It's official: I scored all my ECTS (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

The above image is part of the official school papers that I managed to lay my hands on. The above info proves that I managed to score a full 100% on the required ECTS (European standard credits) to pass my first year.

In the Netherlands this first year's scoring is a rather big deal, which is called the propedeuse. If you manage to get your prop a number of doors open for you, including a leg up to a university degree. Also, getting all 60 ECTS in your first year shows that your dedicated to your education and that you're willing to put in the time.

Anywho... It's official: I got my prop :)

Posted in: college , ects , final score , study

Goodbye Hogeschool Utrecht (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Today I got the results of the exams I took on Monday. Geometry 1 came back as an 80%, which is much higher than I'd expected. History 2 came in lower though, at 60%. Ah, I don't care that much since the other grades I got for the course means that I'm still at a solid 70%.

So... There's only one grade that I still need to wait for, the didactical part of Geometry 1. I'm sure that'll come in at 70% or higher, so I reckon it's safe to assume that I've successfully finished my first year in college. These grades will remain valid for seven years, so I can start my second year at any time I'd like.

*sigh* So that's it... :)



Posted in: college , goodbye , hogeschool utrecht , sniff , study

That, as they say, was that (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

*sigh* That was it...

Today I had my last two exams of this school year and, barring any mishaps, I won't have to redo them. Meaning that now my college career is officially over... For now. *sniffle* I'll definitely miss it.

Ah... *stretch* I'll be back in a few years; no doubt about that. Now! Off to do some work around the house!

Posted in: college , exam , good bye , school , that was that

An exciting week up ahead! (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Man o man, is this week going to be exciting and busy! ^_^

For starters, tomorrow will be completely jam-packed! I'll start off with a morning at one of the schools I'm interviewing with, to get a taste of their atmosphere. After our very pleasant meeting two weeks ago, we wanted to make sure that I like the school well enough before getting down to real business.

I'll then head off to school, which lasts from 1200 until 2000, mixing three different courses with a small project that we're working on. After that I'll meet up with my ever-so lovely guidance counselor, to have a chat about my progress at school. She's been of great help to me this year and I think we can both be pleased with the progress I've made. :)

Tuesday, thursday and friday will be spent at the office, doing what we always do :) I'm working on a rather important project, which consists mostly of paperwork, to ensure the SOX compliancy of $CLIENT.

Wednesday will be a rather special day... I've taken the full day off from work (man, school is really cutting into my vacation hours!), to tackle no less than three interviews!

In the morning I'll visit a school here in Utrecht. They're pretty big on that New Learning thing and I'm quite interested to see how their school works. My classmate Badegul has told me a little about their school and they seem like a rather interesting lot! They're on the up-and-up when it comes to modern teaching methods.

Around lunch I'll pay a visit to Red Five in Woerden. They're the software developers and hosting company behind most of Ephorus' products. I spoke to Ephorus' director a few weeks ago and he set up a meeting for me at Red Five. Maybe I'll be able to provide some consulting on the side for these guys, while I'm working in education. Who knows? ^_^

Finally, in the late afternoon, I'll have a second job interview at a school in Maarsbergen. They only focus on the VMBO level of high school education, meaning that they're focused on getting kids ready for blue collar jobs and the service industry. Their school seems very nice, insofar that it's a bit small and everyone's acquainted. Also, their school's located in an old monastery in the middle of the woods. How cool is that?!

Finally, finally, next weekend will be Snow's annual summer get-together. This year, the whole company will gather on Texel (one of the islands on the dutch coast) to have some fun in the sun and sand. A whole bunch of them are going skydiving, but I opted to take along my homework and to ride my bike around a little bit.

So! Busybusybusy! But I'm actually feeling quite well under all the stress! ^_^

Posted in: college , exciting , job hunt , school , work

Aw yea! More results for school (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

As I wrote in one of the comments I got a 90% for our project about students with learning and personality disorders. That was awesome.

Well, today got even more awesome, because I just got my -second- 90%! /o/

Analysis 1 - Didactics (about the teaching of basic math) consisted of ten separate reports. They came back as five 90%'s, three 80%'s and two 70%'s.

I'm grinning from ear to ear here :D



Posted in: college , results , school

Oral defense of this semester's project (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Last monday my project team had its appointment for our oral defense of our essays. This was the first time we've had to do such a thing, since most docent's are happy just reading through our papers. In this case however, the teacher wanted to prod our minds a little about some additional questions.

We came well prepared, as each of us had researched the questions we'd been given. In my case, the teach wanted to know about two things:

1. How would you go about planning a big workload for a depressed child, say for example his final exams?
2. What needs to be done if a depressed child becomes the victim of harassment by his peers?

Our defense went very well, with each of us answering all the questions to the teach's satisfaction. We actually had a good time and there was no stress at all :) In the end we were told that we could count on a 90%, assuming he didn't find any flaws in our final process reports. Nice!

I have to say that the docent did come off quite wishy-washy. We'd told him that our fifth group member had quit school no less than three times and he was still surprised when there was noone to answer the questions about the guy's report in depth. Uhm yeah, we told you? He left? Which also explains why he was about to completely skip my part of the interview, since he thought I was the guy who left. Scatterbrained much? :/ Jeez!...

Posted in: college , defense , oral , project , team

School is coming along nicely (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

I've been in college for over half a year now and I'm about 3/4s through the first year. I've been enjoying the heck out of school and I'm glad I decided to make the step to getting a second college degree. Just think, in less than two years I'll be teaching math to a bunch of teenagers ^_^

In the meantime I'm going to make the best out of my studies. I'm not claiming their easy by a long shot, as I've spent many a night studying until midnight. X_x The encouragement of my friends and family helps a lot though and I'm really happy that they're keeping me motivated :)

So... That's almost three semesters down and one to go. Why don't we take a look at the score so far?



Statistics 1 - Didactics = 80%
Statistics 1 - Math = 80%
Didactics 2 - Project = 80%
Didactics 2 - Test = 80%
Analysis 1 - Didactics = To be determined
Analysis 1 - Math = Pass by default
Identity Development 1 - Project = 70%
Identity Development 1 - Test = 80%
Student counseling 1 - Project = To be determined
(WER) Traineeship Prep 1 = To be determined
SLB (my own counseling) = To be determined 80%

Well hot damn! It seems I'm doing pretty well! I also expect to get between 70% and 80% on the three courses that still need to be scored, so that's good news too.

Now, next semester we're up for Geometry 1 (didactics and math) and History of Math 2. Sounds like a fun semester!

Posted in: college , nice , results , school , study

No homework this week (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Well damn. Between work, nightly work, filing my taxes and sorting out our temporary (yet rather large) monetary problems, I haven't done one single page of homework this week. :(

I'm gonna have to haul ass this weekend.

Don't worry about those money problems though: with a bit of help from my dad we'll be able to get through to Marli's first paycheck. After that, it's clear sailing. I'm just happy dad's able to help us ^_^;

Posted in: college , damn , homework , money , work

It's finally going to happen! (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Well, it's finally going to happen! I've been putting this off for a long while, but Marli kicked me hard enough to get over it.

I'm going to teach a class.

The very thought still makes my stomach do somersaults, it's silly really. This is exactly what I'm studying for, so I ought to be longing for this moment! Of course, I realize that stage freight is something completely natural, but to be putting it off for months on end is just stupid. But now it's going to happen! In part because Marli got me out of my rut and in part because I'll fail my VAKDID2 class if I don't D:

My classmate Gineke is giving me a huge break, but letting me teach this class to one of her first year's groups. She tells me their absolute sweethearts, so I really have nothing to worry about.

In a week's time (OMG!DEADLINE!) I'll be introducing a group of first year's students to the concept of negative numbers. On the one hand this deadline's great, since it's putting some real pressure on me. On the other it's a bit scary, because I really have to push myself hard to make it.

I'm going to teach a class.

My very first time, in front of a room filled with youngsters that -aren't- there to listen to me talk about anime or Japan. My very first time, trying to educate the young. My very first time, making my career switch more real than it ever was! This is why I've been working my ass off the past few months. I need to remember to enjoy the experience and not just try to be perfect.

I'm going to teach a class.

Oh my!..

Posted in: college , finally , high school , math , teaching

Closing the second semester (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

So, the second semester has come and gone.

I've taken the only test on my list and I think it went fairly well. Unfortunately I'm well behind on my reports, meaning that I'll had to finish two courses next semester. Because of that, I've chosen to only follow one new course, which should give me enough free time to tie off any loose ends.

Luckily I've gotten some of my drive and energy back, so I'm motivated to keep going. Also, my EVE trial account will run out in a few days, so I'll be safe from that distraction as well. I -will- be getting a full account some day though. It really is an awesome game.

Posted in: college , hogeschool utrecht , reports , semester , test

A day off? Schoolwork it is! (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

I'd taken the day off from work today, in order to work on a school project. This project has each group looking into the so-called New Learning (which really isn't new, but just different), in hopes that we learn something about recent education reforms.

You see, over the past few years the Netherlands have seen quite a few changes to their educational system. One of the big-ass ones, is the move from class-based education, towards a more individual approach. If you're interested, we're discussing the matter over here, at Ars Technica.

Among other tasks, each group member is expected to pay a visit to a New Learning school. I decided to be a little off-beat and opted for a democratic school (which are actually quite rare in the NL): De Kampanje.

The talk I had with one of their staff members was rather educational. I will probably never see eye to eye with them on schooling, but it -is- always interesting to hear new ideas. Such talks allow me to take a step back and take another look at the work I'm doing myself.

De Kampanje bases most of their work on steps that have already been taken by the Sudbury Valley School in the US. Most of their ideas really are quite daring and I'm sure that 95% of today's educators would be infuriated even thinking of them.

For now I will refrain from fully forming an opinion on their methods. I still have to write an objective paper in the issue ~_^

Posted in: college , day off , de kampanje , schoolwork , study

My strategy for this semester and the next (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

I'm going to have to fit in various "unwieldy" tasks, that will not fit properly into my normal agenda. Among others, I'm expected to make multiple visits to schools: to talk to students, to teach classes, etc. Given my normal day job this is simply impossible. I've also fallen slightly behind in a few areas, so I'm going to have to shuffle things around to make it all work.

This semester:
* I have to finish last semester's General didactics, or I'm going to fail it completely. That would mean I'd have to completely redo the course next year.
* I've already dropped the maths part of Analysis 1 in order to make room for other stuff.
* I'm going to postpone my work for SLB and WER, after conferring with my teacher. She understood my need to make room in my schedule.
* I will finish both Kijk op leerlingen and Analysis 1 - Didactics on time.

Next semester:
* I'll drop the second year's Counseling and mentoring project, so I can take it next year. That ought to free up enough time to finish this semester's SLB and WER and to tie up any loose ends.

Posted in: college , semester , strategy , study

That's one big feather up my ass! (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Awesome! One of my teacher just gave me a big-ass compliment!

In the first three weeks of the Analysis 1 Didactics course, I'd turned in my first four reports. So far Theo's graded three of them, giving each a 90%.

Today he came up to me to tell me that he thought my work was extraordinary, because of all the extra research I put in. He also wanted to know whether I'd allow him to distribute my reports among his colleagues. He thought they'd be useful, to set an example of what they'd expect of their students.

Hot diggity! ^_^;;

Posted in: college , compliment , feather up my ass , reports

My Friday night (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

My Friday night: about two hundred pages of governmental writing on education, a report due on Monday and a bottle of Baileys.

Posted in: alcohol , college , friday night , study

Emo-whiny-pussy week (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

From hence forth, the fourth week of a semester shall be known as Emo-whiny-pussy week. In this week I shall partake in much sulking, moping and hiding away, thus ensuring that no homework gets done. And there was much rejoicing. (Yay...)

But seriously, this is a trend I've noticed with myself: the first three weeks of a semester I steam through like a train on nitro. Then, all of a sudden I'm completely out of steam and no work gets done. I also usually feel drowned by the amount of work that's still left. Then, in the fifth week I seem to pick up pace again.

Hooray for self reflection :)

Posted in: college , emo , pussy , study , whiny

A different kind of hacking (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

You know? This whole college deal, burning the midnight oil over homework, feels like hacking to me. It gives me the same feeling I had during my internships or during late-night projects at the office. A feeling that I'm completely into what I do and that I want to keep on going.

Case in point: tonight I'm working on a report for Analysis 1 - Didactics, scratching away at my whiteboard. And of course I turn to the music I always play at times like these.



PLAYTRACKfunkyd.mp3

If you're curious, the song's Funky doll from the original Bubblegum Crisis soundtrack.

It's awfully eighties, but there's something I just love about that song. Of course, I'm also glad there was no video camera there to register my gay-ass dancing at the board. There's just something weird about a geek dancing, while working ^_^;

Posted in: college , education , hacking , homework , midnight oil

It's all becoming a bit too much (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Damn. I hate doing this, but I'm skipping out on Analysis 1 - Maths. That's the course I wrote about earlier, with all the long calculations to prove that math works bitches.

The course is on my list of "free" courses: I already received all the ECTS beforehand, because I have already studied this stuff before. In essence this means that I didn't have to take the test to begin with. I was just taking this class to freshen up my maths.

Thing is: I wasn't just visiting lectures, I was also doing all of the homework, which eats up a tremendous amount of time. Also, making all my notes look good using LaTex takes up about an hour each week as well. I could spend all of that time on work that actually earns me more ECTS.

I'll still be visiting each lecture, because A) the subject matter is cool and challenging, and B) I enjoy spending time with my classmates. I just won't be partaking in the homework, nor in the exam.

Posted in: college , homework , maths , study , too much

Yay, for more results (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Yay for more test results :)

Remember that one report that had me worried so much? Well, it came back a 70% so it wasn't all bad :)

Also, that one test I was waiting for (on General didactics) came back a whopping 80%! Awesome!

Posted in: college , report , result , study , test

More test results have come in (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Hooray for more good results!

It's been confirmed that the first result that I got back (see a few days ago) was actually an 8,3! /o/ That's the equivalent of an 83%. Nice!

And the reports I'd turned in for Statistics 1 (all of which can be found over here) were also good for a G (and hence an 8, or 80%). Fsckin' A!

Posted in: college , study , test , test result

First exam result is in (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

I just checked Osiris (my school's online student administration site) and found my first test result.

Statistics 1 came back a G, which is equivalent to a 7, or a 7,5 if I'm not mistaken. My expectations were spot on :)

Posted in: college , exam , results , statistics

Here I go: my first exams in college (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

So... Exciting day! Today's the first time I'm taking exams for my new college education. Of course I've done all of this before, but that was years ago!

I've got two tests scheduled for today:
* 1200 - 1400 = Statistics 1.
* 1800 - 2000 = Didactics 2.

So yeah, I've got four hours of wasted time in between my tests. I'll use that to go through the summaries some more and to relax a little.

Well, here I go ^_^ Faito!



Posted in: college , exam , hogeschool utrecht , study

W00t! New books have arrived. (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

This year's second semester will start in about a week. In preparation for my new courses I've been ordering books left and right. Luckily I already own the most expensive book on the list, so I won't have to get that one.

On the pile on the left you see:
* Identity development and student counseling
* Maths for students between 12 and 16
* Teaching effectively: learning maths
* A pamphlet entitled Don't touch me!

The last two items weren't on the official book list, but I decided to get them anyway. Learning maths because it will make a nice addition to my current library. Don't touch me! because I am very curious how one would handle a situation where kids are harassed by others.

This leaves two syllabi that I should buy at school. After that I'm all set.

Posted in: books , college , new books , study , teaching

Painted myself into a corner (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Feh! I've gone and done it now :(

I've painted myself into a corner, insofar that I've made things too hard for myself. For Statistics 1 I'm supposed to create a so-called GWA (Geintegreerde Wiskunde Activiteit, aka Integrated Maths Activity). GWAs are assignments that mix various subjects from maths and possibly other classes. They're supposed to help kids understand the place maths has in real life. So far so good.

I've done a few things wrong though and it's too late to turn back.

The subject I've picked contains nearly no maths at all. Also, since the subject has been used for GWAs before, so I find myself reinventing all of the subject matter and rewriting the assignment. If I didn't, it would be too easy for kids to cheat.

The GWA I'm writing is also way to big for my first try. I could've gone with an assignment that would take the kids about an hour to finish. But no! I had to go for one that would take them ten hours! And of course, since I'm such a bloody perfectionist, I want everything to be absolutely right, so I spend way too much time researching and hammering things down.

It's my own fault though. I should've seen the problems when I was about two or three hours in. Now I've already spent about fifteen hours on the report and it's almost done. I've about two hours of work left. It's better to get it done and over with. Then there's nothing but hoping for the best.

To sum it up, here's my pitfalls:
* Too damn perfectionistic.
* Too stubborn in picking subject material.
* Too late in seeing a dead end.

Posted in: college , geintegreerde wiskunde activiteit , gwa , homework , report

Time to get my ass in gear again (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Well...

I slept in 'till eight.

I've watched The guns of Navarone (great movie!) to relax a little.

I've had breakfast.

I've read part of John Siracusa's in-depth review of Leopard.

Now it's time to stop slacking and get my ass into gear again!

UP AND AT'EM, ATOM ANT!



Posted in: college , schedule , study , work

I'm falling behind, but I have to keep going (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

*yaaaawn* So, it's about two AM now and I'm still up, hacking at a report. Lemme tell you, that's one F-ing big assingment.

The course in question is Didactics in maths 2, a second-year class. Sweet Jeebus, do they pile on the work! Dossier report 6 (out of 12) alone is at least twelve hours of work. For this assignment I'm given a maths test and the answer sheets for five students.

I'm expected to:
1. Take the test myself, to find out the correct answers.
2. Define an initial scoring sheet for the test.
3. Score each of the students' results against my sheet.
4. Analyse the crap out of my scoring method.
5. Adjust my scoring to suit the best practices seen in high school.
6. Re-score the students' results.
7. Re-analyse my scoring, to see what has changed.
8. If need be, re-re-adjust everything.
9. Go over the test itself to see if it follows the best practices.
10. Write an analysis of the test and its shortcomings.
11. Determine how I would discuss the test's results in class.
12. Draw conclusions from the test's outcome. Have we reached all of our goals?

Good grief! Don't get me wrong: I'm loving every minute of this. It's just that this assignment is H.U.G.E.! More like sixteen hours, than the twelve I mentioned earlier.

Ah, fuggit... I'm going to bed. I've reached a point at which it is alright to save my work and close up show for the night. I'll work a bit longer tomorrow.

Posted in: college , falling behind , reports , schedule , study

Mo. Ving. Slow. Ly. Again... Still... Meh (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Feh! I'm stuck in a rut again and it's been going on all week!

I keep getting distracted by all kinds of other chores and shiny things, while I should be focusing on my homework. It's like high school and college all over. Wait... I -am- in college all over :D

Anywho. I managed to finalise my summary for Statistics 1, though it still needs some polish. And now I'm staring at a pile of reports and books that need to be finished by tomorrow.

Slowly, but surely... That's the only way to get through it I guess. *churnchurnchurn* Scratch one item off the ToDo list at a time. I'll start off with Statistics - Didactics. That seems to be my favourite subject this semester.

Posted in: college , get moving , homework , meh , slow

Ouch! Rough week! (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

Ouch, this week's going to be killer.

I've a boat load of homework, that sums up to about 45 hours if I'm correct. I also have night work planned for my day job, which is going to suck. And finally there's a big party at Snow to celebrate our ten year anniversary. I guestimate that all of this leaves me with about seventy hours for eating, sleeping, travel, household chores and personal time with Marli.

Something's gotta give.

I've already decided that I'll delay the finalisation of Vak Didactiek 2 (Didactics in math, year 2) until the next semester. I guess -that- is what's going to give this week. It's a shame that I cannot finish all the work needed for the next class, but I have to weigh my options.

In case anyone's curious, here's my To Do list for this week.

Student career counseling
* Run a quick scan of my capabilities, 1 hour
* Write report #4, 3 hours
* Ponder the direction our group as a whole needs to take, 1 hour
* Read up on the process involved with ECTS exemption, 1 hour

Statistics 1 - Math
* Paragraphs 2.1 - 2.4, 6 hours
* Paragraphs 2.5 - 2.6, 2 hours (possible to drop these until next week)
* Coach one of my classmates, 4 hours

Statistics 1 - Didactics
* Prepare for the class on ICT in didactics, 2 hours
* Read through three required articles, 4 hours
* Prepare a report on GWA, 4 hours
* Prepare report #7, 3 hours

Didactics in math 2
* Report #6, 4 hours
* Fix report #1, 2 hours
* Fix report #2, 2 hours
* Fix report #3, 2 hours
* Report #10, 3 hours
* Report #11, 4 hours (required for the exam on general didactics
* Short assignment on language issues in education, 1 hour

Posted in: college , homework , planning , rough week

Got my first partial grades (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

About a week ago I turned in my first two reports for "Statistics 1 - Didactics".

The first report focused on maths education using the Getal en ruimte (Numbers and space) method. My final conclusion was that G&R; is a nice enough method, teaching students the whole gammut of statistics. IMHO, the big downside to the Getal en Ruimte books is that they're so damn distracting. Each page is a colourful, multimedia explosion. Each assignment and piece of text has markers/identifiers in the margin to further confuse matters.

The ironic thing is that I used the same G&R; series in high school. Back then they were awesome books: clear, transparent, not too hectic and a joke here and there. Things have changed a lot since I was a kid.

The second report covered the final terms for maths education in VMBO. I couldn't get my hands on all of the required books, but I managed to wing it. The Getal en ruimte method proved itself again for VMBO, readying the student for his final terms. I think the books may have glossed over a few terms a little lightly, but most students should be fine for their exams.

Both reports received a "ZG" score which translates into "Very Good". Awesome! :3 I'm definitely going to try my best to keep this score up!

Posted in: college , didactics , grades , reports , statistics

Making dinners to take along (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

On my first day at college (the one four weeks ago, not the one eleven years ago) I'd given the school cafeteria a try. They serve a hot meal, sandwiches, deep fried snack and all sorts of drinks. A regular cafeteria you could say.

Since that day I've vowed not to eat there again. The hot meals don't sell fast enough and are thus left on the hot plate way too long. Thus potatoes start to get tough, meat turns dry and peas turn into pebbles.

I started bringing dinner myself, which started out with letuce and tuna. Basic, yet tasty, yet mildly boring. After that came lentils and mixed veg. Much better! And this morning I cooked macaroni so I could make a pasta/tuna salad, with some onion, garlic, and mayo.

Now I'm looking for more recipes that I will be able to bring along to school!

If any of you have any ideas for food that will last about seven hours in the back of my car, that'd be great! Remember, it's starting to get cold outside again, so I'm not too bothered about heat and such. (though I -could- bring along a small cooler to keep my meal cold)

Posted in: cold , college , dinner , take along

College curricula are -also- mixed bag (Kilala.nl (Cailin Coilleach)) by Cailin Coilleach

About a week ago I remarked how college books are mixed bag. Some of them seem really good, though others are almost crap.

Well, the whole mixed bag deal also goes for the course curricula themselves apparently. On Monday a big discussion broke out during SLB1 about the courses' contents. Marjan thought there was too little theory, Karin though teaching by examples is great, Wouter though the maths was too easy, Badegul thought the maths were too complicated. And here I was, loving all of college, thinking everything's just right. (transcription)

The points me and Hans tried to make were these:

* College has to cater to the lowest, common denominator. During their first year they have to take a whole bunch of -very- different people and ready them for the following years. You simply can't be very specific in your teachings during the first year.

* Isn't college about going out and finding the answers for yourself? If an assignment uses terms that you don't understand, shouldn't you go investigate? Or at least talk to the docent?

At least it's good to know that I'm not the only one still adjusting to college :D

Posted in: college , curriculum , examples , mixed bag , theory