Phased Reopening Updates & Short Stories: Anderson Bi-Weekly Connect

This week we will be sharing some updates regarding the phased reopening, as well as two short stories, we hope you enjoy them.

Phased Reopening

Since our communication regarding the phased reopening a few weeks back, we have been bringing some students back for the hands-on components of their training.

We would like to thank these students and the campus teams for their hard work in ensuring their own safety, as well as the safety of their peers during this time. As ever, your health and safety are our top priority, followed by ensuring that you can complete your studies as soon as possible.

Anderson will continue to provide all necessary personal protective equipment when you are on campus, we will also continue following and enforcing strict processes. We ask that you remain up to date and extremely vigilant with the rules in place at your campus to continue to support the ongoing wellbeing of yourselves, your friends and colleagues.

Once again, the above does not apply to you if you do not need to return to the campus for your hands-on training.

Province Invites Ontarians to Safely Enjoy Summer at Ontario Place

The Ontario government has announced it is providing Ontario Place with $2 million to support festivals and events that give people the opportunity to safely reengage in arts and culture experiences.

With Ontario Place open for public use, staff and partners are working to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. Visitors are encouraged to review the current COVID-19 updates before visiting the site and are asked to respect health and safety guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Weight of the Glass

Once upon a time a psychology professor walked around on a stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with students. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?”

Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple pounds.

She replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t matter. It all depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.”

As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued, “Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed – incapable of doing anything else until you drop them.”

All the Difference in The World

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home. There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her.

This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.

“Hello,” I said. “I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.”

She smiled. “I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.”

“Wow! That’s really nice of you!” I exclaimed.

She went on: “I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It’s my own strange way of making a difference.”

“But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?” I asked.

“Yep, sadly, they do,” she replied.

I scratched my head. “Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world. And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?”

The woman giggled aloud. She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.”

Sincerely,

The Anderson College Team