college

Live’s been so crazy over the past few days. Classes and work are keeping me busy. So busy, in fact, that I’m hardly ever home except to eat and sleep, and sometimes not even then. Thursday I was away from home for 7:00AM to 9:30 PM with only a couple of sandwiches and some fruitsnacks. My family was even kind enough to save dinner for me (fortunately for them).
School is...amazing. I’m really enjoying my classes and thriving on the fact that my professors are inclined to treat me as equals, instead of subordinate beings. Most of my classes currently are of the liberal arts variety, which is fun, as most of my teachers are just that; of the liberal, education is what you want it to be, “let’s do something creative and forget grades” variety. Of all of those, my English Professor, Christa Albrecht-Crane is looking like the most such.
First off, the book we were assigned as our textbook is called “everything bad is good for you” by Steven Johnson. Contrary to all my other freaking expensive textbooks ($150+ for 4 books is a crime I swear) this one was less than $15 and honestly, I would read it without an assignment. Johnson’s book is about how things like video games, computers, TV and other such elements of pop culture are, contrary to popular belief, actually making us smarter. His presentation of the subject is freaking brilliant! Honestly it’s a must have book for any WoW addicted teenager.
Thinking of what kind of a teacher would assign such a book for an English class gives you an idea of my professor. To further clarify, she’s in her 30's, has a nose ring, and came to class Thursday wearing jean shorts and a tanktop. After the flack Kami got from the administration at Lone Peak for having a nonvisible tongue ring and daring to want to teach, I can’t imagine how they’d react to her (honestly, I’d pay money to see it).
Anyways, we were in class last Tuesday with the expectation that we would discuss our reading.
Christa stands up in front of class and informs us that instead of just asking each of us to take individual notes, which we wouldn’t, we’d take communal notes. We were each given a paper and told that every time we changed subjects, a new person would take notes on that subject. Kind of weird, but we were willing. The discussion went on. After a few minutes it was clear that I wouldn’t be taking notes that class period, so I did what I typically do when I have a fresh sheet of paper; I started doodling. At the end of class I turned in my paper like everyone else and left the room. As I was getting into my car I realized, Oh crap, I just turned in a page of doodles to my English teacher! Also, considering that they were commentary on the lesson, AND they were on the extra large sheet of paper she’d given us at the beginning of class, she would know, in no uncertain terms, that I had been doodling during our entire discussion. In short ladies and gentlemen, it was the second day of class and my grade was pretty much screwed.
Thursday I go in to class and she has us pick up our notes from last class period. Lo and behold, my sheet of comics is on the top of the pile in front of her. I tried to inconspicuously sneak them from the pile, when she stopped me and said “Did you draw these?” Up until this point I had thought there was some chance that I might be forgiven, after all, they were on the discussion. So much for that. I sheepishly answered “yes” to which she told me that she’d rejoiced at the comics and that she wanted to use them as a demonstration of our first writing project. I was not only allowed to save my comics and my grade, but was encouraged to continue them as my first draft to our assignment.
Additionally this same teacher created her own myspace page in order to get a taste of our written communication outside of a typical format. Now, instead of turning in a reading response at the beginning of class, we can comment on the chapters on her myspace page, as well as have a discussion about it, and receive actual credit for those comments.
I tell you what, if this is college, then I’m going to fit in just fine^^;