School Rant

RNinJune2007, RN · Oct 19, 2006

Brad,

I'm sorry that you are so frustrated, and for everything going on in your life right now. Going through nursing school can get REALLY tough. I would go up the "chain of command" at school, and tell them the problem.

Then, suck it up, and continue to work your butt off. Are you failing the class? Regardless, don't give up, keep pushing on.

Good luck, keep on keepin' on. :)

Chukker · Oct 19, 2006

I dont think I will fail, but I do not think I will be able to get the needed C to continue with semester 2 of A&P.

I think I will have to take it over, and maybe change my whole plan to go to the local CC (10 minutes away not over an hour) and retake A&P, and then wait a year to get into the program.

I can get the 300 bio classes out of the way, and I only need a med terminology class, and another Human resource class ( I have a BSBA) to become a liscensed Nursing Home Director.

My end goal is to work at the V.A helping my brothers....it is what I really want to do.

I think having that liscense will give me a very tough to beat resume.

So I will still have a semester that is empty, and since I am a GI BIll person, I can not be taking non-degree producing classes, or doing more than one degree/program at a time.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2006

brad. . .the harsh reality of the university system is that this is the way it works. i had to take a chemistry for health sciences class and it turned out the department chair taught it. we were in a lecture hall with maybe 300+ students. mostly he lectured about his research in biochemistry. it was so beyond everyone! what he did do though was make all his old exams for this class available on file for us to look at in the university library. it turned out that he had a bank of questions he used routinely for this "insignificant" class of ours that he was forced to teach. he just chose a handful of them for each test. if you had taken the time to check out these old tests you had a good chance of passing the class with a high grade.

on the other hand, i took a music appreciation class taught by another department chair. each class was an entertaining performance. classes were overflowing with student attendance! we also had a lot of outside work. we had to spend hours in the listening rooms of the library listening to records of all kinds of music. for our final exam, he had music playing as we came into the lecture hall. our bonus points were based on questions about that particular piece of music if we had taken time to pay attention to it. he was a very creative person who sparked and encouraged creativity in each student.

universities, i found, (and i've been to both community colleges and universities) expect more of students. they expect you to put more effort in to getting the higher grades. they expect you to do more critical thinking. for that, you are taught by professors, many of whom are actively engaged in current research. that is how they keep their teaching positions. it ain't high school or community college by any means.

read your class syllabi very carefully. most of these profs usually delineate what it takes to make the grade in their class on the syllabus. treat the syllabus as the bible for the class and even when the prof seems to be going off the deep end, use the syllabus as your guide as to where you should be. they don't usually screw up the syllabus because they would have too many parents and students complaining.

i also had the great (mis)fortune to take a class taught by a professor who wrote the textbook we were using. the turd never lectured from the book. as you've found, lectures often wandered off into research-land and his accomplishments. he would ask at the beginning of each class, "any questions about your reading in the book?" usually, there were no questions because, at first, no one had figured out that they should have read the book before coming to class. duh! the syllabus clearly listed out the reading for each class meeting. hearing no questions, he was off onto whatever happened to please his fancy that day. however, his tests were strictly from information in his textbook! he too, was one of those who pointed at the class on the first meeting and said, "by the end of this course, at least half of you will have dropped out and half of you that were stupid enough to stay are going to flunk." a lot of these guys just don't have warm, cuddly personalities.

part of your university experience is not only learning the course content, but also do a little bit of psyching out the profs. keep in mind that many of these profs have egos. many have made great accomplishments and are prima donnas. they are feathers in the university's cap, but they often are crummy teachers. they have education way beyond what community colleges require of their instructors. they know it and some are arrogant enough to flaunt it. not all, but some. some of the guys won't even entertain simple questions from students, but there will be some tas who will. you just have to find and align yourself with the really serious students if you need help with studying. one thing you will learn from a university education is how to think for yourself and how to find information and resources to help you learn for yourself. the bigger the university, the more you are forced into doing this.

Lisa CCU RN, RN · Oct 19, 2006

Wow. I am sorry you are going through this.

I don't know what to tell you other than If you aren't learning from the class then take matters into your own hands and learn it yourself.

You have a computer don't you? USE IT!

There is an enormous amount of information on the WWW that you can use to get through this class.

Also, visit this site http://www.standardeviants.com

I self taught myself calculus, of all things, just by watching these videos and tested out of the class and I hadn't ever taken pre-calc or trig or anything. They have anatomy videos and yes, they are cheesy, but that is what makes them amusing and keeps your attention.

Furthermore, everything this professor says in class can't be a total wash, so read before class and then get what you can from lecture and then go home and review. Read. Read. Read.

Then go online and use google to search for things you don't understand clearly.

I am a firm believer in a positive attitude and with it, you can get through anything.

Oh and I'm sorry, but I must say, shame on your wife for making such a statement! At least you are trying. :nono:

Good Luck and keep your head up.