I tried to get back into school yesterday, I really did, but the incompetence of the university system that caused me to run screaming fifteen years ago is still very much alive, well, and still in complete control. No matter who you speak to and no matter what their title may be, I can guarantee you that any information you receive from that person, while it may be 100% correct at the time of their telling you, will become 100% wrong by the time you try to act upon it, no matter how fast you try to act. I am convinced the purpose of the university system is not so much to educate a person, but to prepare them for the endless and mind numbing world of bureaucracy they are about to enter into. I am a CDO (or college drop-out) and have felt the sting of my lack of formal education, particularly since I began blogging and realized how few of the grammatical laws I actually remember. It bothers me greatly considering how many actual writers read this blog, and I decided it was time to go and re-learn and try to be an actual writer instead of a meager blogger. No offense to the bloggers out there, but our informal style of writing can really damage one’s style if it is the only way one tends to write. It works online, but would anyone really read a novel written in bloggese?
Back to the subject at hand (these tangents wouldn’t really work either as another example, but that is even more distracting at this moment), I really felt the desire to return to school and yesterday I took the day off work and tried my damnedest and I failed my damnedest. I am not sure if it is because it is summer and they are short on staff or if it is just another example of G-d’s sense of humor when it comes to my life, but they have made it harder to audit a class than it logically should ever be. I mean, if I am not taking the class for a grade, but simply for self-education AND I am willing to pay full price for the class as if I were taking it for a grade, then why do I need to take placement tests before signing up for said class? Especially considering I already took the class years ago which is why I have to audit it in the first place (seems you cannot retake a class you passed). And even if I do have to take the placement tests, why did it take FOUR HOURS for someone to bother telling me that small, but very important detail?! Yes, four hours. You read that correctly. Well, four hours, fifteen windows of talking to various “can I help you” people, twice meeting with advisors, and then trying to sign up for the class before anyone said “we have a problem, you need placement testing first.” I left very fed up and am still upset about it today. A little back-story is needed once again as is par for the course in Kanrei Tales.
I dropped out of college in 1994 with 184 credit hours and no AA degree. I was the victim of a never-ending stream of various advisors saying to me “yes, you are ready to get your degree…..oh wait a minute. You forgot to take this class.” This happened for, let’s see, I started college in 1989, so that would mean five years, or ten straight semesters of this nonsense happening again and again. I got a “D” in a class that the grade was made up of only three tests. I got a “C” on all three tests, but, as the teacher said, “someone had to fail.” Last I checked, I was one credit shy of my AA degree, and that is a biology lab. Why don’t I just take the lab and get my degree? I tried…four times tried and four times failed. A lab is rather difficult without the class attached to it you see. I cannot use my knowledge of the various animal groups to divide these three species unless I actually learn the various animal groups, but I can’t take biology because I took it in 1989 when there was no lab and got a B. They would not let me retake a class I got a B in.
Whew….I feel better now. I am not sure how much of that is grammatically correct (I tried to enroll, but couldn’t) so please excuse any errors you may see. I am not even sure how much of that makes sense, but it needed to come out. You can see that I really need a grammar refresher course. I also need a cigarette now, only I don’t smoke anymore…
6 comments:
What a mess. Its almost entertaining in its absurdity. I always have to ask what is so important about having the degree. Do you need it to get some job? I did get an AA but never had interest in a full four year degree; didn't see the point. Not that there weren't things that might be interesting to learn; I could do that other ways. Guess you have to ask yourself what you're really trying to achieve and if it's something besides having 'the degree' than are there other ways to achieve that goal? If I wanted to be a better writer, I'd probably approach it from other angles: writers clubs, organizations, private training, etc.
I don't want a degree per say, but I would like some education. I am smart, but could know more. I love to learn now where I didn't when I was younger. The education was going to be for myself. Your "other angles" are great ideas though I never thought of. I wonder if they have writer's groups here.
I'm a CDO, too. Personally, I think you do just fine, but if getting the degree is your dream, then I say buck that bureaucracy and go for it.:)
I am not after a degree, just more education which can never hurt.
by the way, your grammar was fine.the right classes could be fun but your writing is your style and just fine. It makes your mother smile, but then again I am your mother.
Glad you didn't have the cig
VE love the idea of the group
All I can say is ... I love the picture of the kid; D
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