Back to School 2014

[Callie]

It's that time of year again! School is starting at many learning institutions and now is the time to share your educational activities.

 

I was supposed to graduate last semester, but wound up in the hospital and had to withdraw. I have to wait to take my needed spring classes again, so this is a free semester for me. I'm taking:

 

First Year Spanish I

Mechanics of Solids

Linear Algebra

Computer Science I

Analytical Chemistry

 

I'm also finishing my Principles of Bioengineering course that I took an incomplete in.

[A less presumptuous name.]

Physical Chemistry I - Quantum Mechanics

Intermediate Organic Chemistry (the Chem department's equivalent of biochemistry)

Statistics

Lighting Design for the Stage.

 

 

Two required classes, one good class, and one fun class. It should be a good term.

 

 

Excalibur, the grad student I work with detested taking analytical chemistry as an undergrad. I hope it goes well for you.

[Goldengirl]

I've relatively recently decided that my area of focus in history is going to be modern Chinese history when I go for my doctorate. I think that explains some of the class choices I've made for this semester.

 

Chinese 101 - I assume this will teach me Mandarin.

Historical Research and Methods - this is a giant historiography course that is a prerequisite for my department's capstone program, which is a semester-long culminating project for your major. For history, it's a narrow research focus on a broad topic. For instance, last year the topic was genocide and mass killing.

Relaxation Techniques - a freebie class that involves, at least sometimes, sleeping. For credit.

Existentialism - because my school requires a philosophy course and yet almost exclusively only lets non-majors take survey classes. This was the best I could get without spending a semester trying to go from Heroclitus to Said.

Intro to Holocaust and Genocide Studies - this is a new minor being offered at my school. The introductory course lit covers the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, the Khmer Rouge, and more, so it's trying to take a wide stance on the topic.

[Callie]

Excalibur, the grad student I work with detested taking analytical chemistry as an undergrad. I hope it goes well for you.

The impression I get from friends who have taken it is that the class requires a great deal of accuracy in the laboratory. Lab is two days a week, so there's a lot of writing and data analysis to do. I hope I'll survive, since it's my only strenuous class this semester.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Excalibur

[adc.]

Highschool stuff:

 

Math: Calculus Statistics Advanced Algebra and Trigo

Science: Physics

English: English stuff e.g. proper grammar

Filipino: Pluma and Obra Maestra

Soc Sci: Economics

MAPEH: Music Arts PE Health

TLE: Technical Livelihood Education

Computer: Flash Programming

[Actaeon]

It's my second year post college and y'all are making me nostalgic. I have the education beat, though, so I've had a taste of back to school.

[macdude22]

That's when I realized how I am the old having graduated high school in 2001 and undergrad in 2006............. Thanks kids.

[Randomizer]

That's when I realized how I am the old having graduated high school in 2001 and undergrad in 2006............. Thanks kids.

That's when I realized how I am old having dropped out of high school in 1978, did undergrad in 1982, and grad in 1990 …….. Thanks macdude22.

[Callie]

Ah, the sweet air of oneupmanship. Surely Randomizer is not the only contender in the ring?

[Edgwyn]

Randomizer has me beat, despite my fairly large age advantage/disadvantage over Macdude22 and the others. There are some others who can chime in.

[Triumph]

Kids these days.

 

I was remarking a couple days ago at how incredibly young college students have become.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Triumph
And it happened so suddenly. One day I was a college student too, and then the next day I'm getting close to thirty and college students are these ridiculously young kids! What's the deal???

[macdude22]

That's when I realized how I am old having dropped out of high school in 1978, did undergrad in 1982, and grad in 1990 …….. Thanks macdude22.

 

I feel so young basking in your unadulterated oldness. Thank you sir, thank you.

[Vexivero]

That's your idea of fun? Taking 6 courses that don't even count to your degree?

 

Are you rich, and/or don't need a job? I would go job searching, or spend a free semester getting caught up on videogames, or work on my hobbies. Anything but 10 hours a day doing schoolwork.

[Kelandon]

Federal Courts

Employment Discrimination

Corporations

The History of the Effort to Achieve Legal Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People in the United States

 

The LGBT one is basically "story time with Barney Frank." It's pretty awesome. The others make up, in total, a pretty good liberal, public interest-y semester of law.

[A less presumptuous name.]

That's your idea of fun? Taking 6 courses that don't even count to your degree?

 

Are you rich, and/or don't need a job? I would go job searching, or spend a free semester getting caught up on videogames, or work on my hobbies. Anything but 10 hours a day doing schoolwork.

I assume you're referring to Excalibur's post. I think he's doing something productive with the term, certainly more productive than video games. And those courses may give him an edge over other graduates when looking at other programs or jobs.

[Vexivero]

I assume you're referring to Excalibur's post. I think he's doing something productive with the term, certainly more productive than video games. And those courses may give him an edge over other graduates when looking at other programs or jobs.

Well yeah, it's obviously very productive. I am saying that if it were myself, it would be a ridiculous notion that I wouldn't even consider attempting, especially on an "off semester". I was having a stressful enough time with 4 classes, and they were business courses; some of those sound like they are more work intensive than what I was taking. Plus, classes run approximately $1000 where I go and it is not a big name university. I would not be fond of taking a class I did not need just for the experience. And I do not think a first year spanish class will be very helpful; if you are intent on putting on your resume that you understand a second language, you will need much more than just a semester of spanish. And math is a subject that if you do not keep up with it, you forget most of the concepts after a semester or two. At least that's how it is for me

[Jerakeen]

 

The LGBT one is basically "story time with Barney Frank." It's pretty awesome. The others make up, in total, a pretty good liberal, public interest-y semester of law.

Is that what Barney Frank is doing now?! That is awesome.

[Kelandon]

Is that what Barney Frank is doing now?! That is awesome.

Yeah, he's adjunct faculty at my school. It's pretty great, because he really doesn't have any reason to care what anyone else thinks of him anymore, so he's pretty free to say and do whatever he wants. It makes him even funnier than usual, if you can believe it.

[Randomizer]

Plus you are getting it from some one that has actual experience rather than academic.

[Callie]

That's your idea of fun? Taking 6 courses that don't even count to your degree?

 

Are you rich, and/or don't need a job? I would go job searching, or spend a free semester getting caught up on videogames, or work on my hobbies. Anything but 10 hours a day doing schoolwork.

They're mostly easy classes. I'm a chemical engineering major, so lots of homework is the norm for me. I'd rather fluff my transcript than sit around for a semester.

 

Also, I intend to take two semester of Spanish as a basis for teaching myself the language. I excel at foreign language.

[Vexivero]

They're mostly easy classes. I'm a chemical engineering major, so lots of homework is the norm for me. I'd rather fluff my transcript than sit around for a semester.

 

Also, I intend to take two semester of Spanish as a basis for teaching myself the language. I excel at foreign language.

Sounds good, you're a lot smarter than me ha

[Edgwyn]

Vexivero, in my experience, I definitely forgot a lot of concepts from all of my college classes after a semester or two (sometimes even less). However, it seems to be a lot easier to re-teach myself the concepts and classes that I had in college a long time ago then the ones that I didn't have. Over the last two years I have been preparing for some certification tests and even though there are things that I was taught, but do not remember how to do, they come back a whole bunch faster than all of the things that I was never taught. I find the same thing in helping my daughter with her math and programming homework. I do have to re-familiarize myself with the techniques and concepts, but it comes back pretty quickly.

 

Barney Frank is definitely an interesting person. The fact that he had a completely secure district allowed him to have a freedom of action for his policies that most politicians do not. He would definitely make an interesting instructor.

[Kelandon]

The fact that he had a completely secure district allowed him to have a freedom of action for his policies that most politicians do not.

Back when he started in Congress, in the 1980's, this was probably true (though there were safe seats even then), but it's definitely not true anymore. The majority of members of Congress represent safe seats.

 

Now, a safe seat is safe for the party, not safe for the incumbent — as people like Bob Inglis and, more recently, Eric Cantor have learned to their dismay — so nobody's really completely secure. But most politicians today don't have to worry about getting attacked from the center.

[Callie]

*2015 bump*

 

I'm only taking three classes this semester; I'm completing what I should have finished a year ago.

 

Process Control

Unit Operations Lab II

Design Project (a capstone course)

[A less presumptuous name.]

Inorganic Chemistry I

Physical Chemistry II - Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics

Experimental Physical Chemistry

 

I really should get back to my homework...

[Goldengirl]

Chinese 102 - return of the characters

 

Tibet in Fact and Fiction - a fancy title for "Tibetan history in the 20th century"

 

The English Language - 1 part grammar, 1 part history of the English language, 1 part contemporary issues (gendered pronouns, etc.)

 

British literature in the 19th century - woo?

[Forget it]

I hate how many retailers don't tend to realize that January is also "back to school" time -- thence begins the scavenger hunt for good notebooks and other supplies.

[ĐªгŦĦ Єяŋϊε]

Target tends to do back to school in July and by the time you show up for school shopping in September they are setting up their winter selection and all school things are long gone.

[Kelandon]

The last day of a three-week course I'm taking called State Constitutional Law (with Jeff Sutton! — this is kind of odd for several reasons) is tomorrow.

 

Then I have an even more odd semester of mostly doing clinical work and taking a night class called Government Lawyering. And writing a paper that serves as a kind of Master's thesis.