Day 3 - Musculature of the torso and arm (Or 'Supraspinatus')

(This post is part of a weeklong diary; you can the introduction here, day 1 here and day 2 here)

After an administrative error led me to be upgraded to a better bunk at the hostel (sometimes I like to imagine my life as a board game and this was the result of a well timed ‘Chance’ card) I had an excellent nights sleep and made it to class on time, feeling like I was getting into the swing of the course.

What we did
Today was the day for musculature. As Gregor observed, with a bit of application you can teach yourself skeletal structure but with 640 skeletal muscles facilitating the extensive range of human movement, musculature is a significantly more complex area.  The day consisted of a series of illustrated lectures, drawn onto the blackboard as Sarah outlined the key muscles of the torso and arm. It was a long day, fueled by plenty of tea and although I don’t have much to write about it here it was singularly the most informative days study I’ve engaged in since I was at school; doesn’t sound like a good thing, but it really was. 

Student’s perspective
The previous two days had built up to prepare us for this very full day of information. This much too early on would have been too much, but as it was we learnt a huge amount at a manageable pace. This was exactly the kind of content I wanted on this course.

Tutor’s perspective
Sarah had a very long day of teaching: 7 hours straight, with just one lunch break and a few cups of tea. She did a magnificent job and taught the class with customary enthusiasm, managing the inevitable tiredness that sets in with such a long day very well. I was impressed with her generosity of time and attention, chatting to us in the breaks and at the end of the day when she was definitely due a proper rest.

A thing I learnt
The main thing I took away from the day was the ability to structure my own anatomical enquiry. Developing a system in which to structure learning can be as important as taking in discreet facts and todays class laid some strong foundations.