Nel Noddings at SFU

With a few days left of campaigning, I have opted to return back to my graduate student lifestyle and commuted to the Lower Mainland from the Sunshine Coast to see Dr. Nel Noddings, PhD at SFU.  She is speaking twice today, once at the Surrey Campus and the other in Burnaby.  I signed up for both events.  Nel Noddings is a guru on the “ethics of care” and education.  I learned this morning that she had started her teaching career as a mathematics teacher.  This caught my attention.  This morning’s session was designed for students enrolled in the Professional Programs of the Faculty of Education.  Nel spoke about her new book about the love and hate for war.  This afternoon’s workshop will be about the “ethics of care” addressed to graduate students and faculty.  I am looking forward to listening to her speak again.  She has clear ideals and vision for education. I appreciate her passion and the work she does as an emeritus of Stanford.  Nel is someone to aspire to.

In the meantime, I am waiting for the second session to start.  I’m sitting in the lobby of the Halpern Centre at SFU-Burnaby with my Educ 809 buddy, Harri.  We met at the SFU-Surrey Campus this morning, had lunch together at the Surrey Central food fair (thank you Harri), and took Skytrain to the Burnaby Campus.  I got the chance to drop off my application to the Faculty of Education and engage in a bit of used book shopping at the AQ.  I bought 2 books for $4 that relate to my dissertation.  SCORE.  Very happy with my purchase and excited to be here as a learner to hear more about Nel Nodding’s views on education, conversation, and caring.

Today could not have happened without my awesome family.  After staying up all night to work on my SFU application package, I had planned to catch the 5 am bus at West Sechelt to catch the 620 am ferry from Langdale.  It was 5:22 am and there was no bus.  I started to panic.  Where was the bus?  Did I read the schedule wrong?  I did not understand what was happening with the Sunshine Coast transit system, but I was stuck.  I called my husband and he did not hesitate to come get me to drive me to the ferry.  What a guy… best of all, my daughter woke up to come for the ride, and my dog came along too.  It was a family morning adventure and I am truly grateful for my family.  What a sacrafice… What love.  Aside from feeling really tired today and spending time with my 809 buddy, the best part of the day was my family picking me up at the bus stop so early in the morning.

Thank you Randy, Zoe, Sally, and Harri for making my day at SFU x2.  I had a great day.