Tales from the training camp

"Inshalla" is a term I've blogged about before but apparently so long ago that Google's search engine can't find that post.  It means "God willing" but in the two years I've been here it has meant, "Not a fat chance."

In trying to create a workbook designed for people here and not an MBA course in the US I customized the section on goal setting to stress the importance of deadlines.  I included the line "Simply saying 'inshalla' is not acceptable when setting a deadline."

A guy today took me to task on this.  As a western non-Muslim I "don't understand the meaning of the word."  I know my ability to get defensive but in this case I didn't.  I simply replied, "I absolutely meant no offense.  It's been my experience that when a student says, 'I will get this to you on Wednesday, inshalla' it never happens."

He went on to repeat the meaning and it was his classmates that came to my defense.  More than one said to him, "You are right.  That is the meaning... but he (me) is right... so many misuse the term."  

After the session the guy came to apologize profusely.  Had I actually became mad I might have reacted differently but in this teaching gig I 100% buy into the idea I am working at Disneyland and Goofy never has a bad day. 

(What is it with the search engine on my blog?  I swear I've blogged about Goofy never having a bad day.  It was that piece of advice that kept me from getting fired at Hamilton for years before I was.)

After it was all over I realized that this was the same guy I tried desperately to reach last semester when I had a blind student and had zero support from student services on testing, a reader, etc.  At that point I became angry.  Had I realized it at the time I would have said, "Oh, so inshalla you will help my student from last semester?  I think you made my point."

Fortunately, I didn't remember until later.  Overall, the session was great. I'm 3-4 on "great" and 1-4 "good."  To get paid to do this is beyond amazing.

*****

Unrelated, in the afternoon I had 3 classes with midterms.  I spent all day yesterday writing 3 completely different tests.  Not a single question overlapped.  Today as I was giving the tests the students were cheating like crazy... or at least trying.  As I yelled at them the reply was, "But, sir, his test is not the same as mine."  

"I know," I replied.  I smiled.  I might have even cackled... which is appropriate on Halloween.


******
And even more unrelated, I have no idea why blogger changes font sizes in the middle of a post.  Sometimes I take the time to go back and correct it but I certainly have no idea why it happens.