Prof Jas, Educator Extraordinaire!!

I had a most wonderful conversation with my learning partner, Prof Jas! After a long delay, due to technical difficulties on my end, we finally connected! Somewhere out there are emails lost in cyberspace!

Prof Jas is as engaging in 'person' as he is in his blog. If you haven't checked out his site, do so. He is so funny! [but has found some really good articles]. Jas is an extremely busy man. He has his own accounting firm, and he teaches at 2 post secondary institutions - 1 in Vancouver, and 1 in Abbotsford!

It was interesting to hear about the trends within the accounting community. Long ago (in a place far, far away...), the accountants were thought of as number crunchers and desk jockeys. But no more! In incorporating global standards [seems like a lot of industries are doing this], the accounting field has merged 3 entities [CGA,CA,CMA] into one - CPA. We have all seen the commercials with the young mother discussing plans on construction sites and farms, then jetting off in a helicopter to view another set of plans; that's a CPA. The accounting field, in both teaching and practice, has been simplified, especially necessary for small businesses. In the class, excitement is the key. Trying to entice new people into the field, that previously had been very dry curriculum. The use of music is one example (see Jas's blog, very interesting read).

As I have already stated, Jas is a very busy man. Teaching in 2 post secondary schools, with 2 types of classes means 2 different types of lesson plans. One of his classes has 6 people, the others 40! This is a big difference in how you approach each one. From his learning in PIDP, he has developed different approaches. With his larger class, he handed out a survey on Day 1, before giving his outline or expectations, to get the raw feedback of the students' expectations within the course. He then designed the course based on the feedback. With the smaller class, he changed tactics. Rather than powering through notes, he decided to take the time to engage with the students, creating a friendly atmosphere.

It's great to hear that Jas, like myself and so many others, is able to put into practice what we have learned in this particular course. It was a great conversation, and I look forward to more!