A big wow! That is what I can say of my experiences in POPARD (Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders) class because they have been miraculous. I truly never imagined to go through this type of experience in school. Before I jump in and talk about my experiences, I want to shed some light on what POPARD training is for those who are unfamiliar with it. POPARD is hands on training for students in the Special Educational Assistant program. I’m positive other professionals including the parents of children with Autism can fully take advantage of this course. This course provides tools to support children with Autism so they can be successful in their communities and face less challenges along the way.
Prior to Monday which was the class starting day, I was extremely anxious because the content that was sent to us by the school board was overwhelming. There was a ton of readings to be completed before coming to class. The entire weekend I was nervous to be on campus on Monday. One of our classmates during the adobe online session had said that we will have a quiz first day of class. Luckily on Monday we found out that this was a misunderstanding and we would end up doing the quiz on the following week. Anyhow, I was restless, scared, nervous, and somewhat excited. This apprehensive feeling brought me to read most of the online hand outs. However, I felt like I learned nothing, there were many words which had different meanings and terms and some of the pages made no sense to me. By this time I was sure that I would not excel in POPARD class — it seemed so daunting to learn so much information in just two weeks. Nonetheless, Monday morning came.
I was 45 minutes early for the class and was surprised to see my teacher already there earlier then me. He looked serious and somewhat intimidating. I started to look around the class and then I noticed Kenneth Cole the famous designer’s name on the board and wondered why it was written there… Maybe we are meeting him? Yeah right!! The first thing on my mind was obviously that it was not my teacher’s name. To my surprise it turned out that it was my teachers real name! When the class started he made some jokes that Kenneth Cole, the designer, took his name! Then he mentioned that he met the actual Kenneth Cole because of their identical names. I kept giggling at his jokes and I felt like a teacher’s pet!:p The jokes were a great way to get everyone loosened up.
By the end of our class I literary had pins and needles in my stomach. The information he gave us was so rich that I forced myself to make no trips to the bathroom as I did not want to leave his lecture, I was scared that I was going to miss out crucial information. After his class was over, I went onto tutoring one of my students in math and I immediately implemented the information I gained from Mr. Cole’s lecture.
Kenneth Cole is the kind of teacher that everyone dreams of having because teachers like him are hard to find. He is sharp, funny, kind, compassionate, smart and my new inspiration. The knowledge I have obtained in his classroom feels like it is worth one year’s of knowledge. Everyone in my class including me loves the way he teaches! The stories and examples he uses in regards to a difficult subject is engraved in my brain. Furthermore, he believes strongly that everyone will succeed in his class without a doubt. The confidence and belief he has in his students makes him so unique. The other day I confessed to one my classmates that “I love Kenneth Cole”!!! She laughed and said that she feels the same about him! Because he truly is an outstanding teacher. Well done Stenberg College!!! Thank you for having such a knowledgeable, passionate, kind-hearted, encouraging, and an inspiring teacher to lead the class of SEA-D towards success. I am sure Kenneth Cole has touched the hearts of many of his students and my experiences in his class have been beyond incredible.
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