LIVE THROUGH THIS, AND YOU WON'T LOOK BACK: January 2009

So this is mostly a rant directed at the College where I received my Diploma from and I will be nice enough not to include the name of said so-called post secondary institution.
I attended the Career Fair for students poised on the threshold of graduation which awaits them in a mere 3 months as a potential employer for the 5th year in a row. Half of the 30 teachers that are employed at my school are graduates of this particular insitution including myself a number of years ago. I like to think that I am a fairly reasonable person, however, I am absolutely disheartened at so many things that transpired this afternoon.
First of all - if I was attending a Career Fair - where I would be expecting to network and make connections with employers in my field of study, I would dress as though I was attending a job interview. I however am alone in that inclination - it seems that all of this years studens thought it OK to attend in tear away track pants, dirty sweatshirts and the very few males present even sported baseball caps. In a field of work that struggles every day to gain the respect and recognition of a society that sees us as glorified babysitters, what the hell were they thinking? Though the individual students do need to take responsibility for their own actions, I feel that the College let their student body down by not preparing them properly for the event in terms of encouraging them to present themselves in a professional manner.
Secondly, only about half of the students who approached our booth actually brought their resume with them. TO A CAREER FAIR!! How stupid can you possibly be? And honestly, if you are that stupud - no, you can't email me your resume tomorrow - you are not the calibre of teacher we are looking for.
Thirdly - if you are three months away from graduating with a College Diploma in Ontario - it should be a requirement that you can speak English well enough to string together at least one sentence - for example to inquire if we are currently hiring. I am not saying that everyone in the field has to speak English as their first language, but come the fuck on people - you are looking to work with young children acquiring language for the first time in their life - how hard is it to say "Hello, my name is ________________ and I was wondering if you have any positions available and if I could leave you with a copy of my resume?". That should be the minimum requirement, but sadly, even that was too much for most of the 'applicants' (I use that term very broadly) that even approached us. I hold the College entirely responsible for this shortfall - how is someone who can't even string together a sentence gaining acceptance to your program, let alone graduating after 2 years of study with you?
Which brings me to the fourth issue - most of the students walked by each employer's booth so quickly without even looking up, nevermind approaching us, asking questions about our programs or philosophy, or taking a look at the written material we provided. Frankly, they could not have looked less interested if you paid them.
How are we supposed to fight for professionalism in our field when these apathetic students are the only weapons available for our defense? I am ashamed to say that I am a graduate of this pathetic College and fear for the future of our young children if these are the feet at which they will spend their early childhood. What an embarassing display.
I think I'm finished now - apologies to those who read all the way through this - hope I didn't pass along the bad mood.

The best news I've heard in 2009!

Courtesy of Arts & Crafts
"The Happiness Project Live Dates Announced.
Charles Spearin, best known as long-time member of Toronto-based bands Do Make Say Think and Broken Social Scene, will bring The Happiness Project to life, in a select few engagements all in unique and intimate settings in Toronto, Montreal and New York this March.
Performing with Charles for these events will be: Ohad Benchetrit (guitar, sax), Dave Clarke (drums), Julia Seger Scott (harp), Michael Barth (trumpet), Leon Kingstone (sax), Julie Penner (violin) and Tania Gill (piano)."

Smack in the middle of Canadian music week, to be followed by Gentleman Reg and Young Galaxy - so far looking like a good week to be a Torontonian!