Just Kidding!

I would have to say that what Bartholomae says about inventing the university is fairly close to my experience, but I don’t think that it was as extremely difficult as he describes it for me to fall in line. My very first semester up at Weber really wasn’t that bad. I had just gotten married, so I decided to take some easier classes that I knew I would be able to pass. The unfortunate part about my assumption of ‘easy’ was that I was wrong. When the teacher was lecturing sometimes I just did not understand the point he was trying to make. Back in little old high school, the teacher taught you a concept point-blank and expected you to follow it. Now, I had to try to figure out what the concept was through examples, practice, and other such tools. I eventually got the hang of it. Then I started realizing that you didn’t have to come to class! Ok, so technically, everyone needs to go to class. But, when there was no immediate consequence from not showing up, I just decided to sleep in a few times – or more. Then, I started to realize that I couldn’t keep up as well in the class discussions which then in turn made me tune out which was the equivalent of not going. It was an awful, horrible way to prepare myself for future classes. This notion hit me hardest when I began my second semester. I went from two easy-ish classes, to a full schedule, while still working full time and marriage and such. Of course, my attendance was not the best...I felt too tired or that I could ‘catch up’ later on, but I didn’t. After that semester, I finally realized how you have to actually participate in the learning process to learn something! What a radical idea! I think one of my mistakes in the beginning was trying to go through college without any guidance. I got the information I needed on what classes I should take for my major/minor, and then I just kind of went for it. Later on I found out that you could actually meet with a counselor – just like you did in high school – and have them help you organize your schedule and introduce you to more resources. Did I finally go to a counselor when I found this out? No. If something can be difficult, I’ll find the most difficult way to accomplish that task. As time went on, I became less afraid of the direction I was going in and more willing to ask for help, but still no counselor. I decided to find out what I needed from other students that I had classes with! This actually worked out really well. I found out who the good teachers were for what, how to use some of the resources on campus, and I didn’t have to admit to a superior that I needed help. I think that this is one thing that the tutees may feel when they come to the Writing Center. Finally, they have someone who can understand what they’re going through! (Because, of course, their professors never went through the same thing) Now, I really do feel like I’m a natural at being a student! I may still have questions in the future and have something new thrown at me to ruin my little system, but I’m also aware of the ways the university works now.