MASOCHISTIC GROUP ASSIGNMENTS
8.5.02
I surely must have a masochistic take on university life. I am partaking in a group assignment. Yes, again. Many of you my already note my dilemmas in the past with group work. This is by all measures a lot worse.
Of a group of four we have two international students, not that that should be a problem, they have survived classes in either Australia or English before but this apparently hasn’t been to the standard I believe it need to be to get us a pass mark. And the fact that I do not want to make a pass mark suffice is not helping me deal with the matters. I want to keep my grade average up. I want to be offered honours at the end of this year. This would require me to keep my average at or above a B+. I fear that if we submit this assignment at the level it currently sits would not help my cause at all.
The tutor suggested today that in our appendix in the required recorded minutes of group meetings that we devise a list of who did what, and how much they did. And by getting all group members to sign off on it, we can get the grade we each deserve for the work we have/will put into the assignment. This is an appropriate solution as I see it, and I am pretty glad that the tutor, the one to be marking the work, is understanding with regards to this matter.
I would totally hate to bomb out of this class due to someone else’s misdirected command of the English language. I am really proud of the work I have put into my academic ‘career’ so far through my educational years. I really don’t want to bomb out now, I feel I have put in enough effort to come out at the other end without failing a class. I work hard for what I do.
People have a false impression that I sit in class, listen and immediately remember and am able to recall everything that has been said. True in some cases, but definitely not some of the classes this year. Some have my interest helping my learning out, but others I just can’t seem to get into. Running my own business has been helping me relate these things we are learning back to a real life example and situation, but that sometimes can be too restricting in it is only one field of commercial trade, but it helps me comprehend some of the more complicated theories. Bringing it all back to reality helps me most of the time.
I fear that once I get out into the real world there will be more emphasis placed on grade than the people out there now have been telling me. They say once employed grades mean nothing, then others say that it can add zeros to the end of your pay packet. That would be nice, I would love to be remunerated for the years of work I have put in getting this high int eh academic field. Yeah I know I am only achieving an Undergraduate degree but that still means for me that I have spent the last 17 years in an educational environment. Primary School, High School, then University. [Aussie education system] The is 80% of my life has been spent learning in formal situations, and I am beginning to doubt the validity of the value of doing that.
Where would I be if I had of dropped out of school at fifteen and got a full-time job?
Where would I be if I had of got a full-time job after high school?
Will I be able to get a full-time job when I finish this degree?
Can I really be bothered staying around for another year and doing honours? What is the “(Hons)” really worth to me at the end of my Degree title? Will I waste that year be doing honours or should I be at TAFE learning the practical aspects of the theories I have been regurgitating at uni?
I really am confused about where I am going after all of this.
What is in the future for me?
