Bill Buckingham

Bill Buckingham - April 2002 - Present

It was the last session, we had finished everything up according to plan, and I asked if anyone had any questions as the students were doing their feedback forms. Being a task oriented individual, I was expecting something to do with the course material. However, someone piped up and asked if I thought I had developed personally as well as academically during my involvement in Higher Education, and did I consider myself a better person for it. Well, I wasn't expecting that one, not least because it was something that had never crossed my mind! However, after a bit of frantic, on-the-spot reflection I decided that the answer was yes and yes, which seemed to satisfy them, although I didn't get away until I’d answered half a dozen spin off questions. All in all, it gave me a bit of food for thought as well as keeping me on my toes!

Having fielded that one we were clearing up and one student hung back until everyone had gone. He was a regular attendee and while a little quiet, had nonetheless played a full part in the sessions. Anyway, he announced that he was holding an offer to study history at university, and had all but made up his mind not to take the place because he didn't think he could do it. However, attending the On Track course and especially hearing the inside stuff about how things actually work, he had changed his mind and was going to accept the offer.

The moral(s) of the story? No matter how well prepared you are the students will always throw you a curve when you least expect it, the learning process is very much a two-way process, and your attitude and demeanour can be just as important as the course content. And, trite though it sounds, incidents like the last one are the icing on the cake that really makes the job worthwhile.