At the close my my first semester back at school, aside from the applicable subject matter, I have learned quite a few random tidbits:
1) Scheduling is key - when juggling work, school, and home responsibilities, you have to make a schedule, and you have to stick to it... down to the hour. When it is followed, you actually end up with some free time now and then!
2) Rosanne is on at the most appropriate time ever for my schedule: 4pm. Yes!
3) Art classes are much more labor intensive that you might think.
4) Math classes should never, under any circumstances, be taken online.
5) Science teachers are right - it's easier to do a lab report the day you did the lab rather than a week later when the report is due.
6) Breakfast must be portable.
7) Weekends are not free time, they are the extra hours that you lost by sleeping during the week.
8) College students are so much younger than I remember.
9) Missing only 1 class can greatly affect your chance of getting an A - the missed information snowballs and eventually buries you if you don't catch it right away.
10) It really DOES matter whether you get a C or an A - it's not just to get your diploma, it is the basis for all of your future academic opportunities... or lack there of.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Instructor Evaluations
I'm not sure who developed the evaluation form that WSC uses for their instructors, but they were clearly trying to ensure a positive review of each and every professor.
I had a professor that really needed a sub par review. Not to say that he isn't a kind and possibly fair person in general, as a teacher, I cannot say the same. He said in a chair in the front of the classroom and spoke for an hour and fifteen minutes. He occasionally fell asleep during lectures (yes HIM, not me) and he rambled on about thing that did not relate to out course content at all; my notes are a mess.
I incorrectly assumed that the fill-in-the-dot evaluation was the time I could finally speak up about the class and let him know what we're feeling on the other side of the lecture. As I read and responded to each questions on the evaluation, I found mostly positive responses in my wake! Yes he knows the subject matter thoroughly yes he grades tests fairly, yes he treats students with respect.
Where is the question about going off on tangents during class? Where is the question about how long the professor was awake for the lecture? How he contradicts himself on class assignments and subject matter from one class to the next??
I really felt like I ended up giving a positive evaluation to the most ineffective teacher I have had simply my correctly responding to the questions being asked. Maybe there should be a comment box at the bottom or something! For many professors, I would have given a positive review anyway, but I really feel like that specific evaluation form really cheats many professors out of what could be constructive criticism from the class by not asking certain questions.
I had a professor that really needed a sub par review. Not to say that he isn't a kind and possibly fair person in general, as a teacher, I cannot say the same. He said in a chair in the front of the classroom and spoke for an hour and fifteen minutes. He occasionally fell asleep during lectures (yes HIM, not me) and he rambled on about thing that did not relate to out course content at all; my notes are a mess.
I incorrectly assumed that the fill-in-the-dot evaluation was the time I could finally speak up about the class and let him know what we're feeling on the other side of the lecture. As I read and responded to each questions on the evaluation, I found mostly positive responses in my wake! Yes he knows the subject matter thoroughly yes he grades tests fairly, yes he treats students with respect.
Where is the question about going off on tangents during class? Where is the question about how long the professor was awake for the lecture? How he contradicts himself on class assignments and subject matter from one class to the next??
I really felt like I ended up giving a positive evaluation to the most ineffective teacher I have had simply my correctly responding to the questions being asked. Maybe there should be a comment box at the bottom or something! For many professors, I would have given a positive review anyway, but I really feel like that specific evaluation form really cheats many professors out of what could be constructive criticism from the class by not asking certain questions.
The $12K of Christmas
When I was 10, probably the first Christmas that I ever bought presents for other people, my holiday purchases were something like this: a mug, a bookmark, 2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures and a puzzle - $14 total. Today, the day after finishing all of my Christmas shopping for the year, I total my receipts to find that my recipient list has almost tripled and my total spend has increased to over $800. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and make more money (slightly) that I did 10 years ago. Maybe it's because I'm more compassionate then I was as an adolescent. Maybe it's because society is materialistic and everyone is defined bywhat they own: a true society of the have's and have-not's.
It blows my mind to see the things that are advertised on television as Christmas presents: a $4,000 flat screen TV, and $3,000 dining room set, a $64,000 Lexus!? Who exactly is buying a Lexus as a Christmas gift? Or even more upsetting, who is ASKING for a Lexus as a Christmas gift?
It blows my mind to see the things that are advertised on television as Christmas presents: a $4,000 flat screen TV, and $3,000 dining room set, a $64,000 Lexus!? Who exactly is buying a Lexus as a Christmas gift? Or even more upsetting, who is ASKING for a Lexus as a Christmas gift?
It IS Easy Being Green!
I'm certainly not entirely green, like Kermit the Frog green, but maybe more of a lime green, a little on the yellow side, but I'm on my way. I think it's fun! Some of the green activities that people preach today, are things that have been a part of my everyday life for years, and that makes me feel wonderful!
There are a few new things that I've been trying to incorporate into my everyday life that are pretty easy and do actually make a difference.
1) Reusble shopping bags - I collect them! One from each store, always leave a few in the trunk of my car, and I bring them to every store - grocery, retail, shoe - I visit! I actually began making them too, my first batch is going out as Christmas presents!
2) Cloth Napkins - They're so pretty! They really put a fancy spin on a regular dinner.
3) Driving 55 mph - 55 mph is the speed limit for optimal gas consumption, and you can set your cruise control to 55 and relax without having to pass anyone - you are the slow car.
4) No single serve containers - There is so much more packaging in a 6 pack of single-serve yogurts than goes into the larger containers. It's hard to put that kind of a price on convenience.
5) Organic Cleaning Supplies - They smell delicious!!! Here are some of my favorites (Mrs. Meyers Clean Day is my favorite, but also the most expensive):
There are a few new things that I've been trying to incorporate into my everyday life that are pretty easy and do actually make a difference.
1) Reusble shopping bags - I collect them! One from each store, always leave a few in the trunk of my car, and I bring them to every store - grocery, retail, shoe - I visit! I actually began making them too, my first batch is going out as Christmas presents!
2) Cloth Napkins - They're so pretty! They really put a fancy spin on a regular dinner.
3) Driving 55 mph - 55 mph is the speed limit for optimal gas consumption, and you can set your cruise control to 55 and relax without having to pass anyone - you are the slow car.
4) No single serve containers - There is so much more packaging in a 6 pack of single-serve yogurts than goes into the larger containers. It's hard to put that kind of a price on convenience.
5) Organic Cleaning Supplies - They smell delicious!!! Here are some of my favorites (Mrs. Meyers Clean Day is my favorite, but also the most expensive):
My cousin's boyfriend's brother said...
I'm all for class participation. The droning lecture and the hypnotizing slide show can aid you in slowly slipping into an academic coma. To supplement the knowledge, it's nice to add a question/answer session or a family anecdote here and there, but please, oh PLEASE, keep control of your class!
I have a night class, Psychology of Adolescence, and everyone, and I mean everyone, in the class tells 3-4 stories per class... times 20 students: "my friends mom," "when I was a teenager," "my boyfriend's sister," "my ex-boyfriend's daughter's best friend's mother!!!" I wish I were exaggerating.
We sit in the classroom for three hours and hear two hours of personal commentary, a 15 minutes break, and about 45 minutes worth of exam material. This professor has not control over his classroom, and my empty notebook is the proof.
I think the worst part is that the class is about adolescence and half of the students are parents of adolescents and half of the students view life from their own experiences in adolescence, so it's more or less a mother/daughter YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND argument all night.
For instance, the entire time I have been writing this blog, I've been listing to the stories of my classmates. Grrr...
I have a night class, Psychology of Adolescence, and everyone, and I mean everyone, in the class tells 3-4 stories per class... times 20 students: "my friends mom," "when I was a teenager," "my boyfriend's sister," "my ex-boyfriend's daughter's best friend's mother!!!" I wish I were exaggerating.
We sit in the classroom for three hours and hear two hours of personal commentary, a 15 minutes break, and about 45 minutes worth of exam material. This professor has not control over his classroom, and my empty notebook is the proof.
I think the worst part is that the class is about adolescence and half of the students are parents of adolescents and half of the students view life from their own experiences in adolescence, so it's more or less a mother/daughter YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND argument all night.
For instance, the entire time I have been writing this blog, I've been listing to the stories of my classmates. Grrr...
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