It is officially Spring Break at UW-Madison! One full week of no new assignments and a time to spend at home in blissful ignorance. Yeah, right!
While there are no new assignments to worry about, I have plenty on my plate. No, I can't really do too much with work since I have Spring Break this week from Orangeville Schools as well. But I have plenty to keep myself occupied with. My days are full of computer work, trying to get ahead on research for my three major papers due by the second week of May. Two are on my own, but one is a group paper. No stress; just don't let the other four people down, either. It's bad enough trying to make the grade on your own, it's ten times harder collaborating with four people you never see, have never met, and don't have any interaction with beyond the odd email. We can go weeks without contacting each other. Why? Because we all have too much to do! Group projects at the graduate level are for the birds; especially when no one is able to physically get together and compare notes. This is definitely something that needs to go away forever.
Grade so far have been acceptable. I've had to do three online tests so far this semester. Interesting when you consider that I haven't had to do this for any of my other online classes. I've passed them all with B's, but it's nerve-wracking to wait for the scores. Gives you time to really start second-guessing yourself.
Graduation has been set for Sunday, May 16th at 2:30. I really have to think about whether or not I want to go and make a decision soon. Part of me just wants to not worry about all of the hoopla. The other part of me thinks I deserve to be the center of the universe for .5 seconds as they call out my name after all of this work. I have until April 6 to make a decision. My mood will make the decision for me, but until then, I waffle on the issue.
This semester can't get over quick enough!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Day 1
No, I will not be posting every single day. Weekly is about all I will be able to manage, at best. But since this is the very beginning of the Jekyll/Hyde Experience, it seemed appropriate to blog about having a heart attack looking at the syllabi.
Dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into?
Forget splitting my time between being an employed librarian and a student; I'm going to have to take time off in order to get everything done. "Electives" does not mean "Easy", but I was hoping that it would come closer to "Less Intense" than the required courses. Nope.
Why does school always have to be so hard? Is it so criminal to want to be able to enjoy a class that I'm taking instead of wanting to cry my eyes out every time I look at a syllabus? What does it prove by making me so miserable that I can't function like a normal human being until the class is over?
I hate having to chose between being a productive member of the faculty or getting good grades semester after semester, year after year. Let's be honest; I can't do both at the same time. I've tried and failed over and over and over. Either I get the grades that everyone expects or I can be good at my job. Not both at the same time; I'm just not smart enough for that.
Dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into?
Forget splitting my time between being an employed librarian and a student; I'm going to have to take time off in order to get everything done. "Electives" does not mean "Easy", but I was hoping that it would come closer to "Less Intense" than the required courses. Nope.
Why does school always have to be so hard? Is it so criminal to want to be able to enjoy a class that I'm taking instead of wanting to cry my eyes out every time I look at a syllabus? What does it prove by making me so miserable that I can't function like a normal human being until the class is over?
I hate having to chose between being a productive member of the faculty or getting good grades semester after semester, year after year. Let's be honest; I can't do both at the same time. I've tried and failed over and over and over. Either I get the grades that everyone expects or I can be good at my job. Not both at the same time; I'm just not smart enough for that.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Day Before Classes
Today is Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday. School is out across the state of IL for observance of this historic event. While I have spent the day doing things that are less than reverent, I have been enjoying a day off from work. It is also the last day before diving into my final semester at UW-Madison. Startint tomorrow, I will begin Day 1 of three graduate classes. Foolish? Perhaps. But it is time to finally be done going to school on a regular basis. I want to be able to fully focus on work, and having to split my time between being the teacher and the student does not allow me to stay in a professional frame of mind.
This blog will be my rants, raves, and comments on the last three classes of my graduate career. I started blogging just last semester, for another grad class. While I sincerely doubt anyone will be following this, maybe someone will stumble upon it and we will be able to commiserate together about classes. Any suggestions people have to help me survive this will be appreciated.
School has never been easy for me. K-12 I struggled to get decent grades; community college was much better in general, but I still had to work hard; undergraduate university was a rebound to high school and graduate university has been horrendous. Even though the grades have been acceptable, I am wearing myself down to nothing trying to keep teachers, administrators and family members happy. This has not been an enjoyable experience, needless to say. Lots of people around me tell me that it will be worth it in the end. I certainly hope they are right; at the moment, it is just another round of trying to please people and play the game.
In the meantime, I will be blogging about my experiences in my final semester. Tonight I will go to sleep knowing I have just one more semester to go before I can spend my time building my life, instead of my portfolio.
This blog will be my rants, raves, and comments on the last three classes of my graduate career. I started blogging just last semester, for another grad class. While I sincerely doubt anyone will be following this, maybe someone will stumble upon it and we will be able to commiserate together about classes. Any suggestions people have to help me survive this will be appreciated.
School has never been easy for me. K-12 I struggled to get decent grades; community college was much better in general, but I still had to work hard; undergraduate university was a rebound to high school and graduate university has been horrendous. Even though the grades have been acceptable, I am wearing myself down to nothing trying to keep teachers, administrators and family members happy. This has not been an enjoyable experience, needless to say. Lots of people around me tell me that it will be worth it in the end. I certainly hope they are right; at the moment, it is just another round of trying to please people and play the game.
In the meantime, I will be blogging about my experiences in my final semester. Tonight I will go to sleep knowing I have just one more semester to go before I can spend my time building my life, instead of my portfolio.
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