My first semester of grad school wasn’t as traumatizing as I thought it would be, but it definitely had its moments when my head wanted to explode. Surprisingly, those moments came in the middle of the semester, rather than at the end. Once I made my way through the maze of two group projects, things were surprisingly calm. Did I still procrastinate on papers? Of course. It’s what I do. (Actually, much of the research on one of them had been done far in advance, but the actual writing came at the last minute.)
There was one thing that plagued me throughout the semester, though, particularly in my intro to the profession class. Discussion boards. We had two discussion questions every week and oh my god, I hated responding to them. I totally understand the point. In an actual classroom setting, you would be having these discussions in class. The boards are supposed to be a substitute for that. And it’s not as though I have no experience on discussion boards. Hell, I’ve moderated a few in my day.
I guess the issue was that these particular discussion boards felt too formal; much more formal than an in-class discussion would have felt. It wasn’t the professor’s fault. Quite the contrary, in fact, because he was actually very laid back about things. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to meet him in person at orientation. I also think that personalities played a part in my discomfort level. There were a few individuals who just immediately rubbed me the wrong way. And I know that Internet communication can be deceiving. Believe me… I know!
Anyway, I was concerned about the discussion board, because it was 20 percent of our final grade, and I knew that I wasn’t contributing as much as I should have been. At least, I wasn’t contributing as much as everyone else seemed to be. Given that I’ve so far earned the full point value on each assignment, I wasn’t worried not passing. I just knew I wasn’t going to get the full 20 points.
And I didn’t. I received 18.5. I can live with that. However, I feel like I’ve been given a gift. (It *is* the holidays after all, right?) So, I’m making a promise, here on this blog, that next semester? I will make a stronger effort with those discussion boards. As much as I may hate it.