The Pod

pod n. a stream-lined external housing

Peas in a pod?

It wasn't all fun and games, but some of it was.

This summer, approximately 150 teachers from international schools from around the world arrived in Plymouth, U.K., to continue their graduate studies. Eighteen of us were in year two of our studies for our MAET. The best part of the summer wasn't the classes, the indepth discussion of educational theory, or even our final websites (which turned out great, by the way), but The Pod.

Our pod was composed six of teachers of Physical Education, Math, Art, Music, English, and Science who came in from the Netherlands, Prague, United Arab Emirates, Asia, and the U.S.

Six of us.
Four weeks.
Close quarters.
Multi-purpose bathrooms where you can shit, shower, and shave, all from the same spot.
Shared kitchen, with three pots and pans.
Bottles of wine with fish and chips.
Pigeons flying through open windows and pecking at crumbs on the counter.
Rain and sun.
Anger and hugs.
Pounding our heads on desks when, at 3 am , our Action Research Proposals weren't finished.
Pulling out hair out when the group website wouldn't upload to the afs space.
Computers crashing.
Memory sticks lost.
Skyping during lectures.
Canadian muffins and coffee from that frickin' coffee machine.
Stiff necks and shoulders.

It's finally over. Tonight is graduation for the year three students.

I will miss Plymouth. The Barbican. Motorbike rides. The sea. St. Ives. Train rides. Hope in a Bottle.The ships. The cabs. The Guiness. But most of all, I'll miss my pod buddies, who have left behind a black sock, eye contact containers, nail clippers, porridge, Dreamweaver Self-Help books, and an empty space in my heart.

Comments

[Darth Vader]

I beg to differ there Slim, there's not an empty space in your heart - just a place where you put the fond remembrance of all of us.

Next year we will be the year 3s. We will carry the burden of the news, iVideos, being the MKOs on Dreamweaver, and leading the pilgrimmage to the Fresher. ;)

I look forward to it and yet I don't. I know the bittersweet memories that we will form next year will be our last together as The Pod. But its another point in our journey of life - one that was like our last motorcycle ride. We headed out and wandered, not knowing what we were going to find along the way. Sometimes we found ourselves pinned by a Land Rover on a tight English road and other times we marveled at the vastness of the Devon countryside. But it was the journey that made it special and our time in Plymouth is just another leg in our own journey.

Besides, there's always the reunion... :)

[shamash]

I'm so glad that you've learned something in this grad course: that MKO relates directly to Vygotsky's ZPD. In the sweet by and by, may we all find ourselves to be MKO, and for sure in each other's ZPD. :-)

And, in the words of a Master: What does that MEAN???