Mid-Semester Blues

So ... back in school after eight years of NOT being in school is hard.

I'm definitely a different kind of student now that I'm picking up the tab - which means (among other things):

• No sleeping in just because it's a rainy day and no skipping class 'cause I kind of feel like I'm maybe getting sick.
• No patience for the 'waste time questions' that some of my classmates seem to think are perfect for a class that I'm paying a ridiculous amount of money to take part in. 

But likewise, I don't want to put up with a professor/instructor who picks favorites or takes pleasure in tricking students.


Today I got a test back. It was a test that, admittedly, only took me 20 minutes to complete. But it's a test that I spent a tremendous amount of time preparing for: I attended every class meeting (was on time, stayed until the end), I have read every chapter, I have taken copious notes (both on the reading and from lecture).

So when I get a test back and three of the questions I've missed are TRICK questions, I get a little frustrated.

Let's be honest here: College is important. Many of the classes that students are required to take do a great job of preparing us for the real world, or at the "least", more academic work. But some of the courses that we are required to take are, well, a waste.

And sometimes that has something to do with who is teaching the course.

Yes, I'm learning a lot of lingo in this course. Yes, some aspects of the course are interesting. But the reality is that I am taking this class because it's required and not because it's something I one day want to pursue as a career choice (and I would say this is true of the majority of students in the class; Although, no, I have not formally surveyed every student in the course).

The job of teacher - at any level - is to encourage learning, to encourage students to go a little deeper in their thinking, to provide students with the information they need in a format that is palatable, to be a guide into new studies.

So right now I am incredibly frustrated by a teacher whose joy comes from intentionally tricking students, rather than teaching ... Grrr.


I am taking notes as the semester progresses so that when we have the opportunity to give feedback on the course and the semester, I will be prepared. I'll let you know how that goes.

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