That's the sign that I need installed on the front of my head. You know, those signs that they put up in the middle of construction zones or at the mall where there's a big pile of trash and a wall covered in plastic?
Or perhaps a "We're Experiencing Technical Difficulties..." tattooed in the center of my forehead would be more appropriate.
I'm having a flashback to 2007.
I'm sitting in the floor of my apartment's office, surrounded by stacks of paper and binders full of articles. I've been reading for hours. Days. Weeks. I just can't get it to mesh together in a way that I want it to. I know what I want to say, but I don't know how to finagle the stupid research.
I have been writing for 25 years, and I can't figure out how to back up my ideas with other people's writing. What kind of Master's student am I?
My friends - co-students - seem to be quite at ease shuffling through articles and papers and locating the relevant. Of course they are. They've been doing this as a hobby for years. Like I've been making up stories.
I remember going to my professor - only by title, because he'd acquired a PhD - and telling him that I was so confused. We discussed the direction of my paper - my TERM paper - THE term paper - my OPUS TERM PAPER. He gave me suggestions, and we discussed how to integrate sources. I felt better. Then I left his office.
What the what just happened in there? I thought. Oh, PLEASE let this semester end. I only had to pass this class, and I would be finished.
Finally, I did the best I could and stuffed all the papers into a file. I presented it to my professor, and I...earned...a C. Or was it a B? Geez, I don't remember anymore. And it doesn't matter, really, because in the end, I completed the program and was awarded my Master's - in Creative Writing, NOT literary theory.
So, what's all this have to do with the situation in my head?
About a year ago, I had this "brilliant" idea. I was going to integrate online-based peer review forums into my writing classes. For those of you who don't teach writing or have never heard of it, peer review is when students read, evaluate and offer suggestions on each others' work. It's one of the most valuable tools any writer can utilize. Not only does it teach them to give quality feedback, it also teaches them to find the mistakes in their own writing. It's win-win.
I teamed up with my colleague, and best friend, and we decided to put the plan into action. She would follow suit with her own class (a higher level than mine), and we would write a paper to report the findings. It would be awesome. It would be enlightening. It would be the biggest thorn in both of our sides for months to come.
Suffice it to say, the project didn't go so well. Not because the idea was bad or wasn't realistic. The problem was two-fold:
1) Her students were so focused on a research paper they had to write over the course of the semester that they didn't want to participate in a voluntary study - well, most of them. The ones that did agree seemed to be unable to get a grasp of the technological aspects, and, well, it was a bum deal.
2) The level I was teaching only had two graded writing assessments - a midterm and a final. Their in-class assignments were not factored in as part of their overall mark. NOTE: NOT my doing. So, basically, only the students who really wanted to improve ever turned in assignments. And that wasn't many. And since I had no means of penalizing them, well, I got the short end of the stick, too.
Not to go into details about why or how or who, but now comes the time when we have to write our paper.
Why would we write the paper? Why would we announce our failure?
Ha. Because geniuses that we are.....we answered a call for chapters to be included in a book that is to be published in the spring. And we were accepted.
Sadly, I even tried to get us out of it by going to the head researcher and telling her the problems. She was actually happy, and she said it was okay if we reported on what happened and explain why. Then we would have the opportunity to explain what needs to be changed in order for the theory to work.
I got a rush of adrenaline and thought, "Yeah! That's right!"
So, here it is, time to write the paper (well, it's been time for a few months now......never co-author a chapter with a fellow procrastinator). And I find myself on my bed, surrounded by highlighted papers and files. It's like deja-vu. And I'm not enjoying the feeling.
Ah, I just can't wait until this month is over, construction is finished and the final product is sent on its way.
Then I can tackle the other projects I have waiting for me. . . . . . .
Or perhaps a "We're Experiencing Technical Difficulties..." tattooed in the center of my forehead would be more appropriate.
I'm having a flashback to 2007.
I'm sitting in the floor of my apartment's office, surrounded by stacks of paper and binders full of articles. I've been reading for hours. Days. Weeks. I just can't get it to mesh together in a way that I want it to. I know what I want to say, but I don't know how to finagle the stupid research.
I have been writing for 25 years, and I can't figure out how to back up my ideas with other people's writing. What kind of Master's student am I?
My friends - co-students - seem to be quite at ease shuffling through articles and papers and locating the relevant. Of course they are. They've been doing this as a hobby for years. Like I've been making up stories.
I remember going to my professor - only by title, because he'd acquired a PhD - and telling him that I was so confused. We discussed the direction of my paper - my TERM paper - THE term paper - my OPUS TERM PAPER. He gave me suggestions, and we discussed how to integrate sources. I felt better. Then I left his office.
What the what just happened in there? I thought. Oh, PLEASE let this semester end. I only had to pass this class, and I would be finished.
Finally, I did the best I could and stuffed all the papers into a file. I presented it to my professor, and I...earned...a C. Or was it a B? Geez, I don't remember anymore. And it doesn't matter, really, because in the end, I completed the program and was awarded my Master's - in Creative Writing, NOT literary theory.
So, what's all this have to do with the situation in my head?
About a year ago, I had this "brilliant" idea. I was going to integrate online-based peer review forums into my writing classes. For those of you who don't teach writing or have never heard of it, peer review is when students read, evaluate and offer suggestions on each others' work. It's one of the most valuable tools any writer can utilize. Not only does it teach them to give quality feedback, it also teaches them to find the mistakes in their own writing. It's win-win.
I teamed up with my colleague, and best friend, and we decided to put the plan into action. She would follow suit with her own class (a higher level than mine), and we would write a paper to report the findings. It would be awesome. It would be enlightening. It would be the biggest thorn in both of our sides for months to come.
Suffice it to say, the project didn't go so well. Not because the idea was bad or wasn't realistic. The problem was two-fold:
1) Her students were so focused on a research paper they had to write over the course of the semester that they didn't want to participate in a voluntary study - well, most of them. The ones that did agree seemed to be unable to get a grasp of the technological aspects, and, well, it was a bum deal.
2) The level I was teaching only had two graded writing assessments - a midterm and a final. Their in-class assignments were not factored in as part of their overall mark. NOTE: NOT my doing. So, basically, only the students who really wanted to improve ever turned in assignments. And that wasn't many. And since I had no means of penalizing them, well, I got the short end of the stick, too.
Not to go into details about why or how or who, but now comes the time when we have to write our paper.
Why would we write the paper? Why would we announce our failure?
Ha. Because geniuses that we are.....we answered a call for chapters to be included in a book that is to be published in the spring. And we were accepted.
Sadly, I even tried to get us out of it by going to the head researcher and telling her the problems. She was actually happy, and she said it was okay if we reported on what happened and explain why. Then we would have the opportunity to explain what needs to be changed in order for the theory to work.
I got a rush of adrenaline and thought, "Yeah! That's right!"
So, here it is, time to write the paper (well, it's been time for a few months now......never co-author a chapter with a fellow procrastinator). And I find myself on my bed, surrounded by highlighted papers and files. It's like deja-vu. And I'm not enjoying the feeling.
Ah, I just can't wait until this month is over, construction is finished and the final product is sent on its way.
Then I can tackle the other projects I have waiting for me. . . . . . .
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