In several earlier posts I have noted systemic failures at the University of Minnesota. In August, 2006, my misadventures began. By the end of September, my position in the Writing Center ended in disaster and a complaint to the university relating to the experience. The university has been less and…
Category: Education
Posts on teaching, studying, educational systems, and institutions.
Thanks to a complete breakdown in the University’s system and a professor I will never forgive, I endured a trip to the Office for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity. It was a stupid situation and far too much for my system. Before the meeting I was already in sorry shape.…
I came to the University of Minnesota’s Department of Rhetoric thanks to a DOVE (Diversity of Views and Experiences) Fellowship. My wife and I relocated from California because we had the impression the department and university would be inviting, supportive, and, most of all, a place where I would not…
Not even two months into the year and I am exhausted. I’m possibly the most exhausted I have been since moving to Minnesota. It is the mix of university nonsense, cold weather, aching body, renovation disorder, and so forth. When one of our “kids” became ill Monday night, it was…
It would be an understatement to write that my time in Minnesota has been a challenge. After this most miserable, humiliating week, I spent today wondering if I am capable of finishing my university program. My self-doubt and self-criticism were familiar to me, and to my wife. It is depressing,…
I walked out of a class tonight, angry and frustrated. There is a great deal I could write about how I feel and what annoyed me, but the essential information is that there is a limit to the stresses I can tolerate. Even though I speak on surviving college, the…
At the start of every semester, I suffer from extreme anxiety. I dislike learning how new classes will function. I also have a general distaste for classes that seem to repeat the same basic themes and topics. As a graduate student in any given field, the primary figures in the…
November 29, 2007, was a lousy day. I did poorly, very poorly, on an exam in statistics. The damage to self-esteem was fairly deep. I’m not supposed to do poorly on any test, in any class. I’ve seldom done well with written tests — it is painful to write for…
In the last two weeks, I spoke at two universities, prepared two elaborate brochures, and continued analyzing research dealing with online communities and autism. To be blunt: I’m exhausted. And yet, tonight or tomorrow I will submit another proposal to present my research to a conference. Though I am tired,…
I missed some school deadlines. I know excuses are inexcusable, and being even a week or two off schedule bothers me. But, the last few weeks have been miserable. New Glasses. I’ve never worn prescription glasses before, but I ended up needing them to deal with some strange color separations…