far, and I can confidently say that this is not so. Completion of RM and related assignments a necessary and also painful evil pre-requisite, Research Proposal conceptualised, developed, drafted, revised, approved, and Ethics Approval and related consent documents drafted and about to be revised.

PPS I can't wait till I can graduate with my PG Dip! That's my next major marker in this journey :)

I Like Big Books and I Can-not Lie!

By the end of this year I am going to be so well read... within a specific subject, that is.
I cannot believe how excited I was when I received email notification from the University Library that 3 of my books I had reserved were on their way. I checked the letterbox 3 times this morning even though I know that they would not be there because I had not heard the courier van. When the poor man finally did arrive he must have thought there was some wicked kind of present inside my package, as my reaction was sadly joyous.

Seriously though, it has been a much more satisfying week study wise, as I have been giving my time and thought to my actual research, as opposed to my wretched final assignment for my Research Methods paper. Knocking that bastard off will be next week's excitement.

I have to keep reminding myself that I have other reading goals as well, like reading a book a month to satisfy my 50 List goal. March 16 and I am yet to start this month's book! So today I did something I rarely do - I bought a book. Well two actually. My first choice was the third in the Millennium series. but I figured that my previous experience with these books means that it will take me longer than 2 weeks to finish it. So I also bought the Hunger Games. If it's reputation is anything to go by, it's a rollicking read so I should be able to get trough it quickly. And of course if I ever want to see the movie I must abide by my self-imposed rule to read the book first.

I hope I like it. I don't have a good history with teen/young adult fiction. I only read the first 2 Harry Potter books, abandoning them when they became less child-like. And I only managed the first in the Twilight series. But then again, I did weirdly enjoy Lord of the Flies as a school set text, and can imagine similarities between the two.

PS My choice of blog title of course came from an infamous rap of a 'similar name'. Funny thing is, my eternal memory of that song is not Sir Mix-A-Lot, but Ross and Rachel on Friends. Worth the 5 min viewing time in my opinion...

Back at the ranch, but not quite back in the saddle

Being on study leave continues to be a strange existence for me. Strange unfamiliar, not strange weird or bad. But it was good to pop back in to school today  - with a purpose. Also a time to catch up with staff and visit classrooms to make sure the kids don't forget me!

I have to get used to the fact that things are going to change whilst I am away. Today it was seeing the new raised gardens that have mushroomed from the ground over the holiday period. Also nice to see corner gardens planted last year flourishing. And a nice surprise to see some glorious sunflowers growing from where a dead tree once was!

Thinking Hurts!

...ergo it looks as though it is going to be a 'painful' year lol!
Two weeks of 'Research Methods' learning is behind me. Not that I know all I need to know yet, in fact I am now aware of how much learning (and thinking) I need to do before I can even begin my Masters' thesis.
Unlike my previous full semester, online papers, which eke out the content over a four month period, interspersed with assignments, all dissemination of 'knowledge' from the experts has been done, and now it is up to us - me - to add to, deepen and process that knowledge in order to complete the assignment requirements over the coming weeks.
More importantly however, is the thinking I need to do as I synthesize and clarify all I have been exposed to as it is all critical to the development of a) my Research Question, b) my Research Proposal and c) my planned methodology. All of these things need to be thought out before I can process, develop and submit my thesis application.
I am not a fast thinker, I am a reflective thinker. No, actually I am an over-thinker. So I think I need to get my thinking sorted out smartly or I am going to be in a lot of pain!
A timetable for the next month is going to be a priority for me to develop over the weekend to ensure I plan out what I am going to think about and how long I can spend cogitating one thing before I have to move on to the next - OUCH!

The photos today I took with my phone as I walked to my final class this morning. Thirty - YES 30 - years ago this was home for a year. T Coll Hall of Residence. D Block. D44 to be precise. Don't remember a lot of thinking going on back then!

Some things change, some stay the same

First day back on Campus at Waikato University today. It is 30 years since I first enrolled. Things have certainly evolved.
The picture on my ID card sure looks different. When I get home I might just dig out the old ones for comparison and a laugh...
I still remembered my ID number off pat after all those years.
The car-park that it was recommended we park in did not exist in '82.
The main library is apparently BRAND new - I would never have recognised it, least of all as the place my then flatmate entered wearing my Ali Baba basket as a disguise to commemorate our last week. Other pics I must dig out maybe.
Sushi was not sold on campus. I am glad it is now. Mine was delicimo.
The entry to the Education space has changed.

But the corridors are vaguely familiar.

And the smell is exactly the same.

University of Waikato Library

Exciting Times Ahead

Definitely a 'moment' to post about today.

I have been sitting on the news for a couple of weeks, but can now excitedly, nervously announce that 2012 is shaping up to be a year of new experiences for me.

After 25 years of continuous service in a school, I have been lucky enough to have won a Study Award. This will allow me to be a full-time student for the majority of the 2012 year.

It's all a bit of a great unknown at present, but I am sure that by this time next year, when my research has been completed and my thesis written up, I will be desperately looking forward to returning to my school. Whilst having a year away is exciting, I am wondering about how I will cope with the lack of social contact! After all, isn't that one of the main reasons we go to work?

Hugo, Reilly and Stirling will love it though. And I am sure I will too. Once I get my head around what it is I have actually gotten myself in for!