Grad school in itself is challenging. Definitely not what undergraduate was. In undergrad years (depending on your major), you didn’t really have to know what was going on to get by in class and get a decent grade. If you were really good, you even got a good grade for not specifically knowing what you’re talking about. Grad school is NOT like that at all. Which I guess is a good thing. You can’t slack off and you are actually charged with learning.
I’ve felt this challenge from the first grad class that I took as a masters student. This semester, I’m enrolled in a class called “Legal Issues in Higher Education” though law stuff can get a little dry (if that’s not your area of interest), this (required) class comes highly recommended because the professor is SO good at teaching it. I could tell from day 1 though, that this was going to be my most challenging class yet.
I’m going to admit a few things here that are a bit embarrassing but it’s the truth. I try to be as transparent as I can possibly be in my blogs. Now, students and teachers say that you don’t necessarily have to know law in order to do well in this class. After two classes, I disagree. Even if you don’t necessarily know law, you have to have an understanding and knowledge of U.S. history to know the relevance of some laws…which I don’t. I know very little about U.S. history. Mostly because I didn’t live in the U.S. for most of my schooling career and the 1 high school course in U.S. history that I took was too overwhelming for me to understand. I grew up learning Jamaican history and couldn’t grasp what was being taught to me. The other (smaller) reason is that I don’t keep up with current events. Not that I don’t want to, but life is busy. I hardly have time to read a newspaper or be able to watch news stories. And the small amount of times that I do…how do I find a station or news article that doesn’t have biased views? *sigh*
The good and bad thing about this new class is that there are no tests at all, just writing assignments. These writing assignments will not be graded. What he’s looking for is improvement throughout the semester and also being very involved in classroom discussion. That’s good because I don’t have to memorize laws and tests give me anxiety. However, that’s bad because I’m not much of a talker. I’m naturally very shy and thus very quiet in class. I learn best by taking in what everyone is saying, sitting, reflecting and then eventually forming my own opinion. So now I’m forced to talk more in class or that might affect my grade but at the same time, I usually have nothing to say in moment because I don’t necessarily understand concepts due to lack of U.S history (e.g. a class discussion was based on the U.S. Constitution. Have I heard of it before? Yes. Do I know what it is? No. Do I know what it says? No.). Yes I’m serious..it’s that bad. Makes me sit back and wonder how I’m going to succeed in this class.
Regardless, I try not to worry, because worry indicates that I don’t trust my God who is bigger than all of this. Will this class require extra work? Heck yea! I need to write down things in class (like the U.S. Constitution) that I don’t know about, go home and do some research and figure out what it says; educate myself. God never gives us anything that we can’t handle. For every challenge or situation we must go through, He has already given us the tools to succeed. It’s just a measure of asking him and tapping into the resources that are already available to me. So bring on the challenge! I will win. God says so. I’ll follow up with my praise report at the end of the semester.
Just incase anyone is experiencing the same thing, here are a few verses that shape my thoughts:
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.“
Luke 12:25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
-Tasha
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