Skill Flexion
During Fall term, I had the misfortune of failing Biology 101 due to one underlying defficiency: that of the teaching staff. My graduate teaching assistant was great, and I still chat with him for a couple of minutes every time I see him. The lab coordinator and professor, who I swear are having some sort of affair, are absolute morons. They require the following:
A weekly two hour lab
A weekly one hour recitation
Three portfolios
Three exams
For Biology 101, a seed germination study project
A great deal of the work closely resembles or completely replicates projects I did when I was in grades K through twelve. The seed germination study, which was an absolute waste of time and just one more thing to worry about failing, is precisely the same seed germination study I did in fourth grade.
I'm going to repeat that. I was doing fourth grade work in a college freshman level course.
Several of the labs closely resembled labs I'd done as a sophomore in high school. And instead of just, you know, taking roll, or making students turn in selected lab and recitation paperwork, outside effort had to be put out for the portfolios. Portfolios! Ridiculous! And it was all busy work; I learned basically nothing the entire term, except for a bunch of environmentalist propaganda. Without going into detail, I'll also note that the prof flat out lied, frequently, during lecture. In the end, I would have gotten a decent C, but they refused to take a late portfolio. Why was it late? Because they didn't announce the due date until less than a week prior. The day the portfolio was due was three days after I'd left for Wyoming; it was pretty much impossible for me to assemble it all. The single redeeming factor of the course was that there was a rather attractive sophomore in my lab and recitation section; of course, this was a moo(t) point, as these were the days of the Mirror.
Flash forward to now, Spring term. I'm "retaking" it in the form of Biology 103. It's marginally better than before, but it's the same teaching crew, and I still want to do physical harm to the lab coordinator and professor. There's no project to worry about anymore, but it's still a bunch of busy work. The course material is human anatomy, physiology, and disease, which closely resembles... What's that? You guessed it. My entire junior year of Human Anatomy and Physiology from high school. Oh well, that gives me an advantage, right?
The other advantage is a semi-attractive blonde who, to a degree, resembles Akhenaton. (No, that's not a compliment.) Anyway, seeing as I'm somewhat marketable again, I've been flexing my skills at flirtation with her. I'm not sure if I'm making any "progress," and I doubt there's enough time or interest between the two of us for anything to happen. We'll see, I suppose. It's just rather entertaining to have a project with which to reestablish my atrophied skills at pulling birds.
Yup. That's it. TSTF.
A great deal of the work closely resembles or completely replicates projects I did when I was in grades K through twelve. The seed germination study, which was an absolute waste of time and just one more thing to worry about failing, is precisely the same seed germination study I did in fourth grade.
I'm going to repeat that. I was doing fourth grade work in a college freshman level course.
Several of the labs closely resembled labs I'd done as a sophomore in high school. And instead of just, you know, taking roll, or making students turn in selected lab and recitation paperwork, outside effort had to be put out for the portfolios. Portfolios! Ridiculous! And it was all busy work; I learned basically nothing the entire term, except for a bunch of environmentalist propaganda. Without going into detail, I'll also note that the prof flat out lied, frequently, during lecture. In the end, I would have gotten a decent C, but they refused to take a late portfolio. Why was it late? Because they didn't announce the due date until less than a week prior. The day the portfolio was due was three days after I'd left for Wyoming; it was pretty much impossible for me to assemble it all. The single redeeming factor of the course was that there was a rather attractive sophomore in my lab and recitation section; of course, this was a moo(t) point, as these were the days of the Mirror.
Flash forward to now, Spring term. I'm "retaking" it in the form of Biology 103. It's marginally better than before, but it's the same teaching crew, and I still want to do physical harm to the lab coordinator and professor. There's no project to worry about anymore, but it's still a bunch of busy work. The course material is human anatomy, physiology, and disease, which closely resembles... What's that? You guessed it. My entire junior year of Human Anatomy and Physiology from high school. Oh well, that gives me an advantage, right?
The other advantage is a semi-attractive blonde who, to a degree, resembles Akhenaton. (No, that's not a compliment.) Anyway, seeing as I'm somewhat marketable again, I've been flexing my skills at flirtation with her. I'm not sure if I'm making any "progress," and I doubt there's enough time or interest between the two of us for anything to happen. We'll see, I suppose. It's just rather entertaining to have a project with which to reestablish my atrophied skills at pulling birds.
Yup. That's it. TSTF.
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