This has been my best term since coming to Taylor’s College back in July 2007. With one or two exceptions, the students this term were great; very motivated and hard-working with some exceptional writers and thinkers, three of whom are pictured here. The course work went very smoothly, unfolding at a good pace, neither rushed nor lethargic with plenty of time to develop the nuances of thought into character and motivation that I try to bring out. The final student presentations were finished early enough that I haven’t had to mark anything for two weeks, leaving me plenty of time to prepare my students for their final exam and giving me enough time to rest up for the final push of marking and reporting.

This is my fifth term here and my second time through ENG 3U, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I find it hard to imagine that I once was anxious about teaching this course in Malaysia. Now I can scarcely imagine doing anything else. I have always loved writing and literature and never had enough scope at my previous teaching positions to develop the courses to the depth that I wanted. Here I can go as deep as I am able, and the students can not only keep up, they dig deeper into the material themselves and feed back their insights. It is very rewarding teaching.

For the next two weeks I will be invigilating exams and compiling marks. Not the most exciting tasks that teachers do, but necessary ones. Many of these students are here on government scholarships, and unless their marks are high enough they don’t get to go on to university in Canada. They have a lot riding on the line, and get understandably pretty anxious about their results. ENG 3U is not high on their list of priorities,as it is simply a prerequisite course for ENG 4U and will not count for entrance to university, but given their high level of drive for excellence, I know that they are going to try to score high regardless.