Whew! Last week was jam paaaaaacked. Here is what happened, bullet point style...
- Kids went back to school mid-week, therefore traffic slowed down considerably in my store.
- I started grad school on Wednesday.
- One of my assistants decided to accept a new job and only gave me a 6 day notice. Nice.
- My boss decided to visit, which I welcomed with open arms and practically started bawling when I let all my stress come flying out. (I didn't though, don't worry.)
- I spent over $200 on books for TWO classes.
- Then returned one of them because one of my classmates let us know it's $50 cheaper on Amazon. Thank you!
That's pretty much it... doesn't sound like much when I put it like that, but the week literally flew by for me. Wednesday felt like Monday afternoon to me. Seriously.
Grad school is definitely intense so far. But, in a good way.
I'm taking two classes. Educational Psychology (holy, reading. Good lord) and Introduction to Special Education. So far I can tell I am going to love them both. Especially the Ed. Psych class. The prof is my advisor and I absolutely adore her. I met with her way back in March to go over the program and see if it was a good fit for me and she was so helpful. I can't wait to get to know her better.
The group projects are a little out of control, in fact the projects in general are a little out of control. All I have to compare to is my bachelors where many of my classes were lecture, test, lecture, test until about the last year and a half when I was deep into my major, which considering I was not a design major and more a business type major I had very few classes where projects determined the bulk of my grade.
The only thing I am actually disappointed in is the fact that my special education class has undergrads in it. It sounds like this is quite the norm at Drake and maybe it's the norm at every university but I do not remember having graduate students in any of my classes at Iowa State. Does anyone know if this is common? The class is about 50/50 and we cover the same content, but we have a different syllabus and do a few different things (in addition) to what they do.
Work is going okay, I had an assistant manager quit last week so I am on the hunt for a new one. I actually breathed a sigh of relief when she turned in her notice (if you can even call that a notice) because she was jam packed with drama. I don't do well with hurtful gossip, which seemed to be one of her favorite pastimes. Yeaaaaahhhhh.... No, thanks!
Anyway, that is the skinny with me. What's up with you?
My University doesn't do the whole mixed class thing - to my knowledge atleast. None of my classes have had undergrad in them, but I have heard from others at work that they do that at another University close by. I wouldn't like it either.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, welcome to the world of grad school - group projects, presentations, papers, and tons and tons of reading! Blah! :)
Going back to school sounds sooo nice..I've considered it before -and still do but am not sure if its to go back because I really want to get another degree or if I feel like it would be an "escape" from the real world... I'm interested in hearing how being a grad student and working full time go for you! Good Luck! I'm rooting for you!
ReplyDeleteYou did have a whirlwind week! Good luck getting adjusted to grad school. It was a vastly different experience for me compared to undergrad... There is just so much group work and reading, but you'll get into the swing of things in no time!!
ReplyDeleteUndergrad students weren't allowed in our classes for my program. that would sort of annoy me, too!!
If you need help in Ed Psych let me know! I just finished that class :)
ReplyDeleteoh and what they dont usually tell you is, skimming is encouraged. Dont be scared to!
xo-Molly
www.givinganythingbutup.wordpress.com
Wow what a week for you. Have you also checked out www.half.com? They have a lot of CHEAP books. One semester in undergrad I had to buy 17 books one semester and ended up finding books on that website I needed for 75 cents.
ReplyDeleteboo hiss to ugs in grad classes. i don't think that should be allowed. at all. grad students have a larger fund of information than ug's do and the levels of motivation are often differing, and it's annoying to have ug-ish behavior in grad classes. i am also putting it out there that i'm an elitist, so i am not down with ug's in my classes!
ReplyDeleteand btw - NEVER buy books at the bookstore. ask upperclassmen and peruse the internet for the cheapest deal. the campus bookstore jacks prices up like whoa!
I remember a few of my classes having both undergrad and grad students in them but usually there wasn't a lot of undergrads.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that the drama girl is GONE!
a lot of the intro education classes have a mix of undergrad and graduate classes. we never had a different syallabus though.
ReplyDeleteI kind of miss going to school just a little bit! I took a couple of first year psychology courses when I was in school and thought it was all SO interesting! There was so much stuff to learn though that I did horrible come test time. Oops.
ReplyDeleteIs it really gossip if it's hurtful? Maybe it's just trash-talking at that point. Either way, I couldn't stand it either! I have enough of my own drama and issues, thanks!
I'm so glad you are enjoying school so much so far! I have to admit I'm a TAD sad not to be going back this year :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on school, can't wait to hear more about it. 6 days?!?! What a jerk.
ReplyDeleteoh no! sounds like a stressful week!
ReplyDeleteglad you are liking classes though..my grad school classes start this week too and i'm a little nervous!! just don't know what to expect. what program are you doing?
my undergrad special ed classes had some grad students in it too...they just had to do more work and their final project was twice as much as ours.
In my undergrad education classes at Drake, we always had grad students, and I was so ticked that they got to get graduate credit for nearly the same amount of work. :) Are you in the MAT program? And let me know if you need a classroom to observe - I have one for ya!
ReplyDeleteI took a lot of classes that also had grads in them. Actually, I think every class I took my senior year had graduate students. Interesting how that works! I'm glad you're loving school and hope the projects calm a bit! Good luck finding your assistant manager; I'd apply if I lived near you :) Even though I wouldn't be qualified lol
ReplyDelete