Diary of a Colloquium Professor #11

Today was our fifth and final class field trip. It wasn't my greatest moment as an instructor, but nonetheless it was an enjoyable morning. I tried to pick up doughnuts for my students on the way to campus (there's a story there not worth getting into), and the Dunkin' Donuts on the way to campus has apparently closed. News to me. Strike 1. Surprised, but still running on time because I was early, I tried to stop at Target.   Any doughnuts I got there would likely be less than awesome, but hey, they'd still be doughnuts. Got up to the door at about 7:40 to find Target doesn't open until 8. Strike 2. The only other option not completely out of the way, was a Publix a few miles past campus. I pulled out and headed toward campus and sped past the entrance. I looked at the clock and feared I wouldn't make it there and back to campus on time, and decided to hang a u-turn. Strike 3.

I pulled into the garage and parked my car. I was early but there were a few students already there. We stood around and talked, waiting for the bus and the rest of the class to arrive. At 8:00 I noticed there was no student naturalist present. I didn't know we wouldn't have a student guide, and I felt a little nervous. I had never guided students on the Downtown Fort Myers trip on my own. Admittedly, I am not all that versed in the history. I knew I wasn't going to be able to give them as educational of an experience as I would have liked. We had no tour and no time in the museum scheduled. It was the city, my students, and me. Had I known I was flying solo today, I sure would have studied up a bit and I would have been more prepared. 

We walked through Centennial Park, and along the river.I shared with them some of the tidbits I did know. The history of the cattle business, the river basin, the treescapes and other restoration projects. And then I walked them over to Starbucks, where one of their classmates treated all 20 of them to beverage! Then they broke into groups and I gave them a Downtown Fort Myers scavenger hunt along with a link to a map to look at on their phones. We made a meeting spot and I set them free. One group asked me to walk with them, so I did. I was happy to be asked and I was able to show them a few more things I knew about, like the palm park, the River Basin Project, and the Florida Reparatory Theater. We walked up to the courthouse and back around to Harborside and the park. 

I asked my students if they felt slighted. There was another group from our campus that was on the professional Downtown Tour. My students said no way. Many of them had never been downtown before, and they enjoyed walking around and exploring. It was a beautiful day. I even convinced them to allow their dorky teacher to take a photo of all of them in the park before we left.

On the bus ride back a couple of them told me how much they loved the class. They said it was a lot of fun and they're going to miss me. I had a lot of fun with them too, and I'll be sad to say goodbye. I always am, it doesn't matter whether it's 4th grade, high school, or college. There's something bitter sweet about letting them go.