Changes to the Course: Friday Office Hours

As many old students know, there has been a new schedule of test correcting that I have been "trying out" since April. Instead of returning exams once a month, I have been doing them every week, and have created office hours on Fridays.

This has been running at about an 80% success rate and I am quite pleased with it. However, some modifications will be made for the next year to accommodate the few times of year that I have an extra load of lectures or work from other sites. I have not finished modifications to this schedule yet, however, my vision for it is that it would stay intact as a weekly schedule but I would add in some 'school breaks" a few times a year, much like you would have at a regular university (spring break, winter break, a couple weeks for summer break, etc...). This does not mean that I would not be available during these break times for tech support or other questions or that you cannot work during these times. It would only mean that during those "breaks" I would not be correcting exams on a weekly basis and would not have office hours on those weeks.

As I mentioned before, the "weekly" office hours were a new venture this year and everything else about them has been going well. I just forgot to build in some "break or vacation" time - and certainly everyone needs some of that. And without that it may appear that the schedule is "unpredictable" when, in actuality, I can predict with accuracy when those breaks will need to happen. This will help you to plan better as well.

My main goal is to serve you as students and make sure everything goes smoothly, and I believe part of this process is clear guidelines and communication. I have been very happy with the Friday office hours, as this has improved both. However, some misunderstandings have ensued on weeks that I was out of town for lectures or had to take a break for holiday season mailings.

Blessings & Health,
Kristie

Student Question: Help with Clients or Extra Work

Dear Students,

I just wanted to remind all students that my commitment as your teacher in this course is to maintain the course, take care of tech support problems and give you feedback on quizzes, tests and exams.

If you need help with clients, advice on clients, feedback on papers or articles, or other extra advice, please join the consulting list at : www.HerbnHome.com

This list has been open since June 2008 and has been useful to many students, clients and members. Some e-mails I have received lately have indicated that there are some students who are not aware of this other list, or who didn't receive the original announcements in June and August 2008.

Blessings & Health,
Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND

Student Dialogues - Usage of Herbs

Excerpt from a student test:

I know its not a cold, but even if it is, I use the same remedy. (she is talking about allergies).

I make a cup of tea with Echinacea, Mint medley (has both peppermint and spearmint) and a teaspoon of Colloid silver, along with a teaspoon of sugar to make my blood sugar go up a bit.

It doesn't take long to feel better. Right now, the tea cup is sitting next to me, cooling off a bit so I don't burn my mouth on it. It is 4:30 a.m. and I just got up feeling the same 'cold' symptoms I had when I went to bed.

By 7 a.m. I felt perfectly normal. Was a perfect combination to control whatever had a hold of me last night and this morning.

This is good to treat something that is “like a cold” with the same remedies. Unlike modern pharmaceuticals, herbs are used because of their properties and because the effects they have on certain systems in the body – they are not used for specific diseases or illnesses. There are some people and companies who have mislabeled herbs “for colds”, “for PMS”, etc…but this is misleading and limits the use of each of these teas, when really, each of these “formulas” could be used for many things. Your usage of the Echinacea and mint is a perfect example of this. Echinacea is good for the immune system in general and when you have allergies it is important to strengthen the immune system. Mints are good for colds, but they also are good for runny noses, itching, stomach problems and a number of other symptoms you may have when your allergies “flare up”.