on the bus the other day, a friend asked me if grad students have back-to-school lists. at first, i thought about this literally and responded, "nope, just books, a pen, and a notebook." but thinking it over, i realized that there are definitely things grad students need to survive grad school. here, i list the essentials:
a safe, quiet space to sleep
seriously, there is nothing i appreciate more after a long day of work/school/studying/etc than falling asleep in my quiet, peaceful home. sometimes, a person needs a nap in the middle of a saturday afternoon to make it through a weekend of reading, and that is totally reasonable. at the same time, if you don't have a safe, quiet space to rest, you will probably double your stress level, so i think this particular item is really important for sanity and peace of mind during grad school.
one night a week devoted to NOT working
not sure this needs much explanation, but the truth is that you work better and more efficiently when you designate a certain amount of time to not working. it doesn't matter if you're going on a date with a spouse or partner, spending time with a pet, or doing absolutely nothing. the only thing you have to do is not do homework.
a once-a-week hang-out with friends
my girlfriends have saved my life so many times during this hectic year, and it always helps to have a group that you go to for friendship, support, and fun. it's possible that you might start planning a once-a-week hang-out with your cohort, too, and this is great because you can complain about class, chat about readings and work, and still have a good time together.
an exercise plan
ok... i'm still working on this one, but exercise does wonders to reduce stress. i'm sure there's research to cite on this, but this is melblogsgse, so you'll just have to take my word for it. last semester, i got into bikram yoga and i'd like to do that again this year. exercising reduces stress, but it also helps me to reconnect with myself in a peaceful and calm way, and i leave feeling reenergized, even ready to work with a clear head.
a therapist
i'm still working on this one too, but most of my grad student friends have therapists and find it helps them to sort through a lot of the weird messiness of grad life. if you're a full-time student, you get free counseling through CAPS; otherwise, CAPS might be able to point you in the direction of other free or cheap services. if you're a full-time penn employee, you can arrange for free counseling through EAP, which offers 7 or 8 free sessions per "issue." EAP has a partnership with council for relationships, which has tons of offices in philly and surrounding areas.
school supplies
as for actual school supplies, i've been obsessed with the uni-ball vision elite pens and the moleskine large plain notebook. i rationalize that it's worth spending money on these two things because i save money by buying my books on half.com. not sure how accurate the math is on these savings, but it helps me sleep at night.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
new people everywhere
two things i'm always surprised by every single fall is how many new faces and new books i encounter. everytime i turn a corner at gse, i have made a new friend. inevitably, a 30-second conversation turns into 5 minutes and that turns into a chain of emails that will hopefully materialize into a cup of coffee or happy hour or a study session. i love people; they are one of the reasons i take up a lot of the projects that i do. and when it comes down to it, i'd rather spend time listening to and learning from people than i would from sitting in front of a computer or with a book.
every once in a while, someone may approach me to warn me about someone else or to tell me about some encounter with a person. usually, the person in question is someone i really want to get to know. at first, i am never sure what to do with this kind of information, so i put it in my back vault somewhere as a kind of warning, and then i go about my business and try to spend time with the person and hope that our meetings will materialize into something great. more than likely, the person who delivered the warning or mentioned the strange encounter was referencing a specific incident and as we all know from our own lives, we can't really be judged by just one incident. at the end of the day, no one can really know us from just a few meetings, and people definitely can't know us just from their encounters of us in a specific context (like a class or work or whatever).
sometimes i forget how much of each other people soak up when they are in a new environment, how much they are wanting to know others and wanting to give off the best first impressions. this building is a space where i (somewhat sadly) spend a lot of time so i don't feel that uncomfortable here, despite that i am often meeting new people in the space of gse. it's not a place i'd call home, but it's a space i have come to know pretty well, and still, i am always alarmed by the fresh new faces, and excited to get to know them all.
every once in a while, someone may approach me to warn me about someone else or to tell me about some encounter with a person. usually, the person in question is someone i really want to get to know. at first, i am never sure what to do with this kind of information, so i put it in my back vault somewhere as a kind of warning, and then i go about my business and try to spend time with the person and hope that our meetings will materialize into something great. more than likely, the person who delivered the warning or mentioned the strange encounter was referencing a specific incident and as we all know from our own lives, we can't really be judged by just one incident. at the end of the day, no one can really know us from just a few meetings, and people definitely can't know us just from their encounters of us in a specific context (like a class or work or whatever).
sometimes i forget how much of each other people soak up when they are in a new environment, how much they are wanting to know others and wanting to give off the best first impressions. this building is a space where i (somewhat sadly) spend a lot of time so i don't feel that uncomfortable here, despite that i am often meeting new people in the space of gse. it's not a place i'd call home, but it's a space i have come to know pretty well, and still, i am always alarmed by the fresh new faces, and excited to get to know them all.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
back in session
school is back in session and i feel excited for the semester. although i'm a doctoral student in RWL, i don't have a master's, so i asked my advisors if it would make sense to get the master's along the way, and they agreed that it's a good idea. so, for the next year, i'll be taking a master's course each semester. i haven't interacted much with RWL master's students, but i know i'll learn a lot from the folks i take classes with this semester. so, here's what fall is looking like for me:
education 629: teaching english/literacy to adolescents in middle and secondary schools w/susan lytle, deb broderick, molly buckley, and sarah hobson
a couple of years ago, i wouldn't have been very interested in this class at all, but now, it's right in line with the out-of-school work i'm doing. this summer, with my friend jonathan, i started a volunteer organization called philadelphia immigrant mentoring collaborative(PIMC). we pair volunteer mentors (mostly undergrad penn students) with local immigrant youth (mostly high schoolers) who are interested in improving their conversational english, working on other school subjects, and learning about navigating school and planning for college. given this work and how little i know about what actually happens in schools, i'm really excited for the opportunity to learn about the ways adolescents in middle and high schools interact with english and literacy in the classroom. there's a possibility that i might be doing my field observations at FACTS charter school, which is just a couple of blocks from my house and has a large asian and asian american population. it would be right in line with the kinds of work i'm doing, though maybe it wouldn't give me as fitting an impression of what immigrant students face in public schools.
education 723: multicultural issues in education w/vivian gadsden, katrina bartow jacobs, melissa hentges, karim mostafa, and myself(!!)
that's right -- i'm also part of a teaching team this semester. we had our first class on monday and we have about two planning meetings a week. so far, i'm really happy with the way the class is going (including our syllabus, our plans for the semester's work, and the small group i'll be working with). the students are excellent and the readings are interesting and compelling. what i didn't expect was to be so comfortable as a TA in a classroom and to feel so excited to work with graduate students. the first day was inspiring and really fun. i've never thought that i'd be that interested in becoming a faculty member at a university or working with graduate students, but now that i'm a part of the teaching team for this class, that possibility has been opened back up for me. i hope i have some opportunities to research my own process of teaching in this class and also to understand more deeply how graduate students experience the classroom. i just can't wait to get to know these students, read their writing, and hear their ideas over the course of this semester.
well, that's all i've got for now. this semester, i'm committed to posting on this blog every wednesday. i hope i stick to it! it's been a strange summer (which i may talk about more later), but i'm surprisingly feeling very rejuvenated to be back in classes this semester. i can't wait to write more.
education 629: teaching english/literacy to adolescents in middle and secondary schools w/susan lytle, deb broderick, molly buckley, and sarah hobson
a couple of years ago, i wouldn't have been very interested in this class at all, but now, it's right in line with the out-of-school work i'm doing. this summer, with my friend jonathan, i started a volunteer organization called philadelphia immigrant mentoring collaborative(PIMC). we pair volunteer mentors (mostly undergrad penn students) with local immigrant youth (mostly high schoolers) who are interested in improving their conversational english, working on other school subjects, and learning about navigating school and planning for college. given this work and how little i know about what actually happens in schools, i'm really excited for the opportunity to learn about the ways adolescents in middle and high schools interact with english and literacy in the classroom. there's a possibility that i might be doing my field observations at FACTS charter school, which is just a couple of blocks from my house and has a large asian and asian american population. it would be right in line with the kinds of work i'm doing, though maybe it wouldn't give me as fitting an impression of what immigrant students face in public schools.
education 723: multicultural issues in education w/vivian gadsden, katrina bartow jacobs, melissa hentges, karim mostafa, and myself(!!)
that's right -- i'm also part of a teaching team this semester. we had our first class on monday and we have about two planning meetings a week. so far, i'm really happy with the way the class is going (including our syllabus, our plans for the semester's work, and the small group i'll be working with). the students are excellent and the readings are interesting and compelling. what i didn't expect was to be so comfortable as a TA in a classroom and to feel so excited to work with graduate students. the first day was inspiring and really fun. i've never thought that i'd be that interested in becoming a faculty member at a university or working with graduate students, but now that i'm a part of the teaching team for this class, that possibility has been opened back up for me. i hope i have some opportunities to research my own process of teaching in this class and also to understand more deeply how graduate students experience the classroom. i just can't wait to get to know these students, read their writing, and hear their ideas over the course of this semester.
well, that's all i've got for now. this semester, i'm committed to posting on this blog every wednesday. i hope i stick to it! it's been a strange summer (which i may talk about more later), but i'm surprisingly feeling very rejuvenated to be back in classes this semester. i can't wait to write more.
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