I'm a little bit tired of how frequently my cohort likes to (as the Mormons say) "bear testimony" of how much they love each other and the programme and how we work together, etc. etc. etc.
Cool. Got it.
It doesn't serve much to continue talking and TALKING about it.
And it's tough because I can't invalidate someone else's experience or opinion-- their views are all valid. But for example, Robert started talking about his friend who is in a 3-year course and how glad he is that he's in a 2-year programme because he'd rather "fast-track" his progress. But our course isn't a "fast track." And it shouldn't be. And I certainly can't say that I feel like I'm on a "fast track" since one Shakespeare scene in acting class and working on one Shakespeare play hasn't really given us a lot of exposure to the entire era. The whole point is to find and explore and discover in depth.
What our programme is is immersive-- or at least it should be. We aren't going to "be tested" on the reading list, but the discoveries we make in the reading should be reflective in our work. We don't have many traditional assignments due each week, but the work we do between sessions should indicate a level of focus ongoing outside of class. I was attracted to this programme specifically because it expects the students to do the work of a 3-year course in two years. To me there's nothing "fast track" about that. There's a lot of trust and responsibility put on us in that regard. And the progress I feel we've made as a cohort this term I'm not sure reflects the depth we could have reached in ten weeks. I think we've "fast tracked" it in the sense of being a little bit shallow, breezing along and taking advantage of free evenings and no papers to write.
I know I haven't done everything I can either. I know I've allowed my mindset to be somewhat swayed by the fact that I'm fairly confident in at least some sessions that people won't take it very seriously, won't necessarily have done the work throughout the week, won't necessarily even be completely memorized, and that there will be very little consequence for that, particularly since we aren't being assessed on much this term. I know I've fallen into that trap. It's a tough one too, because I see myself doing it and I'm annoyed by myself, but I'm also faced with the reality that it's hard to reach new depths for myself in every session (some it's certainly possible, and I do my best in those to push myself) when I spend time waiting for others to catch up, simply because they haven't thought about the session since the previous week. I can coast on that. We all can.
It makes me really frustrated. And energized to do better.
But I don't know how to push my friends to expect more of themselves too. I suppose that will come naturally the progression of the course in each term, if for no other reason that we'll have assessments in more and more classes to look forward to. But I think more can be expected of us. All eight of us are capable of SO MUCH MORE than we've been displaying. We are MASTERS students, which means we should be producing MASTERS-level work, whether or not it's even expected of us. We should go home every day feeling exhausted and spent, but responsible for the work we still need to do before coming back to class the next morning.
This shouldn't be a "fast track."
I need to do a lot of reflecting over the break to take ownership of what I can do better. And I will do those things, for the sake of myself and also the cohort. But I hope I can look forward to the support of my fellow students to do the same.
What our programme is is immersive-- or at least it should be. We aren't going to "be tested" on the reading list, but the discoveries we make in the reading should be reflective in our work. We don't have many traditional assignments due each week, but the work we do between sessions should indicate a level of focus ongoing outside of class. I was attracted to this programme specifically because it expects the students to do the work of a 3-year course in two years. To me there's nothing "fast track" about that. There's a lot of trust and responsibility put on us in that regard. And the progress I feel we've made as a cohort this term I'm not sure reflects the depth we could have reached in ten weeks. I think we've "fast tracked" it in the sense of being a little bit shallow, breezing along and taking advantage of free evenings and no papers to write.
I know I haven't done everything I can either. I know I've allowed my mindset to be somewhat swayed by the fact that I'm fairly confident in at least some sessions that people won't take it very seriously, won't necessarily have done the work throughout the week, won't necessarily even be completely memorized, and that there will be very little consequence for that, particularly since we aren't being assessed on much this term. I know I've fallen into that trap. It's a tough one too, because I see myself doing it and I'm annoyed by myself, but I'm also faced with the reality that it's hard to reach new depths for myself in every session (some it's certainly possible, and I do my best in those to push myself) when I spend time waiting for others to catch up, simply because they haven't thought about the session since the previous week. I can coast on that. We all can.
It makes me really frustrated. And energized to do better.
But I don't know how to push my friends to expect more of themselves too. I suppose that will come naturally the progression of the course in each term, if for no other reason that we'll have assessments in more and more classes to look forward to. But I think more can be expected of us. All eight of us are capable of SO MUCH MORE than we've been displaying. We are MASTERS students, which means we should be producing MASTERS-level work, whether or not it's even expected of us. We should go home every day feeling exhausted and spent, but responsible for the work we still need to do before coming back to class the next morning.
This shouldn't be a "fast track."
I need to do a lot of reflecting over the break to take ownership of what I can do better. And I will do those things, for the sake of myself and also the cohort. But I hope I can look forward to the support of my fellow students to do the same.
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