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October 22, 2003
I'm not exactly sure how to start this entry except, perhaps, by saying that it will be short. I know, I know. Go boo-hiss in the mirror. I'm in the middle of the hardest term I've had yet. There are a few reasons, really. One - classes. I'm taking two challenging 400-level classes, both requiring a ton of outside work. One is Teaching and Tutoring Writing, and it is essential for me to take so that I can garner a coveted Graduate Assistantship next year. In this one class, though, we have to keep a journal (4 pages typed/week), observe a class (and write one paper - 3 pages), design an assignment and discuss what you hope to accomplish with the assignment (3 pages), write a teaching philosophy paper (7 pages - first draft, 9 - second), read five text books, and complete our practicum which consists of teaching or tutoring writing 4 hours every week outside of class. That's one class. In ten weeks.
Another class - Writing Literary Non-Fiction - is equally challenging, requiring a grand total of 6 writing assignments that will equal about 20 pages, typed. That doesn't sound that bad, but the assignments, and subsequent critiquing, are brutal. Our first assignment was to do a movie review. Sounds simple enough, right? It had to be under 250 words. That's one page, typed, double-spaced. The second assignment? An "event", in under 750 words. In all of these we are expected to find the story, the way "through" the piece, and the way to best give the audience a sense of a story arc. It's really hard. Not to mention my professor is well-educated, well-published, and rarely notes what he thinks works in any piece. As he says, "I'm not here to coddle you. We have ten weeks, and you've got to learn to write by the end of it." No freakin' kidding.
He is otherwise gentle, and funny and self-deprecating and smart, so the lack of positive criticisms is forgivable. He's also approachable, and, though I've never had a class with him, has been my advisor for almost two years now. I'm considering applying for a special undergraduate research grant, and asking him to be my mentor on the project. But that's another story, for another entry.
My final class is a contemporary fiction class, but is taught as Women's Studies. I love the format and the discussions we have. We, however, have to read 5 books in two weeks, attend and report on two literary events, read another book of our choosing on our own, and report on it, and write a long essay for our final.
Somewhere in the middle of this insane quarter I am going to take the GRE. Actually, it's mid-Novemeber. I've been studying here and there for it, and I'm starting to feel real stress about it all. I have to finish getting my letters of recommendation, finish my personal statements and applications, polish my writing samples, and take this stupid GRE, all by the end of December.
John is also currently a full-time student at the same university I attend. He's a post-bac. student, doing undergraduate work in order to earn a Nursing degree. He quit his job, and now works part-time on the weekends. We both attend school during the week, but make sure one of us is here when Chloe and Ivan get home from school.
To add to all of this, Ivan was mainstreamed into a pre-school class. This should be good, right? I suppose it would be, if we thought he was really ready, or if he were to receive other services one-on-one (speech therapy, occupational therapy, for starters). However, at his IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) meeting, his teacher indicated that she felt that Ivan didn't really need much more one-on-one. As a token, she decided to "allow" him to stay in her classroom, where he gets the special attention and therapies, for two days a week until the end of October. For the past two weeks, though, he's been going to a pre-school program for two hours a day, three times a week. This is, allegedly, to help him socially, though I have serious doubts as to how six hours a week can begin to address Ivan's social needs. Ivan was also placed in a socialization class for autistic kids that meets for two hours once a week; this is the only thing that, after his schooling in his old classroom ends, will be close to one-on-one therapy.
We haven't been thrilled with his new pre-school, so we're covertly planning a move to the pre-school Chloe attended and Giselle attends. They've been open to taking Ivan and working with him. Again, this will just be something I'll have to address in another entry. Right now I just don't have the time or energy to devote myself to an entry that would do all of these events justice.
This is where I must take my leave of you. I'm hoping that I'll be able to update after the GREs (in about 4 weeks). Otherwise, you can leave a message for me on my TTM board, and I'll promise to answer it in a timely fashion.
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