I really feel the need to get on my soap box! In fact, I had this particular gripe last week and by the time I got home and simmered down I had forgotten about it, but it's obviously still a sore point and is waiting patiently on the outer edges of my consciousness, so I have to let it out.
Every Wednesday I have a 9am lecture followed by a three hour wait and then I have a two hour tutorial. I have three children, as you know, and an hour drive in peak-hour traffic in order to make it to the 9am lecture. What really gets my goat are these 18, 19, 20-something year olds, who whinge and whine about having to get to uni in time for the 9am lecture, so they ditch the lecture, come to the tute, ask the tutor about the lecture and then admit they haven't actually read the book we're supposed to be analysing!!! This has been happening time and time again and last Wednesday, I was just about seeing red!!! Not only do I haul my big arse out of bed, leave my family to fend for themselves and sit in peak hour traffic to get to uni, but I also frantically read the text AND complete the tutorial questions - only to turn up to the tutorial to listen to all the pathetic excuses under the sun. I mean, honestly, I just thought, why am I bothering??? High Distinctions, that's why, people. And I'm not saying it's all 18, 19 and 20-something year olds - only most of them! If I had the motivation, I'd seriously do this Degree externally. Bring on the summer break!!!
Ooh that feels good!
I had this experience too. It was a very small program, so when people came to lecture without having done the readings, it was pretty obvious. As a result, the prof really had to dumb it down and go over very basic material that we should all already have known from the readings. The level of discussion was also brought down considerably. Very frustrating. I was working full-time, studying full-time and my kids were 5 and 2. When one of my classmates asked me, "So you work and have kids, too?" I couldn't help myself and said, "Yeah, and I still get my readings done. What's your excuse?" Rude? Sure, but it got my point across and it felt sooo good to release my frustration!
ReplyDeleteI experienced this too during my BA. My favourite one was - I've seen the film though'!! It was especially annoying when it was an assessed seminar leadership task. You just have to grit you teeth and think that it's their loss. Usually there are (just)enough people that have read the text. (This has even happened a couple of times on the MA!! There the group is smaller and it is obvious the reading hasn't been done.)
ReplyDeleteI knew I wouldn't be alone on this one and thought it was so frustrating to me because I'm at the end of my first year. Hopefully, next year will be better though it sounds as if even MA students can be slack!!
ReplyDeleteOooh, it just drives me crazy to listen to the young kids whine about getting up early for class or having to study instead of party. Or they don't do their homework because they know they will be given the answers in class. How do you learn that way? Someone told me recently that she had taken this semester off school so she could work part time! Really!!! You mean working and going to school can't be done at the same time??? I wish someone had told me that a long time ago. Grrrrrr
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky at the moment as because my class is primarily Mature Students everyone is taking it pretty seriously (and those who weren't dropped out pretty quickly) but I've heard that when I go to Uni it will be totally different. eek!
ReplyDeleteWhat about when you've read the text, answered the tutorial questions, AND hauled yourself out of bed and into the car at some dreadful hour to get to uni for your 9am tutorial, and someone hijacks the tute talking all about a critic's take on the text? (having read the critic AND NOT THE TEXT!!) And most surprising - not a young straight out of schooler (if that's even a word) but a mature aged student who figured that since she "just didn't have the time to read the text" - the critic would do!?!?! Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!!! But what made it worse was the way the tutor encouraged her, leaving those of us who had actually done the REAL work seething!!
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