One of these days I'll get it right.

Do you ever have one of those words or word associations where, no matter how hard you try to train yourself to say it the right way, you just keep making the same mistake over and over and over again? And when you know you're about to do it, you pause and try to think it through to make sure you say it correctly - and then you still say it the wrong way? When I was a kid, it was "terrainium" (as opposed to the correct word, terrarium); and nowadays it is "geranium", the flower, when I mean to say "germanium", the element. I know, it's REALLY stupid. And really embarrassing. But at least when a kid points it out to me, I know someone's listening. Maybe I should turn it into a game next time I inevitably screw it up... But really I should just teach myself not to screw it up like some moron who failed chemistry (which I never did; in fact I did quite well, for the record). Make fun of me all you want, but I'm only human. Okie silly dilly dokie-o, I'm an idiot.

Anyways, today I presented to a group of high school students that, as I understand it, were arranged to visit through a Xerox-RCSD (Rochester City School District) partnership developed by one of RIT's trustees. I was expecting thirty 9th grade RCSD students... And what I got was 15 students that were apparently a mixture of School #19 and Albion students ranging in grade level from 8th - 12th, plus a few others who I suspect were teachers or chaperons (but I don't know because none of them introduced themselves to me). Whaaa? So I was pretty clueless about this, which makes things a little complicated from a carefully planned presentation point of view (and makes me look a little stupid), but I was able to adjust okay (I hope). The students were sharp kids that did very well with the thermal camera demo. They willingly interacted, had a lot of great ideas and thoughtful questions, and exhibited strong critical thinking and problem solving skills.

There were more students present than visible in this picture, I promise.

You could see him breathing in and out - see the yellow nostril?

 

Unfortunately, the presentation had to be short. The day was originally planned to go longer, but then transportation times got changed and I was cut from the schedule! Thankfully the scheduling was rearranged so that I was able to present, but the downside was that the presentation could only be 35 minutes. And that is QUICK. Thankfully I got through the best parts of the demo, and most of the information I wanted to present - but I think some parts did suffer a bit from going too quickly. (Like my tendency to rush through and use the wrong words for things...)

All in all, I'd call today's presentation and demo a success, even despite the surprises. It was a great group of students, so I hope I helped inspire them to stay connected with RIT whether it be for camps, internships, a college education, or otherwise. I certainly appreciate the opportunity to have been a part of their visit to RIT!