I was planning on writing in this blog on a daily basis. I really was. But two factors have come up that changes that.
No Credit? Wah!
I was hoping to use this blog as an “Independent Project” toward my degree, and that’s not going to happen. It’s not “academic enough” to qualify. That’s certainly true, but you’d think that since the school could use it for advertising for years to come they’d find a way to make it work. Oh well, there are still other options for the credits I need. I’m still going to do the blog, primarily because I want to do it, but I’m not going to stress out over it if I don’t have to. Which brings me to the second point:
This workload is killing me!
Three classes and a Practicum doesn’t sound like much. It really doesn’t; I have always taken three or even four classes a quarter in the past without any difficulty. The problem here is that they compress the classes in the summertime down to five weeks instead of ten. Does that mean they cut out a bunch of stuff? No! It means you have to do the same workload twice as fast. Instead of taking four classes, it’s more like taking EIGHT. My time management skills are being put to the test like never before. On top of all that, since I am taking it at the Master’s level, I will have several additional papers and projects that I have not even begun yet.
The written assignments have been no problem, but where I run into trouble is all the reading. My problem is that in my previous courses I got into the habit of actually DOING all the assigned readings. I diligently read every word and actually try to understand the material. This is teaching, not nuclear physics, so it’s not especially complicated or difficult material, but I am a very careful reader. I would actually feel guilty if I skipped a chapter or skimmed too quickly.
I would strongly recommend that if you are thinking about doing something like taking the TEFL program at a university, try to take it in a regular session, not a compressed one.
On the bright side, two weeks down, three to go. Or even better: two more school days until the halfway point. I’m starting to think that going to Japan and actually doing teaching will probably feel like a break compared to the intensive training program.
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August 24th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Yes, I love how institutes of higher ed are always concerned with whether something is academic enough or not. Thing is, all learning is valuable and important. In fact, I have said during my years of teaching that in university English composition classes, I am teaching a second language–academic language. It’s a language only academics use. So when does something become academic? When you write “however” instead of “but”? Or “pedagogy” instead of “teaching”??? I am afraid that emphasis on academic English scares a lot of talented learners away from pursuing college degrees. I wish higher ed and real life could work on finding a more common ground.