An unofficial AU advocate at large, Jason never misses a chance to recount the merits of an Athabasca education. Jason’s studies began alone in front of a rustic rural fireplace in December of 2003 and carried on through various brick and mortar college classrooms yet always with Athabasca as part of his journey. In 2014 he completed his BA in Sociology and in 2022 graduated with an MA in Cultural Studies. To this end, his columns seek to explore edifying moments of learning how to learn within the challenging ideological terrain of that great bugaboo facing students everywhere: the real world!
Living out near the town dump is better than it sounds. There’re stunning views east to the rugged volcanic batholith of Giant’s Head mountain and, beyond that, an open vista with Okanagan Lake (and the mythical Ogopogo) out of sight far below. Along the horizon the line of mountains further away frames the picture like… Read more »
Birds, bees, plants and humans all love the onrush of spring as the life forces of growth gain momentum. Everything seems exuberant and energetic and, if you’re like me, you’re probably enjoying more outdoor activities as a pause from your coursework. I mean, we might enjoy AU but typically it still means we’re stuck inside… Read more »
Let’s put procrastination in perspective. It’s a nagging worry that can engulf us. Like being lost in a hall of mirrors, there are a lot of daily distractions to dissuade us from our studies. To take confident strides over the hurdles life erects we need a clear-eyed assessment of our big picture. Where are we… Read more »
Procrastination whispers through the hallways of our studying minds. With ironic and grim efficiency, it prompts a desire for flight from productive pursuits. We know that moments of aversion can add up to days of lost productivity. Nothing is easier to brush aside than a textbook, nothing’s quicker to minimize than a window on our… Read more »
Like learning our course material and then applying it to our lives, to understand something is to become part of the process of its existence. The answers may be in the back of a math textbook, but, in the broader plains of AU life, the answers are to some extent within us as we learn… Read more »
Let there be light, spring seems to say! More light, spring light, the light of the dawning of the furtherance of our higher education! Okay, ahem, please excuse this lofty language but doesn’t the oncoming reality of spring make any potential seem more plausible? This time of year, the subliminal becomes liminal in the light… Read more »
March for millions of students means one thing: spring break! The countdown begins as soon as the calendar switches but, for we at AU, our academic campaign grinds on with contract dates looming ever larger over our personal existential horizon. Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar might have experienced similar strain when a soothsayer addressed him thus: “Soothsayer:… Read more »
Mutual Indifference; Dividing Difference from Diffidence ‘It Takes One to Know One: When Generational Differences Just Don’t Add Up’ Last week it became clear, with a little help from a script delivered by Sidney Poitier, that entitlement was alive and well a half century ago. Rebellious flower power and peaceful hippiedom combined palpable rage against… Read more »
‘Entitlement: Old as the Hills’ etc Nobody wants to be called entitled, even if it’s true. As university students we’re at risk of becoming branded with this pejorative term regardless of our age; protesting our innocence may seem of no avail. After all, only an entitled person would complain that the label was unfair! And… Read more »
As the year of the pig commences, the Fly on the Wall separates the slop from the mire in competing cosmologies. Is time a cycle or a line? Chinese astrology experts caution that anyone whose birth date is in the year of the Pig ought to be wary: “They should avoid conflicts and be prepared… Read more »