Pardon My Panic

[Juniper]

School.

OH MY GOD.

Winter quarter started this week. I have two lit classes, inductive logic, and astronomy.

We had a "diagnostic quiz" on grammar in a lit class on Monday. Now, keep in mind, I am a writer. I mean, I write for a living. People pay me to write. I got 54% on this quiz.

Boy, do I feel dumb.

The other lit class, so far, so good, we haven't done much yet except spend a whole 90 minute class INTRODUCING OURSELVES. Sheesh. Logic, well, that's kind of weird, but fun.

But Astronomy? It's a gen ed class, 100-level. You'd think it would be fairly simple, right? I'm looking over the ppt slides for tomorrow's lecture, and I read the chapter in the book, and I feel like it's going Right Over My Head. And not just in a punny kind of way, either. You know, because it's astronomy. Oh, never mind.

Just pat me on the back and say, there, there, it'll be OK. Yeah. It'll be OK. Who needs A's, anyway?

[xoxoxoBruce]

You too, shall pass.

[HungLikeJesus]

Maybe you were thinking of astrology. What's your sign?

[Cicero]

LOL! Don't freaking panic. *smack*

[Juniper]

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

Maybe you were thinking of astrology. What's your sign?

Aquarius. Wanna drink?

Oh shit, that's WATER bearer, not BEER bearer. I get those mixed up.

[DanaC]

Oh my. You have my sympathy. And you'll be ok. It'll start to gel with you. Once it is you'll be fine. Don't put yourself under pressure to understand it immediately. And check out less intimidating sources for a quickfix explanation on some of it (wiki is great for that), particular terminology, or the big theories and scholars in the subject. I find that's really helpful.

But I know where you're at. I am also on the verge of outrght panic. I started taking a serious look at what I should have been doing accross the Christmas break. I don't know why I keep doing this. I end up woefully underestimating what's got to be done and then have a mad rush to try and rescue the situation. I did work last semester...but not like a 3rd year student. As of right now. Today. This stops. The next few months have got to be hard work and not much else. Here we go. Let's see if I can pull this off rather than sabotaging myself at the final hurdle.

In one week, I have an exam on eighteenth-century anglo-french relations. Military and diplomatic history isn;t my forte...and whilst I have worked, I haven;t worked enough and a ridiculous amount of this so-called revision, is in fact first reading. Not good.

One week after that I have to submit a 3000 word essay on 19th century class and gender history. I haven't chosen a question yet, let alone started the reading.

The following week I start a new module for which I have done precisely no reading. I also start back with my full year module for which I have done no prep.

Somewhere in this melee I have to finish (i.e start) a full dissertation plan. I know what I want to do with this, but my terms are still vague, I have yet to do the close textual analysis and I still need a third primary source to triangulate my hypothesis. My secondary reading consists primarily of very quick scan reads of multiple books, articles and collections. Close reading with notes is still needed for some of these.

I am shit at note taking. It's my biggest flaw as a student (outside of laziness, bad time management and a pathological inability to throw myself at anything unless there's a gun to my head) consequently most of this is carried around in my head until I absolutely need it. Which then involves a mad scramble as I try to bring to mind in which book I saw what tidbit. or I might have a page or two of notes from a text, but never completed taking notes from that chapter. So have to retrieve the book, or find an alternative source.

It's messy and frantic and on the whole i've got away with it...But I don't feel like I am as able this time. I dunno. Maybe it's just a low day. Did I feel like this this time last year? I think probably. But last year was just year two. This is the final year. There's no future module to pick up marks in. The weight of work is on this year, and the coming semester in particular.

Wish me luck. I am at a crossroads, and the turn I choose now will dictate whether i come away with a good honours degree...or actually fulfil my potential and come away with a 1st class honours degree. I'm starting from way behind where I need to be and there's more to do in this semester than in any other. I can't be as good as I was last year, I have to be better. I'm about to sit an exam in a topic I only vaguely fucking grasp. I've got six days to get my head around 100 years of diplomacy, war, social change and military development in two countries and as they relate to each other, bringing in other continents as they relate to the European mother countries. Yey.

[smoothmoniker]

You think you're freaking out? I was just informed that our university accrediting body will be randomly selecting thesis papers from my senior-level class to evaluate, just to check in and see if our graduating seniors know how to write.

They don't, of course.

So now, our school's ability to maintain their current level of accreditation is, in some small way, dependent on which idiot from my class's writing they randomly select to review. Oh, the joy.

[DanaC]

Oh God. Smooth that really sucks.




[when I think of some of the total numpties that somehow manage to squirrel (buy) their way onto university courses, that sounds horribly dangerous. It also sounds like a potential start to a downwards spiral. A bad result and lower accreditation will mean fewer of the best students will want to go and more plces will go to the numpties...and so on. ]

[Juniper]

Yeah, Dana and Smooth, your situations do seem more dire than mine. Thanks for the perspective.

I've given up on the honors degree. I could still do departmental honors, but with a job, husband and kids, I just don't think it's worth the stress. Better to focus on a good GPA.

At least I'll have the nifty Phi Kappa Phi cord at graduation.

IF I ever get there!

BTW, I have to write a 2000 word paper on "Araby" by next Friday. Just got the assignment yesterday and haven't even read the piece yet. Yippee!

[monster]

Araby? 2000 words?

Obama is a bit Araby. *400.

:p

[Juniper]

LOL

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Juniper

We had a "diagnostic quiz" on grammar in a lit class on Monday. ... I got 54% on this quiz.

Sounds like this is just a quiz to assess where you are as the course begins. Good job! You positioned yourself perfectly for the dramatic improvement. You're going to blow the socks off your prof when you start to get better grades after you cover the material.

[classicman]

there, there, it'll be OK.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by DanaC

In one week, I have an exam on eighteenth-century anglo-french relations.

That's easy, just remember anglo = good/right/best, and french = bad/wrong/worst.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

french = bad/wrong/worst.

You forgot "smelly."