Posts tagged with classrooms.
Open a can of success
The room where I ate my lunch from Grade 1 to 6 was a small cafeteria with aquamarine walls. It was decorated with a single banner that read "Success Comes In Cans Not Cannots," the words stretched in gold across a starry blue background. I wondered what success in a can looked like. Probably like Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.
In my Grade 5 classroom, there was a poster of a lone mountain climber summiting a craggy peak as the sun set behind him. The image was bordered in black and below it, in large print, was the word "Achievement". Under "Achievement" was a sentence that I never managed to read but was probably very inspirational.
The cans of success and lone mountain climbers were my first encounter with manufactured inspiration. I'd find the same high-gloss, mass produced material in my junior and high school.
Their placement was likely without any higher motive, except for a need to fill up space on a white wall. Yet their presence in classrooms where one teacher presided over maybe 20 to 40 students seems significant to me now. They communicated to the individual that it was up to him or her. The image of the lone mountain climber, reaching a goal on his own: It was an admission on the part of the large public institutions where I received my education that a teacher with a few dozen students could only go so far in ensuring that everyone met their full potential.
The message was 'We're here to help, but it will be your initiative that brings us to you.'
It's this mentality that pervades large university campuses and it's what makes them an intimidating place to get your education. You can be lost, you can be unhappy and you can fail to meet your goals, but no one will help unless you ask.
My first four months at U of T were overwhelming. Everything was complicated. It didn't matter whether I was registering for courses, setting up the internet connection in my dorm room, or writing a paper. Everything was a challenge. One month into my second semester and the university is less intimidating. I know now how the place works. I know how important it is to communicate with your professors, your TA's and the administration. It's possible, through your own effort, to shape the university in a way that suits your needs. Open a few cans of success and you'll be fine.
Tagged with
inspiration,
motivation,
classrooms,
crowded
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BRYCE WARNES
