Posted by alexandra_k on March 20, 2015, at 20:51:28
In reply to Re: i think 'suits' got better, posted by alexandra_k on March 20, 2015, at 20:25:45
The focus thing is just...
I'm finding it easy to be helpful. Which is good. Last year... I was sort of helpful... But sometimes I think I was a big mean, too. Because I was worried about other people taking advantage or me. Or about my getting a worse mark if other people did better. Because I know marks are partly comparative...
But I'm finding it easy to be helpful. Which is good. Like in bio lab... I did quite a bit better than my lab partner on the first one even though I told him everything I put down and I simply don't see how he could have done worse... But his attention to detail was less. He didn't understand that various things that I said were actually important. He didn't pay enough attention to where to end that line. Etc.
Or... I say something... And then the person continues on their merry way... So you just have to... Let it go. Let them do their thing. They'll learn eventually... Or not. I do understand that sometimes things are too demanding and you simply can't process anymore... I think I see a lot of that about... So... Even if I'm as helpful to others as I can be... I'll still be okay, I think.
Things are also a lot better designed this year. In both Biology and Chemistry. They've really put a lot more thought into designing labs. To make sure that you don't get screwed over if you get a crappy lab partner etc. Enough individual stuff to make it such that different people will be expected to have different values etc. So... People really do earn their marks by doing the work, or not.
The lecturers from last year were more of a mixed bag, too. This year... They've all been terrific thus far. Except for the social science-y papers... One of them... I can't tell if they guy used to be okay but he's a bit old now, or quite what his deal is... But I'll be damned if he isn't putting himself to sleep woffling on about things that are totally irrelevant for most of the time... Thoroughly disorganized lecture notes etc etc... The other of them... The lady really (really really really really really) tries... But everything is so over-produced. With mistakes in everything. So a new thing fixing up a mistake but then a new thing to fix up a mistake but then a new thing to fix up a mistake... Things like... Typo's on references (APA style is important) or copy-paste function is broken (oh my god end of the world people will need to type in that reference by hand) I... Don't understand how it can possibly take her quite so long to shuffle mistakes around... Management... Huh... Enough said...
Anyway... The whole 'health science' thing is a bit of a... Not me. No ways. I am... Not a good fit. That pathway doesn't have a good track record of getting people into med... Because most of the people on that pathway don't do well enough (especially in chem) to get a place... It is more of the 'equity' pathway... The thought is that it is more friendly to non-traditional candidates since you don't have to do bio-chem and physics... Instead of you have these woffly social science papers... The danger is that instead of giving people a manageable essay and letting them get on with it... You over-produce it so it takes far (far far) more time than it needs to... Takes up all that time that the other pathway people are getting to spend on studying for chemistry...
Anyway... I feel a little afraid... Because even if I'm in the top 5% or 10% of that pathway for biosci and chem... It still might not be enough. Because it is the bio-medders who are the real competition.. And I don't really see those kids, really. The health science pathway... It is fairly obvious from the get-go that the significant majority of them don't stand a chance. They can say it is the 'verbal pathway' but that is just the noise that you get at tech... B*llsh*t... I'm not seeing people who have terrific reading and writing skills -- I am seeing people who are in love with the sound of their own voices... And other people's voices, to be fair. People who can't bear for there to be no voices and who are terrified of solitude. That is very different from being verbally inclined. And so... Most people will do pretty badly on this essay... Because they don't know how to write essays... And while they have tried to make it easy for them in breaking it down... They've actually made it impossible by making it comprised of too many parts and by being confusing about what they are actually asking people to do and by making it too long and by providing readings that are very complex (too complex for first years) and too many of them (for first years) and by doing completely rubbish things like disallowing direct quotes across the board (because they don't think they can teach people to quote appropriately) when every single reading we have makes use of direct quote for the simple reason that: That is often the best way to say what some other author thinks / says. Especially when you are asked to say what some other author thinks / says.
Anyway... Enough moaning... How hard will it be to get a B- (about all I need for it) given that I can actually string sentences together? I just feel... Bad for the dumb people who are only made to be dumber...
Crabs... Crabs in a bucket... Nod and smile and try and not let it take up too much of your time... They aren't doing anybody any favours in helping people focus on what is important. For the obvious reason that...
Damn.
Please oh please oh please oh please let me get into med.
I am just... Disbelief... At how many people are unable to focus on what is important. Either in making a manageable task or in making progress on doing a manageable task. I really didn't think that that was such a rare and valuable skill...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1076978
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20150214/msgs/1077697.html