1000 meter mark
Here we are, the final day of week two for graduate school, and I greet it with mixed emotions. First, I'm happy to be here. This weeks class has been a difficult one in terms of the presentation of materials. This program is designed around the discussion, and a room full of coaches are bound to have or want to have many discussions, as one can imagine. This week however, the discussions have been muted by the way the materials have been presented. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday were full on, eight hour lectures with Wednesday being slightly more discussion based, but just. The material being presented is interesting, and the professor in charge of this weeks class clearly knows the material, and is clearly passionate about the subject, but like the rest of the class, I am glad to see this end. Five days of pure lecture for eight hours really does do a number on your ability to learn and instead focuses the mind on the ability to just get through.
That being said, I am a little disappointed that I am at the halfway point, and that from here on out, it will be a quick decent toward the finish of the formal classroom experience. This means that in two short weeks, the class will go its separate ways and we won't see each other - except on the off chance - until this time next year. Because of the classroom dynamic, and because of the usual discourse this realization is a little more difficult to swallow than I had originally anticipated. I have learned a lot in the previous two weeks simply by listening to the rest of the class, taking in new perspectives and opinions while sharing my own and getting feedback. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next 11+ months as we transition into the online world of classroom interaction.
Overall, this has been a great experience, and I put it near the top of my best decisions. The workload has been intense, but completely doable so long as you stay on top of the wave rather than sliding down the face of it. As I said in the previous post, everyone here is going through the same rigors, so when you feel the moments of panic, you just need to reach out to the rest of the class and someone will pull you through.
In this way, it's not unlike rowing or athletics in general. Excel when and where you can, work hard in the areas that tend to give you trouble, and by remaining engaged, and asking for help while still pulling your weight, you indicate your sincere desire to do the best you can.
That being said, I am a little disappointed that I am at the halfway point, and that from here on out, it will be a quick decent toward the finish of the formal classroom experience. This means that in two short weeks, the class will go its separate ways and we won't see each other - except on the off chance - until this time next year. Because of the classroom dynamic, and because of the usual discourse this realization is a little more difficult to swallow than I had originally anticipated. I have learned a lot in the previous two weeks simply by listening to the rest of the class, taking in new perspectives and opinions while sharing my own and getting feedback. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next 11+ months as we transition into the online world of classroom interaction.
Overall, this has been a great experience, and I put it near the top of my best decisions. The workload has been intense, but completely doable so long as you stay on top of the wave rather than sliding down the face of it. As I said in the previous post, everyone here is going through the same rigors, so when you feel the moments of panic, you just need to reach out to the rest of the class and someone will pull you through.
In this way, it's not unlike rowing or athletics in general. Excel when and where you can, work hard in the areas that tend to give you trouble, and by remaining engaged, and asking for help while still pulling your weight, you indicate your sincere desire to do the best you can.
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