college

Why do teachers give an assignment before telling their students how it should be done? Is there any reason not to share expectations until after the submission deadline has passed? It may be true that, when left to their own devices, most students are terrible writers. But when that natural [dis]ability is paired with an unclear understanding of the requirements of an assignment, failure can be the only expected outcome.

One of my high school teachers was apparently convinced that failure is the best way to teach a student how to write. She took sadistic pleasure in returning papers dripping with red ink. Essays were due every Friday, so the class was given plenty of opportunities to fail. I believe that the class--an honors English class--earned a C- average on the first couple of assignments.

things used to be simpler. elementary school. when we used to agonize over awkwardly duplicated, handwritten quizzes. copied in hazy purple ink. bleached white by the sunlight.

of course the tests weren't as difficult back then. once the teacher left room for our lopsided, unevenly spaced cursive, there wasn't much space for questions.

by middle school the tests were getting longer, though. and as agonizing as they were, you could take some consolation in the fact that they'd take a while to get back to you. hand grading tests took time.

the sting of a poor test was mostly gone by the time you finally got your score.

it's interesting how even though people change, they stay exactly the same...

last night i was in my kitchen. i introduced myself to the girl standing next to me... but before she could tell me her name i recognized her... she lived in the same apartment complex as i did. way back in 2000. used to come over a lot. i think she had a thing for my roommate.

that's right, thinks i, she was a swing dancer. but i don't think we danced together much.

the oldest university in the united states. around since like 1639. that's old.

i met a 20th century american literature grad student. he was walking out of the english department office with the biggest dog i've seen in a long time.

quote of the day? "it's great. it's like being an aristocrat... without the power. or the money."

maybe i'll do a PhD in humanities.

just finished a test that i only knew half the answers to. i guess the bonus to that is that i only took fifteen minutes to finish it. stopped to check out my score on the monitors on the way out of the testing center, and it turns out that fifteen minutes of my time (plus about ten minutes of review) was worth 80 percent. i am such a slacker.

funny thing was, there was another kid that had just spent a few hours on a chem 105 exam. and he pretty much wanted to kill himself over his score. 'specially since he spent twelve hours studying for it...

moral of the story? i'm just glad that life's not fair.

there's a point when studying for a test that you reach the maximum level of preparedness. further study is trivial, as it will not increase the odds of getting a good grade. at this point, all that's left is to wait.

i reached that point at about 9: last night. and i cant take the test until 3: this afternoon.

so i wait.

and wait.

wish me luck.

free!

free as in freedom.

not free as in without cost.

i'm done. no more school this year. and i think i even passed all my finals.

farewell, cruel world.