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Getting Known
Jan. 21st, 2005 11:02 amI sat in on a college class Tuesday. In only one class period, I caught the professor's attention. That's because it's the usual situation I do well in: expectations are so low that they are very easy to exceed. All I had to do to get her attention was to smile at her jokes. It's a class full of people going pass/fail, hoping to get out early, and acting bored or put upon. Sadly, someone who's paying attention sticks out like a sore thumb.
In addition, I'm clearly no longer the age of a traditional college student, and the class is on personal finance. This puts me at an advantage because I have already made decisions of some kind on most of the topics, whereas most of my classmates only anticipate that this material might come in handy one day in the future (although meanwhile it's incredibly boring).
Wednesday I e-mailed the professor to ask official permission to audit the class and she said yes. Thursday I brought her the form to sign. She said, "I thought it was you." She also said I could go ahead and take the tests if I wanted to, since they are graded by machine--it's no extra work for them.
Well, there goes my plan to sit anonymously in the class (my usual preferred style). But I've been realizing that this could actually come in handy. It's a rare opportunity to acquire a new contact in a field which actually interests me. I am going to try to kick butt on those tests. And maybe even participate in class (though no more than one comment per class, because it's actually against the rules of auditing to participate in any way other than quietly listening; also because there are 186 registered students who should get dibs).
Journal Entries of the Day - Today's journal entry theme is hotels. See “If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother, by Sparkler (today's winner of best title award) and read about regrouping. "Luxury helps me think." Or see Life in a Small Hotel in Waikiki, by Darn Lucky, cute kid entry of the day. "[T]he California roll with its sticky white sushi rice just wouldn't flick away from his hand no matter how hard he flicked his little wrists and no matter how loudly he protested at the California roll.”
In addition, I'm clearly no longer the age of a traditional college student, and the class is on personal finance. This puts me at an advantage because I have already made decisions of some kind on most of the topics, whereas most of my classmates only anticipate that this material might come in handy one day in the future (although meanwhile it's incredibly boring).
Wednesday I e-mailed the professor to ask official permission to audit the class and she said yes. Thursday I brought her the form to sign. She said, "I thought it was you." She also said I could go ahead and take the tests if I wanted to, since they are graded by machine--it's no extra work for them.
Well, there goes my plan to sit anonymously in the class (my usual preferred style). But I've been realizing that this could actually come in handy. It's a rare opportunity to acquire a new contact in a field which actually interests me. I am going to try to kick butt on those tests. And maybe even participate in class (though no more than one comment per class, because it's actually against the rules of auditing to participate in any way other than quietly listening; also because there are 186 registered students who should get dibs).
Journal Entries of the Day - Today's journal entry theme is hotels. See “If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother, by Sparkler (today's winner of best title award) and read about regrouping. "Luxury helps me think." Or see Life in a Small Hotel in Waikiki, by Darn Lucky, cute kid entry of the day. "[T]he California roll with its sticky white sushi rice just wouldn't flick away from his hand no matter how hard he flicked his little wrists and no matter how loudly he protested at the California roll.”