Archives for the Month of September 2006 on Christopher Lambert's Online Journal
Off to a good start
When I first looked at my grading contract, I knew I didn't want to turn in a memo within the first couple weeks of class--that would have been too much too soon. Plus, I thought, keeping a blog shouldn't be too bad; I like writing.
My first thought when Meredith passed back the memo assignments during Tuesday's class, "I need to find out when my blog entries are due." Little did I know I was already late.
How about a little more about why I'm doing this:
I picked the blog partly because writing is a hobby but also because it wasn't something that had to be completed immediately. Since anyone reading this is familiar with Case (after Brian Gray's comment I need to reiterate this statement: Since the chances that whoever reads this is familiar with Case), I don't need to go into details about how it feels like there's never enough time accomplish everything that needs to be finished; how every worry-free, stress-free, second I have is bliss. When I had the option to either complete a long-winded summary and assessment paper (a short-run problem) or do a blog entry later on(a long-run problem), I saw short-run freedom and lunged for it.
Which doesn't make a lot of sense since, now, I have to do all these blog entries.
Back to realizing I needed to get started:
I didn't check the blog due date on Tuesday. I didn't check Wednesday. Nope, I waited until before class on Thursday (9/21). I found the blogging rules file on blackboard, read, nodding as I went along as most of the information is common sense, and then I frowned. It turns out I needed to make an entry by 9/15. I believe that means -1 point for me.
The nice thing about the blog is that it does work around my schedule; I can make time and not be forced to complete it. But the bad thing is that I need to manage my time to work it in (already starting with -1 point off is a good example of this). Keeping a blog seems like such a small thing--get online, write a few sentences and be done--but it needs to be thought out, coherent and have a point to it. While convenient, I can't slack on my time management or writing skills if I want to get a good grade.
As logical as it seemed to work hard to get the memo done, I do think the blog is the better long-term decision. It's a free form assignment that involves observations, critical thinking, relativity, assessment, grammar and--what I feel is most important--I have to get it done myself. No one is going to be asking me if I have my blogs done or if they make sense or anything about them. I can either do my entries as I can and make them good, or I can wait till the last minute and reach for concepts and examples from class that I don't remember.
If I haven't matured at all, this will be horrendous.
I'm ready to see how things go. And even if at the start it's not very good, I hope I learn.