Week two held a bit of dread as the weekend drew to a close. University semesters, like life, are a marathon not a sprint. So i decided to ease into it by going to 2/3 classes and doing the minimal amount of homework. With the right timing, my preparation will be peaking at final examinations. I'm Usain Bolt with textbooks.
There is a commerce subject that brought back some very bad memories that i obviously have not had enough beer to forget about. It all started when i saw the word parabola. High school maths was a long time ago and it did not end as well as it should have. Redemption or further disappointment? I suppose the ball is in my court there.
The lecturer is one of those Baby Boomers who welcomes the technological revolution with absolute gusto and heartfelt enthusiasm. Middle age tech as well as middle age spread. No chalkboard in the room and she does not bring notes with her. However, this has opened the class up to IT issues. At least twice a lecture. Followed by quotes such as "oooooh i don't know why it did that" or "is anyone a tech wiz who can fix this?" I love the apportioning of blame to the computer. And the use of "wiz" ... no one says wiz anymore!
This is particularly frustrating in that the cost of units has increased this year. I worked out that i pay about $120 an hour for 9 hours a week, irrespective of whether or not i turn up. Thank goodness for the deferred payment program. IT issues have probably cost me $60-$80 and it is only week 2! The other expense which is, frankly, daylight robbery is textbooks. This subject requires TWO textbooks at $140 each. I am not naive enough to think that no one at the university is getting a kickback. Unfortunately educational institutions are right up there with Religious ones when it comes to greed, profits and inequality. Heck, international students aren't asked what their grades are but when they can pay. Programs can be accelerated at a higher price.. but i digress.
Met the tutor today who is of Indian heritage and for some reason believes no one can pronounce his name. Is there a word for this? Just don't say reverse racism (which is the bane of my very existence and only ever uttered by privileged white males). As a keen follower of cricket, of course i know how to say Guatam. The tutor was definitely an academic and definitely mathematically inclined. His life potentially revolves around mathematics. Which is probably less full on than having to drop your kids at soccer practice 3 nights a week. His comments about class bordered on life lessons and pearls of wisdom. "You must always try your best to remember this formula for quadratic equations... and in everything you do". He tried to make a few jokes though and really had the wrong crowd for a stand up act. Always respect someone willing to have a crack though. Shows some character. Making jokes in this class is akin to asking where the Halal menu is as at a Trump fundraiser dinner.
My classmates are made up of 90% overseas students who did this subject in their undergraduate degree and have a certain cockiness which is hard to understand. I don't care who you are, what you look like and what your extracurricular activities are. You can spend 3 hours a day in a gym, you can surf in the mornings, you can be from old money or you can DJ at a bush doof on weekends. But if you go to university, you are a bit of a nerd. We are all on the spectrum somewhere. The swagger, the faux importance (people who think they do interesting things love to speak loudest) and unfortunately, sometimes the disdain for those who are not tertiary educated.
This is a problem within my classes and always has been. And that is an incredibly embarrassing thing to have to say.
Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Tuesday, 1 March 2016
First Day of School
Laura was dead on. It has been a very, very long Summer break. From early November until March i have been predominantly working, drinking, eating and watching cricket (not necessarily in that order). There was some trepidation as the new semester approached but an odd calming nothingness as i boarded the 396 bus to campus. Been there. Done that.
Things started stereotypically. With an IT issue and an inability to get our lecture slides on the projector. The economics lecturer traipsed through the door with the air of Ben Folds. Not so much rocking the suburbs but maybe there's always someone cooler than you. His black shirt, seemingly carefree demeanor and laid back attitude were well received. Although, being an economics lecturer, there is always someone cooler than him.
The subject is based around Game Theory so, whenever the lecturer said we were going to do some games later on in the class, my ears pricked and excitement grew. Not a heads down, thumbs up proposition or even celebrity heads though. It was a trap. Not the kind of games that interest me. More strategic decision making in business decisions assuming rational players and full information. As a great mind said, players gonna play, haters gonna hate but I'm just gonna shake. Shake it off. Unfortunately the games were mandatory to our overall grades so i could not simply shake them off.
Interesting characters are an absolute given in any university classroom. A melting pot of cultures, ideas, hope, possibilities and perspectives. Truly a stimulating experience. At times. The hipsters help the international students feel better as they both seem to be wearing Western clothes from thirty years ago. Cliched over-effort facial hair, the usual YUPpies in suits with briefcase and a late coffee and mature age students needing the Masters for the promotion they have almost definitely worked hard enough for already. Some familiar faces for a change too, though. And it is nice to know people. Lovely people at that.
Every semester there are laughs to be had at the expense of others. One of my favourite people at university is the student who has willingly skulled their company's Kool-Aid. In fact, i think i even spotted an IV going into the person's veins this time. We were talking about strategy (game theory wise) and she managed to regale us all with CBA's Mission Statement before being cut off. This was a new world record. The same person seems to be the epicenter of my irritation and earned strikes through an unfound, sweeping political remark, questioning why the industry i work in exists because she only heard about it now and by being competitive in these games that are not games at all. I mean, come on, mate. Last year my nemesis was an American and i thought i could forgive his apparent shortcomings but this time she is perhaps, a little too Australian. Self-loathing does not look good on me.
And after what felt like an eternity i find myself walking to the bus stop, trudging that well worn path lined with student-debt, goon sacks and people who struggle to function in the real world.
Things started stereotypically. With an IT issue and an inability to get our lecture slides on the projector. The economics lecturer traipsed through the door with the air of Ben Folds. Not so much rocking the suburbs but maybe there's always someone cooler than you. His black shirt, seemingly carefree demeanor and laid back attitude were well received. Although, being an economics lecturer, there is always someone cooler than him.
The subject is based around Game Theory so, whenever the lecturer said we were going to do some games later on in the class, my ears pricked and excitement grew. Not a heads down, thumbs up proposition or even celebrity heads though. It was a trap. Not the kind of games that interest me. More strategic decision making in business decisions assuming rational players and full information. As a great mind said, players gonna play, haters gonna hate but I'm just gonna shake. Shake it off. Unfortunately the games were mandatory to our overall grades so i could not simply shake them off.
Interesting characters are an absolute given in any university classroom. A melting pot of cultures, ideas, hope, possibilities and perspectives. Truly a stimulating experience. At times. The hipsters help the international students feel better as they both seem to be wearing Western clothes from thirty years ago. Cliched over-effort facial hair, the usual YUPpies in suits with briefcase and a late coffee and mature age students needing the Masters for the promotion they have almost definitely worked hard enough for already. Some familiar faces for a change too, though. And it is nice to know people. Lovely people at that.
Every semester there are laughs to be had at the expense of others. One of my favourite people at university is the student who has willingly skulled their company's Kool-Aid. In fact, i think i even spotted an IV going into the person's veins this time. We were talking about strategy (game theory wise) and she managed to regale us all with CBA's Mission Statement before being cut off. This was a new world record. The same person seems to be the epicenter of my irritation and earned strikes through an unfound, sweeping political remark, questioning why the industry i work in exists because she only heard about it now and by being competitive in these games that are not games at all. I mean, come on, mate. Last year my nemesis was an American and i thought i could forgive his apparent shortcomings but this time she is perhaps, a little too Australian. Self-loathing does not look good on me.
And after what felt like an eternity i find myself walking to the bus stop, trudging that well worn path lined with student-debt, goon sacks and people who struggle to function in the real world.
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