Some thoughts on my first week at College 2.0:
I should have stolen my supplies from the supply closet at work instead of buying them at Target.
It’s a lot easier to tell who the freshmen are when they’re practically a decade younger than you. Plus, they still look like frightened woodland creatures and still insist on wearing their high school spirit apparel. You’re not a senior anymore, dear, and we’re Tigers here.
In every class there will always be a) someone who tries to blurt out the answer to every question (regardless of whether they know the correct one) without letting anyone else have a chance or b) someone who constantly interrupts the class to tell some anecdote that’s *loosely* related to what’s being discussed. God help you if you’re in a class that has both. Night classes are the worst for this because they are full of people who think that just because they’re “adults,” they know everything. If I knew everything, I certainly wouldn’t be spending my time (and money!) at a place where I’m meant to learn things.
I don’t know when my handwriting got so bad, but I blame computers. I look down at my notes and they’re barely legible. And the desks are too damn tiny for me to take notes on my Macbook.
I can already tell that this will be more difficult than journalism school. In journalism, you’re graded on the quality of the work you produce. In political science you’re graded on your comprehension of issues and theories, a lot of which are kind of abstract. And there is a LOT of reading. Thankfully I only have a few pages left of Nickel and Dimed, as it’s the last leisurely read I’ll be able to finish for a while. (Yes, I read books about the plight of the working poor for leisure. Don’t judge me.)
When my policy prof said, “I don’t want to see or hear your cell phone during class; it’s my biggest pet peeve” I can’t say I expected three people’s phones to ring during class. One guy’s phone rang twice because he apparently didn’t see the stink-eye he got from the prof the first time it happened. Really? Pissing off the professor on the first day of class? You must be new. Or stupid.
I read Nickel and Dimed for a Women’s Studies class – probably my own most pleasurable yet required read. So – can I judge you in a positive way?