Wow it has been a long time since I've updated! Time really does just fly by. Well let's see, what's new with me? We'll start with school.
The fall semester is half over and I am sooooo excited. Some days I enjoy my classes and others I can't wait to go home! My first class is intro to painting. I am currently on my second canvas. Painting can be very relaxing if you have some idea of what you are painting. I have no idea what I'm doing other than slapping some paint on the canvas. I just go with it and hope it turns out recognizable.
My second class is Digital Photography. Most days I love this class. I am very familiar with my camera and already knew a lot of good techniques. I really like the fact that we are learning a lot about photoshop. Again I already know some things about photoshop. The one thing that frustrates me is the stupid people that don't deserve to be in the same room as me. It is not difficult to use this program. You should only have to be told something once, not three times, before you can figure out how to use the program. It's not rocket science! Stop making it difficult!
Next we have my least favorite, Advanced Drawing. I never look forward to this class. I am only taking it because it is required for my degree. I do not possess the capabilities to draw something as I see it. I try hard but it never comes out right. I will not be surprised if I fail this class.
My Tuesday morning class is Graphic Design I. This ones going ok so far. There's not too much to complain about this one.
And last but not least we have Fundamentals of Communications, online. Yes that's right, I said online. I have three theories for how this class is going so far. One: all the students in the class are completely retarded therefore making my teacher think I am a total genius. Two: My skills as a writer are so awesome I do not have to make an effort. Three: my teacher is on crack. I'm really leaning towards number three. Here is why I think this. I have turned in numerous papers, all of which I have bull shitted my way through, and have received a 100%. I know how well I can write and these papers do not reflect even 25% of the ability that I have. I don't understand her grading. I cannot wait until this semester is over!
Work on the other hand is still going well. I am now officially a closing manager. This basically means that I do the same job I've been doing except I get paid 75 cents more. Whoo hoo! About two weeks ago I was given another responsibility. I now order all the gum and candy. It's pretty easy if you know what you're doing. The social side of work is still a little shaky. I know that I am a well liked person at work. The feuding is still going on between me and another girl. This doesn't really bother me at all because I will never want to be friends with that backstabbing bitch again! The good thing for me is that the majority of the people are still my friends and have taken my side. I did not ask for anyone to take my side. It is very comforting to know that these people have my back. They are like my second family and I will never take them for granted.
Unfortunately I am still living at home. Most days I survive but others I can't wait to have a place of my own! I keep telling myself just one more year and I'm out.
There is also nothing new on the boys aspect of my life. There is a guy I work with everyday that I am interested in but am too chicken to do anything about it. If things continue at this rate I will be single my entire life.
And on a final note I turn 20 in less than a month and am very excited!
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Parents giving too much praise?
An article on foxnews.com today caught my eye: Study: Many Teens Overconfident, Parents to Blame. The article states that, after years of research by Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, compared to the 1970s, teens today are overconfident and are very unrealistic about future aspirations. Parents and teachers are the number one cause of this, according to the study. Parents give out endless praises to children inspiring them to do what ever they set their minds to. Teachers "give out" 'A's more often than they did in the 1970s. The study also states that statistics show students today have far less homework compared to 1970s' students.
When I was growing up, I remember my parents were always pushing me to have straight 'A's in school and to participate in AP courses or the gifted and talented program. This always bothered me. It wasn't that I wasn't capable of doing these things because I was. My parents always told me that I could grow up to do anything I wanted and that college was always in my future. They wanted me to have what they didn't have. I think this was common for most of the kids that I grew up with in school. The part that bothered me was the feeling that my parents were pushing their childhood aspirations on to me. They wanted me to accomplish what they never had the option to. This leads me to agree that parents are partly to blame for this new overconfidence. After being repeatedly told "You can do or be anything you want to be." you eventually start to believe that.
Other factors could be involved in this rise in confidence. If you think back to the 1970s there wasn't as many career options out there as there are now. This time period was on the verge of the shift from kids growing up and doing exactly what their parents wanted to kids having their own thoughts on future careers. This could have had an affect on the data that was collected.
I am very grateful that I did in fact take those advanced courses in school. I will be the first to admit that my high school courses were hard. I had homework every night. I also worked full time hours most weeks, sometimes getting overtime. But I still graduated with a 3.9 GPA, and I worked my butt off for it. While not all high schools are the same, I know that my classes were not as hard as they could have been. I've know others that went to various other high schools and had much harder courses than my AP classes. But I am going to have to disagree with teachers "giving out" 'A's. My yearbook advisor had a poster on her podium that I saw every day for three years. "I don't give out grades. You earn them." I witnessed this on every exam, homework assignment and class activity. Yearbook was not a free-for-all class like some thought. There was a certain amount of points you had to earn each nine weeks by taking pictures, writing articles, completing page spreads, selling ads or various other tasks assigned. I know some of the smartest kids that failed yearbook because they didn't participate or didn't want to put in the effort. So, no, teacher don't "give out" grades.
I'm don't know exactly where the research came from for this article but I think there are many factors to be taken into account for the way the statistics fell.
When I was growing up, I remember my parents were always pushing me to have straight 'A's in school and to participate in AP courses or the gifted and talented program. This always bothered me. It wasn't that I wasn't capable of doing these things because I was. My parents always told me that I could grow up to do anything I wanted and that college was always in my future. They wanted me to have what they didn't have. I think this was common for most of the kids that I grew up with in school. The part that bothered me was the feeling that my parents were pushing their childhood aspirations on to me. They wanted me to accomplish what they never had the option to. This leads me to agree that parents are partly to blame for this new overconfidence. After being repeatedly told "You can do or be anything you want to be." you eventually start to believe that.
Other factors could be involved in this rise in confidence. If you think back to the 1970s there wasn't as many career options out there as there are now. This time period was on the verge of the shift from kids growing up and doing exactly what their parents wanted to kids having their own thoughts on future careers. This could have had an affect on the data that was collected.
I am very grateful that I did in fact take those advanced courses in school. I will be the first to admit that my high school courses were hard. I had homework every night. I also worked full time hours most weeks, sometimes getting overtime. But I still graduated with a 3.9 GPA, and I worked my butt off for it. While not all high schools are the same, I know that my classes were not as hard as they could have been. I've know others that went to various other high schools and had much harder courses than my AP classes. But I am going to have to disagree with teachers "giving out" 'A's. My yearbook advisor had a poster on her podium that I saw every day for three years. "I don't give out grades. You earn them." I witnessed this on every exam, homework assignment and class activity. Yearbook was not a free-for-all class like some thought. There was a certain amount of points you had to earn each nine weeks by taking pictures, writing articles, completing page spreads, selling ads or various other tasks assigned. I know some of the smartest kids that failed yearbook because they didn't participate or didn't want to put in the effort. So, no, teacher don't "give out" grades.
I'm don't know exactly where the research came from for this article but I think there are many factors to be taken into account for the way the statistics fell.
Friday, October 31, 2008
College Life
So, I have come to the conclusion that I hate college. More importantly, I hate the U of A. Yes, you heard me right, I HATE IT!
It's not just one thing that I hate; it's everything. From the minute I step on campus, I have that 'anywhere but here' feeling. I hate driving allllllll the way to campus. Don't get me wrong, most of the time it's great still living at home. Everything is free: food, laundry, a roof over my head; all of these perks. But the fact that it takes me around 45 minutes to actually drive from my house to campus and then another 10 to 15 minutes to ride the bus and walk to class is a bit ridiculous. No, these are not the main reasons I hate school...it gets better.
My first class of the day, Finite at 8:30. Yes a.m. I know, I'm not a morning person. That's not really the bad part though. My teacher is a grad student, that is soooo incapable of teaching this class, it's unbelievable. Most of the time the class is correcting her while she is teaching. Sometimes she teaches us the wrong way to do things. And my personal favorite, we get to class and she decides 'oh, I don't really have anything for you today. You all can go' My internal response: "I got up at 6:30 and drove all this way for this? Now what the hell am I going to do for an hour?"
Next, we have the fact that I have classes with 300 other people. Yes, that's about 265 more people than what was in my high school classes. That's pretty much the size of my entire graduating class. I don't feel like I can learn effectively with that many people in the room. I can't help but think, If I ask a question, is the professor even going to know if I belong here, much less know what my name is? More than likely not. I would be more inclined to ask questions about the lecture if there were less people in there. I would also be less likely to fall asleep in class, which I do quite often.
And finally we have the fact that I have talked to numerous people at the u of a, or associated with the u of a, before actually attending classes and no one has bothered to tell me that what I want to do is not in the major I am currently in. I mean seriously, how hard is it to say, 'oh, publication design is not in journalism. That's a graphic design major.' Which according to their website, they don't offer a degree in that yet. So, basically I am screwed.
It's not just one thing that I hate; it's everything. From the minute I step on campus, I have that 'anywhere but here' feeling. I hate driving allllllll the way to campus. Don't get me wrong, most of the time it's great still living at home. Everything is free: food, laundry, a roof over my head; all of these perks. But the fact that it takes me around 45 minutes to actually drive from my house to campus and then another 10 to 15 minutes to ride the bus and walk to class is a bit ridiculous. No, these are not the main reasons I hate school...it gets better.
My first class of the day, Finite at 8:30. Yes a.m. I know, I'm not a morning person. That's not really the bad part though. My teacher is a grad student, that is soooo incapable of teaching this class, it's unbelievable. Most of the time the class is correcting her while she is teaching. Sometimes she teaches us the wrong way to do things. And my personal favorite, we get to class and she decides 'oh, I don't really have anything for you today. You all can go' My internal response: "I got up at 6:30 and drove all this way for this? Now what the hell am I going to do for an hour?"
Next, we have the fact that I have classes with 300 other people. Yes, that's about 265 more people than what was in my high school classes. That's pretty much the size of my entire graduating class. I don't feel like I can learn effectively with that many people in the room. I can't help but think, If I ask a question, is the professor even going to know if I belong here, much less know what my name is? More than likely not. I would be more inclined to ask questions about the lecture if there were less people in there. I would also be less likely to fall asleep in class, which I do quite often.
And finally we have the fact that I have talked to numerous people at the u of a, or associated with the u of a, before actually attending classes and no one has bothered to tell me that what I want to do is not in the major I am currently in. I mean seriously, how hard is it to say, 'oh, publication design is not in journalism. That's a graphic design major.' Which according to their website, they don't offer a degree in that yet. So, basically I am screwed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)