Sesame April/May 2002 - The Open University

11 Sesame April/May 2002 Issue 208On courseS h a ke s p e a reon the wingDid you know Shakespeare invented the word‘bedroom’? Or that he coined ‘courtship’, ‘glow’,‘manager’, ‘leapfrog’ and even ‘alligator’?Even apart from the Bard’s unparalleled contribution tothe English language, his life, times and works provide afascinating source of study – and not just for students.The OU Shakespeare Society welcomes anyone with an interestin history’s most celebrated writer to explore the Bard phenomenonwith fellow fans.“Shakespeare was the best writer we have ever had,” saysmembership secretary Brian Foster. “His work has not datedat all, which is an extraordinary achievement. It is as relevanttoday as it was when he wrote it.”Members get the chance to share their thoughts andexperiences of Shakespeare’s work in two-day seminars atStratford-Upon-Avon, often featuring actors, and in thesociety’s regular magazine, A Groat’s Worth Of Wit, whichincludes essays, interviews, book and film reviews and aUK-wide listing of theatre performances.“The society is particularly helpful for students on AA306Shakespeare: text and performance and A210 A p p r o a c h i n gl i t e r a t u r e, but we welcome anyone at all who shares ourinterest and wants to learn more,” adds Mr Foster.The society, which has a website at: h t t p : / / h o m e t o w n .a o l . c o m / g r o a t s w o r t h / i n d e x . h t m l, costs £12 to join for ayear. Cheques should be made payable to OUSS and sent toMr Foster at 3 Sedgley Close, Middleton Junction, ManchesterM24 2SP.Shakespeare always makes for fascinating study and thissociety helps to make learning fun, which is ever a good thing.For, as the society’s members are already aware, knowledgeis the wing wherewith we fly to heaven.H ow I surv i ve dscience fri c t i o nSo how was it for you? Your first OU course isbound to feel like a leap in the dark, but youcould end up seeing the light... as C a t h e r i n eWa d d i n g t o n, who lives in Bradford, discovere dwhen she signed up for S103.Discovering Science (S103) was the course title,a prerequisite for an OU named degree in NaturalScience (with Physics), and was part of my gameplan.I have been interested in general science and, particularly,astronomy, for most of my life and would have placed myunderstanding towards the upper end of ‘lay scientist’.Whilst not arrogant enough to expect a particularlyeasy time, I didn’t expect that study at foundation levelwould change my outlook a great deal. I was in for a realshock!S103 and The Open University gave me the ride of my life,an incredible gallop through some of the most exciting sciencetopics I have ever encountered. Block one was a gentle startbut far from dull. Across the country hundreds of potatoes weresacrificed as struggling scientists performed their first realexperiment, to discover the water content of an average spud.The stench hung around my flat for days but it was a badge ofhonour to me. (My dried potato looked like an ancient tombrelic, so I know I did the job well!)knowledgeableThe pace quickened as we backed up in time; accompanyingearly scientists in their endeavours to make sense of chemistryand physics. We went in deep and fast on occasions butthe course materials were excellent, and for me theexperience was one of being accompanied by a very sure andknowledgeable friend.I believe I discovered OU ‘boot camp’, a rather humblingexperience, but no doubt necessary. It didn’t matter how hardI tried, or how perfectly I thought I’d answered a TMA question,these were always posted back adorned with oodles of‘tutor ink’ dispensing what often seemed like capricious advice.Gradually I learned that tutor ink made sense and was bestread with humility.I learned amazing things from S103. Some of these wereobvious, I suppose, but I hadn’t really thought about thembefore. For instance, I’d always assumed that trees were hardand solid because they’d taken up solids from the earth throughtheir roots.Organic chemistry taught me that nature builds treestuff mainly with atoms taken from water and carbon dioxideextracted from the atmosphere. I learned that a lot of thingsare made of hydrocarbons as they’re called; trees, insects,humans, plastics, Big Mac burgers; in fact leaving out themetals and rocks and a few gases in the atmosphere, it’s allhydrocarbons folks. God has the ultimate ‘Meccano set’ andthe whole planet is alive.I enrolled for the geology field trip to the east coast of Yorkshireand spent a perfect sunny day wandering the coast with otherS103 students looking at fossils and studying rocks. We wereasked to collect a few pebbles from the beach and identify them,describing their geological history. Our tutor asked me aboutone of my samples and I enthused liberally about the Jurassic,describing how my little rock had formed all those years ago.(In mind’s eye I could see dinosaurs roaming the area).She gave me a sad knowing smile and said: “It’s concrete!but you’re not the first or last geology student to make thatmistake!”panicAnother aspect of OU study that became familiar to me wasthe rising panic and occasional very late night as I struggledto meet a TMA deadline. Was I the only student drivingclandestinely through the night to post a completed TMAthrough my tutor’s door, and hoping he wouldn’t wake andclock the time? I posted my ultimate S103 TMA at four minutesafter midnight on the day of a non-extendable deadline andcrept away like a thief, shaking with fatigue, to catch up onmuch needed sleep.It’s easy to spot an S103 student in the final weeks beforethe exam. They can be found wandering in a dream mutteringnonsense like “Susie pulls dandelions firmly” (the electronsubshell filling order in an atom) or “Please carry off fullygrown slugs” (Phylum, class, order, family, genus, species).This behaviour becomes more extreme as the exam dateapproaches, but, thankfully, the post-exam recovery period israpid.avalancheI did rather resent the avalanche of OU mail that droppedthrough my door after registering for my next course. For a fewweeks I had my life back again, so I put all the OU mail into aconscience-pricking nasty little pile until the new year.This year I’m doing ‘Anathematics’ – MST121 U s i n gm a t h e m a t i c sand MS221 Exploring mathematics. I’m alreadybehind with some course work, but the old behaviour patternshave re-established themselves again. I’m hauling out of bedat silly hours to complete something vital before I drive off tomy work.Am I enjoying it? Oh yes!● Tell S e s a m e readers about your courses. Write to: S e s a m e,The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA.Scene from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s DreamIf you would like your society to befeatured in a future Spotlight pleasesend details to Sesame@open.ac.ukTel: 01908 652451.Catherine Waddington – study with the OU changed her outlook on science