Today I took a phone call at work from a sales rep for the fertility end of our business. She was calling to check on what medications we were having trouble getting in stock. At the end of our phone call I asked her if she had a few minutes. She did so I told her about my own fertility challenges and about my upcoming appointment. We chatted a bit about the hows and whys and then she did something that floored me. She gave me her cell phone number and email address and told me if I ever had any questions, concerns, or just needed a shoulder to cry on to give her a call.
It brought tears to my eyes. It was so darned nice of her and I appreciate it so much. She doesn't know me and I'll probably never talk to her again, but that she would offer is a such wonderful thing to me. I really have been fortunate with my job. I've had some great experiences through it, and this is just a reminder of why I love the company I work for. The great people I met.
Speaking of people and my job... On Thursday I have my first technician training class of the season. The class is designed to help prepare employees for the National Certification Exam. Even though I've done quite a few of these now, I'm always so nervous the first day. And this one is no exception. In fact I think I'm more nervous than before. Why? Before the first class I have a meeting with the teacher for a local high school's career center.
For the past two years we've had students from this high school in one of our three sessions of classes a year. These are inner city students who plan to get technician jobs on graduation. We've worked out a deal with the school for them to sit in on our exam preparation classes and intern at our pharmacies. For the past two years these students have come to my classes and been disruptive and disrespectful.
The first year the students showed up without books, pens, or paper. Read magazines and popped bubble gum. Talked to each other and texted. They even lied to me and told me they were supposed to leave early one day. The most recent class I had students talking, texting, and sleeping in class. All of them expressed some really petty complaints about co-workers at their internship stores. One of the students told me they didn't see why they had to be there as they'd already done all of the work. This class I teach is basically a review session. You are supposed to try it on your own and then come to class with questions or problems.
After the last session I was fed up. I called the liaison between the school and my company and told her my problem. I vetoed the idea of just canceling the program as I think its a good idea in theory. We just need to work on the practice of it. Her solution was to invite me to her first meeting with the teacher for this new school year. Perhaps if the students knew going into my class that it was a review they might not be so restless and rude. Perhaps if they knew that they need to behave and not be disruptive.
I'm nervous about talking to a teacher about students I've never met based on two negative experiences with past classes. I want to find a way to make these classes work for both the high school students and my company students. I just don't know how to do that. And I don't really have a lot of suggestions. I'm not a teacher, I just teach a class. Perhaps I should ask the teacher to tell the students to behave as they would at a job. That they are going to be evaluated on their behavior as they would at any job. Maybe we can work out a "report card" that I can send to their teacher at the end of the classes that would count towards their grade. Maybe the students are just still to immature, but its worth a shot at trying to make it work
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