So next week is midterms. That means this week everyone has been freaking out about tests -- as if we haven't already been in school and taking tests for 17 years. My 3 happen to be packed into 2 days which is a pain in my butt, but I would rather have them over quick than drag out this process.
So for Law, we're going to be given a set of circumstances and then have to decide which of the federal laws we have been talking about for the last 6 weeks are applicable, apply them and argue and outcome. Pretty standard for a law class and pretty much what we've been doing in class all semester.
For Architectural History, we've got two sets of comparisons, an essay, and some slide ID. Again pretty standard for any Art or Architectural History class. The part that get tricky is that we've been inundated with info for this class including 2 new styles within the last 2 class periods. And Bob wants us to go beyond what he calls "comparing in isolation" which would be like saying, "this building is made of brick while this other one is made of wood." He wants us to push a little farther to the point of "because this building is made of brick, it's representative of the influence of English building styles in America while the fact that this building is made of wood is indicative of the fact that Americans were developing their own building traditions based on available materials." Now don't I just sound like a genius :)
But people have been complaining up a storm! Geeze Louise! They were all just memorization robots in undergrad! From what I've gathered, they went to the "here are a bunch of dates and events, memorize because there's a test next Tuesday" university where as my history undergrad experience (and CSB|SJU experience in general) was more focused on the reasons for events based on the socio-historical context of the time. Much more critical thinking, much less regurgitation.
Before coming to grad school, I was worried about the level of academic rigor, but kept hearing that CSB|SJU had prepared me better for this experience than I knew. I was a Doubting Thomas, but they were right.
That's why I have no qualms about taking a study break to vent/write this post because I spent the last 4 years learning how to study for these kinds of tests. Yeah, I'm stressed. These midterms count for a large portion of my grade because we don't have regular assignments, but I see no reason to go catatonic and lock myself in my room only to emerge Monday morning looking like a feral dog.
So now it's back to the 120 flashcards of random buildings and trying to keep the NHPA, NEPA, and Section 4(f) straight in my head, but come Monday and Tuesday, I'll be a cool cucumber. Thank the Lord for CSB|SJU.
So for Law, we're going to be given a set of circumstances and then have to decide which of the federal laws we have been talking about for the last 6 weeks are applicable, apply them and argue and outcome. Pretty standard for a law class and pretty much what we've been doing in class all semester.
For Architectural History, we've got two sets of comparisons, an essay, and some slide ID. Again pretty standard for any Art or Architectural History class. The part that get tricky is that we've been inundated with info for this class including 2 new styles within the last 2 class periods. And Bob wants us to go beyond what he calls "comparing in isolation" which would be like saying, "this building is made of brick while this other one is made of wood." He wants us to push a little farther to the point of "because this building is made of brick, it's representative of the influence of English building styles in America while the fact that this building is made of wood is indicative of the fact that Americans were developing their own building traditions based on available materials." Now don't I just sound like a genius :)
But people have been complaining up a storm! Geeze Louise! They were all just memorization robots in undergrad! From what I've gathered, they went to the "here are a bunch of dates and events, memorize because there's a test next Tuesday" university where as my history undergrad experience (and CSB|SJU experience in general) was more focused on the reasons for events based on the socio-historical context of the time. Much more critical thinking, much less regurgitation.
Before coming to grad school, I was worried about the level of academic rigor, but kept hearing that CSB|SJU had prepared me better for this experience than I knew. I was a Doubting Thomas, but they were right.
That's why I have no qualms about taking a study break to vent/write this post because I spent the last 4 years learning how to study for these kinds of tests. Yeah, I'm stressed. These midterms count for a large portion of my grade because we don't have regular assignments, but I see no reason to go catatonic and lock myself in my room only to emerge Monday morning looking like a feral dog.
So now it's back to the 120 flashcards of random buildings and trying to keep the NHPA, NEPA, and Section 4(f) straight in my head, but come Monday and Tuesday, I'll be a cool cucumber. Thank the Lord for CSB|SJU.
1 comment:
Well said, Monkey.
dad
PS: You'll do fine. Now get back to your studies.
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