blahblahbloglog

Friday, April 06, 2007

more hols, no less work

We are off again, college is closed down before it's got properly going again. It is a thoroughly unsettling time with all the coming and going, stopping and starting of courses that are probably not essential to the exam process soon to begin. Class size is therefore shrinking and motivation pales.
We still have not received basic information about the structure of some of our exams. I know some, if not all of them will be 3 hours long, because we are still on the old pattern. From next year, they will have 2 hour exams, which will count for fewer marks. How that squares with shorter essays, counting for more marks, I can't understand. I cannot believe that this is not dumbing down but they will have to do more essays, it is true.
So we had large essays, counting for very little and will sit heavy exams counting for most of our marks- varies between 60 and 75%...
Because the course structure has changed, we seem to have no past papers to work from and the lecturers from the first term are not always available to us, either by choice or because they are away on research projects. I have not been able to access any help from them either way. It is hard not to feel we are being made the victims of the changing system.
and I am still struggling to finish up coursework, with which I cannot get help either...
A Happy Easter or Chanukkah, etc., to all you people who don't have exams. and Good Luck to the rest.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

I simply do not believe it

...but our hols are over.Tomorrow, it's back to cram fresh information into our little brains.
At least I have jammed all my essays in the relevant places and have 'only' my presentation(substantially done) and the dissertation (which I am having a little trouble bringing in at under 7000 words), to be ready for the beginning of May.
Think I feel smug? - not so, because I have hardly begun to do my revision exercises.
I was derailed yesterday by realising that my cat was deathly ill......rushed to the vet, my diagnosis confirmed, I had to euthanase the poor beast, on her 15th birthday.
So now,I have no cat, no animal in the house at all for the first time in 15 years and very odd it is.
I cleared out all the stash of her bags of biscuit and tinned food, that I had built up to keep her in food until after the exams, her cat litter and bowls and put it all in the shed until I can find someone to come and collect it.
The offspring watched all the action and finally said: 'Would you clear my stuff out that quickly,if I died?'
I was speechless.