College Spring Term Week 8

As you can imagine things were a little fractious this week at college, in more ways than one. First because of the email I had sent to my tutor and secondly because there are some cracks beginning to show in the class (more of that at some point but not in this one!)

I had by this point sent out a handful of letters to some local florists with my CV and some photos and explained about the work placement I needed to complete my course and would be in a position to phone them later in the week, so I was pleased with what I had done, at this stage as much as I could. And of course I wanted to hear what college had to say, although I have to say my expectations were not high.

Having been around the block as you might say, I was also prepared and had approached Hannah to see if she would be available to act as a scribe/witness in any meeting I may end up having at college over the complaint I had made. I had also complained about the amount of work which was still outstanding on the course and this is the second part of the email I sent

"Practical Assessments

Further I have looked through the outstanding practical assessments and the numbers of weeks left and again have a grave concern over the number of assessments and time left in which to complete them. I for one would request the opportunity to do an assessment each week from now, as well as a day when there is the opportunity to do more than one (ie the assessment days). I do not particularly welcome the potential overload towards the end of the course. Next week I would like to do my Unit 206 Ci Basket Arrangement open/posy style with handle – costed down – pro forma 2. "

My tutor said that her boss would be attending a meeting with me regarding this and she offered me the next day. I said to her that I was happy to have a meeting with her and R but it would have to be at a mutually convenient time as I would be bringing someone with me (I think she didn't like this much!!). So the next date she was able to offer me was 10th March, which was over a week away! So more of this one later!!

As for the floristry - here are some photos from this week ......

Hair decorations, gypsophilia (above) and not miniature calla lilies but rolled rose leaves below .....

A rose, two small narcissus flowers and a chrysanthemum .... I really think chrysanthemums should be given a rethink as they are lovely flowers, available in such a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colours and are so economical because they are not expensive and they last so long. An article for the future why I love chrysanthemums!

Here is a corsage in situ on the class room dummy ......

made of ivy leaves hyacinth pips, narcissus, waxflower - all wired!

Below is a modern 'pew end/chair back decoration', in this case attached to one of the college chairs!

and here to our classroom artificial pew end ........

I had wrapped mine with aspidistra leaf around the stem to match the aspidistra leaf used in the main part of the arrangement and then finished it with some bullion wire.

Below is the start of the Display unit, I am working with J for my window and in-store displays, floral foam is not an exciting item to display but I think we have done a good job in our first session - we now have to plan our displays which will happen in May.

The planted design unit, not too much of a challenge at the moment and I love this one below. I think I will try to use this a bit more at home too, and lovely to make something like this as a gift, but maybe in a pretty container and not college green!!

Ciao

Sue

Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox.

Frustrating and Disasterous Don't Even Begin to Describe Back to College Week 7 Spring Term

I am not a happy bunny - this is the week where those little things that niggle, frustrate and just generally pee you off have turned into really really big issues which have an impact on my performance on the course and my eventual outcome - but more of that later. Milton Keynes College have seriously let me down and hindered my chance of completing my course - so sorry this is a long one but I have a lot to get off my chest and writing about these issues is such a constructive way to do that.

There was an assessment day this week and below are some of my attempts none of which I am at all happy with. I was pretty peed off as I thought they weren't too bad, but now I don't think they are very good at all and am intending to re-do all of these later in the course time allowing. I was not happy with the flowers which were available to us and I feel that some of her marking was a little harsh but saying that I am not happy with what I produced.

Below is an example of one of the cost sheets that have to be completed as part of an assessment - at least I have got those worked out OK, where I have time to complete them at all. You have to cost out flowers used, sundries, work out labour and vat charges and then add delivery charges on if required. Fairly straightforward now as I have done quite a few of them.

This is one of my assignment pieces and as I look at it now I think it is a total pile of doggy do and I can now see everything that is wrong with it, although I don't totally agree with some of the things the tutor found were wrong. By a long stretch not the best of this design I have made. But again the flowers were not brilliant, a variety of foliage was in short supply, the yellow chrysanthemum were almost as big as the germini. The tutor's response was that you would not have the choice in a shop (as I now know I would have to disagree with her on that one and you would have a much better and wider choice of materials available, gerbera in at least 4 or 5 colours, a variety of colours and sizes of chrysanthemum and a whole raft of spray carnation colours but hey ho).

All round with candle not good, I really did need more tulips and there is way too much foliage I think in an attempt to compensate for the poor quality of flowers available.

This was the first time I ever did this arrangement, because I don't ever remember us being shown it in class. It wasn't commercial enough - I don't like it now, but it didn't seem too bad considering we have a time limit of 30 - 40 minutes on most of these tasks and boy does it go fast. This one I only did as a practice this time and fortune that was too.

This is my double ended spray which is apparently technically perfect, in that everything is where it should be, but it only got a pass because it had the wrong colour flowers in it. That one I do think does deserve more than a pass!

But the real reason I am so peed off, angry, no livid, no incandescent is regarding my work placement. I have to do a work placement of 40 hours it is integral to the course, ie I don't get my Diploma if I don't do it!! So I was given details of a florist based in an area of Milton Keynes who is willing to take a student (well yes she is willing to take many students and not just from Milton Keynes college), I was given her details on the last afternoon before half term (which appears to be another college policy - give as much important information out as late and last minute as possible) and told not to contact her until after Valentine's Day. In the end I didn't contact her until 25th Feb due to half term, bad cough etc etc but off I wandered to have a chat.

The shop itself can only be described as grim and somewhat dismal, few flowers, no flower smell and the owner stood in the middle of the shop in a way which could only be described as like someone's old granny in her overcoat!! But I needed the placement as in my mind the college had already left it very late to be sorting this out, this really ought to have been started way before Christmas and CV's had been requested before Christmas, and mine had been handed in before Christmas too. So I did what we all have to do on these occasions and played the game.

When she told me that I would only be there to "empty the bins, clear out the rubbish, tidy and clean the fridge and buckets", I said yes that is OK, don't we all have to start somewhere.

We discussed start times, well I can't be flexible there as I have Jamie and I said I would only be able to start at 9.30 as I had a child to take to school, well she seemed OK with that.

She then said that she takes students from another college and they have to do two terms duration and so she would only be prepared to take me on for my work placement if I agreed to do 2 terms! Now bear in mind I got the details of this placement just before half term, which is over half way through the course. So she and the college were expecting me to do more than my 40 hours (well OK if the placement was developing and enhancing my skills - but that may have been unlikely as I was only cleaning and tidying!!) and would have taken me way beyond the end of my course (now when my course ends my course ends) - if I were to do more in my work placement beyond the end of my course it should be my choice not a blackmailing tool from a potential work placement provider.

But the crux came when we discussed when. Now the equation is simple I am a full-time student and attend all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I explained to her that I would be able to do either Thursday or Friday. Can you do Saturday, no I can't my husband is a shift worker and I have to take my son to his weekend activities. Oh she said, can you do Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday? Thinking to myself that's a strange question to ask, as the college sent out all my details to her, you would have assumed they would have explained who I was, what course I am doing and the fact that the course is full time and I am at college Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Deep breath thinks me, no I'm a full time student, I am at college all day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Oh says she, well I have a student on work placement on a Thursday and I pay someone on a Friday (that I think is significant but will expand on that later), so you can't do Saturday. No I have family commitments I can't do Saturday. At this point her attitude changed completely, and she couldn't get me out of her shop quick enough well I will have to have a think about it and get back to you.

My initial thought apart from the steam that was coming out of my ears as I walked down ***** ********* High Street was that she wasn't going to ring me. She wasn't interested in a work placement she was interested in free labour for 24 weeks on a day when she already didn't have free labour provided by either my college or the other college. She didn't ring and she never has!

By the time I got back to my car I was so angry, who had sent me on such a wild goose chase and surely the college would make it quite plain to the prospective placement supervisor that this was a placement for a full time student and their availability was limited - but for Milton Keynes College that is clearly too difficult and I shouldn't have been surprised by that.

But then one of the students in my class is still waiting for the college to write her a letter to enable her to get the Council Tax Refund to which she is entitled - well a letter which gives an accurate indication of our hours and homework expectations. The rest of us managed to use an alternative way of getting the refund, but her Council will not accept either the enrolment agreement or the letter the college has written. She may have finished the course before she gets the letter, let alone the refund and she has probably already missed out on some, as the Council is only obliged to back date for 3 months apparently.

I find it incredulous that the college would mess about with something so important as work placements as this is something which is crucial to the completion of this course.

So after phoning Mike from the car and telling him what a total waste of time I have been put through, I sat and wrote my notes of it all so they were fresh in my mind, as I certainly was not going to take this incident lying down. After I got home, and I didn't really calm down, I left it a little while and then I decided to do something about, I was not going to take it lying down and so I sent off the following email to my tutor.

" Work Placement


I have been to see the florist at **** ** *** ******* today, but and this is a big but – she appeared not to be aware that I was a full time student and thus would be unavailable Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. She already has a work placement on a Thursday and on Friday she employs someone so doesn’t need the extra pair of hands (and as I am sure you have seen the shop - 3 people in there may be a bit cramped) which are the two days I am available for work placement. Whilst she seemed impressed with some of my work, she said she would need to think about availability and would get back to me, I personally don’t think she will.


I am extremely concerned that we are now over half way through the second term and believe the issue of work placements has become a serious problem. The college clearly has its work placement procedures but I was informed of this work placement on 10th February (with a verbal message from you to contact her after Valentine’s Day). I have now contacted her on the first date I was able as above. I believe the whole work placement issue has now become a matter of grave concern and urgency. I will go so far as to say that I feel let down by the course and the college over this matter. After all I did raise the question of work placements in the first week or two and received an extremely dismissive response from you, and you had a copy of my CV in December.

It is vital that this issue is addressed next week."

but I wasn't just leaving it at that and decided that I now needed to do what I had been prepared to do in the first couple of weeks of the course, which was to organise my own placement so the work involved in getting and completing the work placement could carry on at a nice pace alongside the course and there would be no stress around completing either the placement or the associated written work. (But that wasn't good enough for my tutor and when I asked about placements she bite my head off and was exceedingly unpleasant).

But more of that one later in another post, and more later of the second half of the email where I was questioning the amount of work still outstanding and the amount of time left to complete work.

So by the end of this college week I was totally frustrated, but as this weekend was a very important weekend I wasn't going to let it spoil that.

Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox

And For All The Other Stuff This Week!

College does tend to mean not doing masses of other stuff during most weeks as there is usually something which has to be done for college. And college does tend to present one or two other things which need taking care of - to say college uses red tape to make life difficult for students is a bit of an understatement.

The current issue is with an aspect of college administration regarding Council Tax. As a full time student and in my case that is 3 (very) full days a week (16.5 hours lecture time) you are entitled to a Council Tax Rebate BUT and here is the problem the college has written a letter which says 16.5 hours flat which does not entitle you to the rebate. MK Council takes into account any extra study time, work placements etc but the college does fNOT count them in your letter! Thus the problem. I've sent my original receipt to the council which gives my full hours so we will see how that works. There is no way on earth that you would pass the course on merely the lecture time, but they choose to make life more complex for students. This is one of the areas I have raised at student council but of course feedback is outstanding for this issue as yet.

Jamie had a school trip this week to Holdenby House, where they were exploring all things Victorian. A jolly good time was had by all it appears so that is pleasing.

Whilst I was waiting for Jamie at his drama class and guitar lesson I managed to write out all of our Christmas cards so that is a job well out of the way. For several years I have been trying to prune our list as it was huge, so it was more manageable, but this year due to our increased interests we have had to add in a whole raft of new people which is lovely. Part of me would like to drop the whole Christmas card thing and just make a donation to charity in lieu of cards, but somehow we continue to do them. Well maybe in 2010 we will do that, perhaps.


Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban