Reflections of the MasterNerd.....© Lise Hogan
Sep 3, 2001
On August 18, 2001 I graduated from Houston Baptist University with a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Instructional Technology. The program was done as a distance learning cohort master's program through the school district I used to be employed at. I went to Houston to walk across the stage. The whole experience was one of the most difficult I have ever been through. The main reason it was so difficult is the fact that this was a distance learning situation. The program employed facilitators to run the classes, not professors. I had a couple of facilitators that were very good and my transcript reflects who those facilitators were. The rest of them did not like working with a learning disabled adult. It became much worse when this learning disabled adult lost her job.
The reading was difficult and it took me twice as long to process. Many of the facilitators did not understand how to work with me, nor did they want to take the time. I came very close to getting kicked out of the program on more than one occasion. There were MANY MANY times that I just wanted to quit, but after losing my job, I felt that getting a masters degree was all I had. One of the facilitators insisted that I had earned a 'C' in her class and was very rude when I begged her to reconsider. All I needed was four points to earn the grade I needed to stay in the program. I had worked very hard to make sure that I had my work in on time, and I did it to the best of my understanding. I tried to talk to her. I sat there crying that I would be thrown out of the program, and her response was "tough Lise, this is graduate school". Tears POURING down my face and it did not even phase her. If anything I felt she had gotten more angry and frustrated. I found a friend of mine who was also in the program and just broke down on her. I managed to talk to the actual professor at the university - who examined the work I had redone - work that I had not initially understood and told me that the improvement was measurable. He saw that I had learned something in the course and as a professor, that is what he had wanted to see. Fortunately - it was enough to earn me the grade I needed to stay in the program. It was the lowest - but just barely is better than almost. I hated having to go to the professor like that, but I could not give up. I could not be defeated yet again. There were other times I had problems with facilitators, but I can, without a doubt, say that this was the worst.
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The copyright of the article Reflections of the MasterNerd..... in Technology for Learning Disabilities is owned by Lise Hogan. Permission to republish Reflections of the MasterNerd..... in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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