Freshmen: Dude, Where's My Brain?
Aug. 18th, 2006 06:27 amI'm really, really tired. Part of it is just how long this week has been, but I don't think the Benadryl I took last night helped too much in that department either. Oh well. I had to take it. We have ants- the nasty red fire variety- and they bit me. I'd forgotten how much those things hurt! We have a topical Benadryl pen I've been using on 'em, but I figured taking some internally would make the bites go away faster. And they hurt.
But, yeah, very out of it this morning. And I don't want to go to school. Not because school is really bad- well, my class isn't. I like my teacher, I understand the material we're covering, and better still, my teacher is a nice, sane person who, unlike my last math teacher, whose class I dropped, actually understands that I do have rights as a disabled person. When I brought him the forms from Disabled Students, he was like "Sure, okay, great, no problem!" Which was really really nice to see.
No, the problem with school, as usual this time of year, is the freshmen. They're back, they're still a menace, and they're driving me so nuts I think we need two sets of sidewalks and hallways on campus. One for those of us who know where we're going, and one for the freshmen. I mean, I understand if you're a new student, then you're not going to know where things are right away. But it wouldn't kill you to look at a campus map sometime before the first day of class. And I don't know about anybody else, but I always made sure, especally if the campus or the building my classes were in was unfamiliar, that I went to school usually the weekend before to orient myself. You can't always get in the buildings, of course- though sometimes you can, with teachers and janitors and such in and out getting stuff up- but you can at least figure out, oh, I don't know, that you're standing at the math building, the rooms on the first floor are the 100's, second floor has the 200's, and if your class is in a room with a number lower than one hundred, it's down in the basement.
Or, you know, at the very least, make some attempt to figure out which buildings you need to get to are which.
Overheard on the first day:
"Okay, so my class is in the English building, I guess."
"They have an English building?"
There were more, but I can't remember them now. I swear, I still think the high school exit exam is unfair to people who speak English as a second language and/or have certain disabilities, but for middle class white kids? They need to make that sucker harder. We are graduating some dumb people, I swear.
At least my class seems to have no freshmen in it- the good thing about upper division math. Though some of them are still not too keen. I think I'm one of about ten people out of thirty who's bought the book already (I bought it the first day, of course, knowing that this is a college math class, so we'd have homework the first day) and one of probably an even smaller number who's done the homework.
Just 'cause it's not due till the day of the test doesn't mean you should put it off till the night before, guys.
That said, I'm tired and I need a weekend. I really miss sleeping in two days in a row. And, yes, I need to catch up a bit on the homework- but at least I started it.
But, yeah, very out of it this morning. And I don't want to go to school. Not because school is really bad- well, my class isn't. I like my teacher, I understand the material we're covering, and better still, my teacher is a nice, sane person who, unlike my last math teacher, whose class I dropped, actually understands that I do have rights as a disabled person. When I brought him the forms from Disabled Students, he was like "Sure, okay, great, no problem!" Which was really really nice to see.
No, the problem with school, as usual this time of year, is the freshmen. They're back, they're still a menace, and they're driving me so nuts I think we need two sets of sidewalks and hallways on campus. One for those of us who know where we're going, and one for the freshmen. I mean, I understand if you're a new student, then you're not going to know where things are right away. But it wouldn't kill you to look at a campus map sometime before the first day of class. And I don't know about anybody else, but I always made sure, especally if the campus or the building my classes were in was unfamiliar, that I went to school usually the weekend before to orient myself. You can't always get in the buildings, of course- though sometimes you can, with teachers and janitors and such in and out getting stuff up- but you can at least figure out, oh, I don't know, that you're standing at the math building, the rooms on the first floor are the 100's, second floor has the 200's, and if your class is in a room with a number lower than one hundred, it's down in the basement.
Or, you know, at the very least, make some attempt to figure out which buildings you need to get to are which.
Overheard on the first day:
"Okay, so my class is in the English building, I guess."
"They have an English building?"
There were more, but I can't remember them now. I swear, I still think the high school exit exam is unfair to people who speak English as a second language and/or have certain disabilities, but for middle class white kids? They need to make that sucker harder. We are graduating some dumb people, I swear.
At least my class seems to have no freshmen in it- the good thing about upper division math. Though some of them are still not too keen. I think I'm one of about ten people out of thirty who's bought the book already (I bought it the first day, of course, knowing that this is a college math class, so we'd have homework the first day) and one of probably an even smaller number who's done the homework.
Just 'cause it's not due till the day of the test doesn't mean you should put it off till the night before, guys.
That said, I'm tired and I need a weekend. I really miss sleeping in two days in a row. And, yes, I need to catch up a bit on the homework- but at least I started it.