we just jumped right in! this is going to be a struggle... i am a very detail-oriented person who likes to control my surroundings and to take responsibility for herself and only herself. this poses a lot of challenges in school, especially a graduate social work program. be forewarned that this is now going to turn into a laundry list of complaints.
first, our syllabus is very general. it does not even describe our assignments! assignments that are due NEXT CLASS! next, our professor has a very rich history and is clearly very educated and knows just what she's talking about. however, she knows so well what her thoughts are that she sometimes forgets to share them with the class. this is difficult for all new students that are anxious about upcoming assignments- me. back to the syllabus... it doesn't even list some of our assignments! what?! how am i supposed to prepare?! today she asked us to do a project about our identity (which requires a lot of reflection) that is due next week. this is on top of the other assignment that's due NEXT CLASS! i realize that in graduate school there is always too much work to do. there is endless reading and there are ridiculously long papers. however, i need some time to prepare! as in, put it on the syllabus so i know just how many projects and papers i'll be juggling before randomly announcing them in the last 10 minutes of class! now back to my upcoming assignment... (can you tell i'm overwhelmed here?) we were randomly placed in groups of 4 (who the hell likes being randomly assigned to a group?!) and told to select readings. this turned into a jumbled mess and it turns out that my group has to do a 20 minute presentation about the readings for the class during our next session. of course we are all busy and no one can meet until monday- the day it is due. what?! ridiculous! oh and it can't just be a dry power point. we have to incorporate activities so the class is engaged in the learning process. what is it with social workers and group projects that have to be engaging? really now, you know you all hated doing group projects too.
so now i'm doing the best thing i know how to do when i feel off-center: make a list. in fact, i have made 3 lists. 3 lists that will get me through the next several days. i have a feeling that i'll have 10 times that number of lists by the end of this quarter! here goes nothing!
by the way, my mind is already buzzing with project ideas. i'll share my "photovoice" pictures next week (you'll see) and may end up soliciting you for data (i.e. using you as a participant for my final research project) in a few more weeks. [some of you already got to be the very interesting foci of papers for my 1st year of school. i am eternally grateful and sincerely hope you did not suffer as a result of my wretched clinical "skills." thank you!] just you wait. i'm taking you along for this ugly ride and you're going to suffer right along side me. bet you now wish i had turned this into a blog about my running adventures, don't you?
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