Poster sales- still a thing! Thinking about the “student” experience
When I was on campus today I saw a sign advertising a poster sale in the student union. I felt an immediate rush of nostalgia- when I was an undergraduate I remember visiting the poster sale with my flatmate and picking out appropriate posters for my room and our shared living room. Until hall walls are replaced by screens (!) I think buying a giant £5 poster is the ultimate act of decor; for me it was South Park, Blur and Trainspotting.. which reveals my age somewhat.
I was on my way to meet some of the student reps from my programme when I saw the advert. Despite the enduring tradition of the poster sale, I am acutely aware that my student experience all that time ago is not their current student experience.. thankfully they will never know the pain of trying to fit assignments onto a floppy disc now that OneDrive and iCloud storage is a thing. As I am currently acting as programme director and as a course convenor, I particularly want to know what is working, and what isn’t. I’ve been reading back into planning pedagogy literature, and reflecting on changes in policy and practice in heritage and planning, and also looking into current strategies - looking backwards and forwards at the same time.
I am not a chameleon (so I can’t actually look forwards and backwards at the same time) and I can’t move my ears independently to have multi-directional hearing like a horse (the animal kingdom is truly wondrous) so taking time to do what I can to learn and listen is really important to me. I am always learning.