Tuesday September 21, In the year of our Lord 2010
My House, Caronport Sasktatchewan
Finishing Lunch, 12:35 PM
Weather = Overcast, windy, and cold
(Green is turning to orange/yellow slowly)
I survived day one of classes. Day two has been less interesting but just as intense. I am learning lots though. I am learning that everything I did to write a paper was wrong. My approach was wrong, my note taking was wrong, my building a thesis was wrong, even my reading habits were wrong.
First of all, it is a myth ingrained by our educational system (stupid educational system) that one can 'do the reading' and then 'write the paper.' No no NO no NO! You are never done reading and you must write and continue writing during your reading. I used to gather up my books, read them, take notes, and then say "my research is done, now all I have to do is write the paper." WRONG! It was all WRONG! The stupid system they taught at stupid high school is stupid wrong! Our ideas can not form properly until we write them. An idea, even a revelation, sounds great in our heads, but putting it down into concrete words is difficult and makes it seem not so great. Ideas need to morph and change according to the process of careful research, not remain rigid.
If I am going to actually get anything from this class then I will need to take a lot of time to re-format how I do things. First of all, referencing software (like Zotero) is a must have. Painstaking format of computer folders and word documents is a must have. A systematic external filing system is a must have. a work schedule with specific times and places for each day is a must have.
Well, I wanted to be a professor some day. This is what professorship means. I must succeed or choose to fail. When the week is done... no it will be too late by then... DURING this week I will work at this re-formation of my files, my time, and my life. I will gain good study habits or fail, that is all there is to it. Perhaps locating a more stable source of motivation would be helpful in this endeavor.
Hmm
Greg Out
Just returned from class, 5:00 PM
Weather = Overcast, calm, and cool
I have returned. I have to say that this section is probably the most tedious and monotonous amount of data dump that has happened to me in a very long time. We got a full presentation on library search functions, which would have been fascinating if it weren't for everything looking and sounding exactly the same in a warm room with limited oxygen for an extended hour and a half. Also, I have had this exact presentation happen to me at least one time before. Then we moved to proper formating of things like footnotes, abbreviations, how underlining a title is archaic and stupid, (which was the highlight of my afternoon) the technical definition of plagiarism, and so on and so on. We decided to go half an hour overtime with this monotony.
All that being said, I am learning lots still. I have a tendency to get antzy when I think something is boring, which will make it even more boring because I know that know that I think it is boring. Part of my problem might just be poor listening skills. I think a larger part is that I have heard all these things before, but for some reason I still haven't listened to it yet. I still make mistakes that are silly. Sigh.
Well, now I must make some supper and prepare to be 'kidnapped' by my neighbors for the purpose of playing Mow.
No comments:
Post a Comment