Naomi Rockler-Gladen's Blog
Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen
Ah, college weed out classes. These are introductory courses that are designed to scare students away from overly popular majors by weighing them down with excessive amounts of very difficult work. Here's what you need to know about these miserable educational experiences:
For some students, the weed out class is a rite of passage that stands between them and a major they're going to love. But for other students -- even those who make it through the weed out class with decent grades and a semblance of sanity -- the weed out class might be a message that this may not be the right major for you.
This was my experience with psychology. I took General Psychology my freshman year, as I thought I wanted to major in psych. The class was a typical weed out class, and it was miserable. The professor was unfriendly and unhelpful, and the TA was even more so. After getting a C on the midterm, I was determined not to let this class get the best of me. I got an A in the class.
However, I still let myself get weeded out. In the process of studying psych so intently, I decided that I really didn't like it much. If your major is the right one for you, you won't mind a little pain and suffering now and then as you learn the material -- and I was not getting anything pleasurable out of my hard, hard work. So I went shopping for other majors, and let myself get weeded out.
Besides, do you really want to be part of a department that seeks to get rid of prospective students? Sometimes, it's okay to let yourself get weeded out.
Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen
Senior year is fun--but it's also stressful. For many students, true independence from your family is about to happen for the first time. You also have to say goodbye to the identity of being a student and figure out who you are in the real world.
I remember Senior Week at Rutgers University. Everyone was having a good time, but there was an undercurrent of sadness that no one was talking about. I was standing on a balcony overlooking the Raritan River with my friend Steve, and he voiced what a lot of us were thinking. "I'm scared about what I'm going to do with my life," he said.
This surprised me, as Steve was one of the brainiest and most practical people I knew. Sure enough, he went into software design and has become very successful. I knew he would.
Myself, I wasn't stressed out about the future too much because I thought I had all the answers. Lacking financial support from my family, and too chicken to experiment much with the real world, I got myself accepted to grad school so I could become a professor. I stayed true to this safe path for a long time and was a professor for eight years, until I finally realized what an awful choice this was for me. So then I got brave and became a freelance writer.
Seniors, if you're freaking out about the future, hang in there. You really don't have to have all the answers. Steve didn't, and he did fine. I though I did, and it took me a long time to make the right turn-- and I'm fine, too. Trust in yourself to go fumble around the real world for awhile and discover your path.
Here's more about the senior year graduation blues.
Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen
The Princeton Review's coveted annual list of top party schools is out, and the University of Florida is on top. But how much does this list matter? Should worried parents automatically cross these schools off their list? Should students who want to party flock to these places? Like all of The Princeton Review's helpful rankings, students and parents need to understand that these are just a tool. They can help you gather information about what a school is like, but they shouldn't be your only source of information.
A few years back, I spent a year teaching at Indiana University. Lo and behold, that was the year IU was voted Top Party School. I wondered if my classes were going to be filled with students who could care less about academics.
Here's the thing: they weren't. Sure, I had some slackers, and more than one student who slept through my 1:30 p.m. class. But overall, my IU students were more interested in learning and thinking critically about issues than any students I've ever had. No lie.
IU is a big place--as are most of the schools on the top party list. Many students party--and many are involved with all the other things that campus has to offer, like sports, political activism, music, and yes, great classes. Even though I've not much of a partier, I would have loved going to IU.
So, don't rule out party schools--or rule them in without thought. Yes, there are campuses where partying really does dominate. But on others, partying is just one of many things students do.
Read more about the significance of the party school list.
Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen
Yes, I'll admit it-- when it comes to TV, my tastes can be somewhat sleazy. So yes, I've been watching CBS' light summer favorite Swingtown, a nighttime soap about 1970s suburbanites that sort of pretends to be a period piece.
Anyway, amidst all the lurid bedhopping of the middle aged adults, Swingtown features a budding relationship between the main couple's college student daughter, Laurie, and her philosophy professor. Apparently he's quite fond of dating his students--but only his smart students.
Granted, Swingtown isn't exactly the best source of realism, but I'm always amused--and a little bit disturbed--by how professor student relationshops are portrayed on TV and in the movies. Yes, these relationships are sometimes portrayed as the source of job-related problem. In the case of Swingtown, Laurie's stereotypically dumb lifeguard ex-boyfriend is threatening to report her relationship with his uber-smart competition to the school. Nonetheless, these relationships always seem easier than they really are, without the complicated power discrepancies that can exist between a student and her (or his) current or former teacher.
Remember when Ross dated one of his students on Friends? Ross eventually dumped her because she was too immature, but he seemed awfully quick to jump at the chance to date a student. Most professors (most, I say, not all) have the sense to stay away from these kinds of entanglements.
Thinking about dating your professor (or your student)? Here's what you should know about professor-student relationships.
Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen
Ever think about taking a year off beforecollege? For many, this isn't just a fantasy. The so-called "gap year" is becoming so common that industries have sprung up to help young people plan activities during their year off. During the gap year, students do all kinds of things--earn money, travel, do charity or missionary work, teach English or work abroad, and so forth.
Is this the right choice for you? Clearly, there are advantages and disadvantages to the gap year-- and it's not for everyone.
However, my experiences as a professor lead me to think that many students would benefit from this alternative. Seems to me that an awful lot of students are in college because they feel they have to be. A gap year could help students figure out if college is really for them.
And yes, in my experience, many students don't have the maturity they need to get the most out of college. Heck, I'm not completely sure that I had this maturity. A year of having to make your own decisions, and of seeing the world from different perspectives, can make a difference as you begin your college experience.
Keep this in mind: in many countries, it's not the norm to go right from high school to college. For example, in Israel, high school graduates have mandatory military service (three years for boys, two for girls). And after the military, young Israelis commonly travel for months or a year before finally going to college. With that kind of experience in your past, you're bound to be able to handle common college stressors better.
Again, the gap year isn't for everyone. But if you're unsure if college should be your next step, investigate this option, which is growing in popularity quickly.
