It is finished...

It has been a while since I posted a blog. I had planned to do a couple a week, but my coursework for school really took a lot of my time the past few weeks. In this post, I am going to update my progress with class and will try to post another update about what has been going on with the rest of my life.

You might recall a certain individual who was hoping for a "B" in his class, but would be striving for an "A". I actually began with the thought that I might not even try to get the "A", but it turns out that I'm not that kind of student. I actually put a lot into this class, and I am so glad that I did. I received my final grade today. It isn't official yet, but all of my assignments are graded and the online grade book for the class shows me what I got. Before I get to that, I want to talk a little about something that bothers me about college.

Here we are working in a doctorate program. My thought is, "I want to put everything into the program and walk away with a degree I could be proud of." Apparently, that isn't the same opinion everyone else holds. We had one student who in the last week has submitted every assignment for the entire class. His view was that he just wanted to get at least a "B" so he wouldn't have to retake the class. I don't know what he ended up with, but a part of my hopes he has to retake the class. I'm not saying he has to get an "F", although I read his assignments and think that is what he deserves, I just think he needs at least a "C" so he will think about how important it is to do your work on time.

My second gripe for this blog, is somewhat closely related to my first. It is slightly different though. Here we are working in a doctorate program and some of these people can't write for anything. One of the assignments we had was to review another students final business plan and provide feedback. The plan that I read had so many errors on each page. From simple spelling errors that anyone could make, to missing citations, to fragmented sentences and numerous APA style errors. I am just amazed at how bad his paper was. Then I found out that he was an undergraduate professor for an online program and I cringed at the thought. I am not the best writer in the world, but I still try to make my papers seem very polished. I had three suggestions from the peer review on my paper and I corrected them. One of them was the difference in how it was accepted under APA 5th edition compared to APA 6th edition. I reviewed the other students final submission and he corrected two of my suggestions from the first page and didn't correct anything else. I had even done track changes in Word, so he could have just accepted my changes and then addressed anything I had mentioned in a comment to the side. Nope, that was too much for him to do.

Needless to say, I think some of the students in my program need to go back through undergraduate and graduate school again. I don't want them tarnishing the name of my school with their inability to write or even follow the assignments. That is a whole other gripe that I am not going to subject you to in this posting.

So, now that I have griped, I can get back to the point of this blog: my final grade. The results are in. America has voted and Adam you are safe. You received an "A" in the course. A 97 if we want to be more accurate. A spring board into the final four classes of my coursework, all in my concentration. As for this class, it is finished.

4 Weeks down

I have a little bit of catching up to do, but I wanted to make a brief comment about my school status. I am four weeks into the class, and actually have started enjoying the work. I am really getting into building this Business Plan that will be my final project. As of today I only have three weeks left and that is exciting. I still have a high "A". I was faced with the question this week of whether or not I wanted to settle for a "B" and I chose not to. I went on a short trip this past weekend, which I will blog about later, and did not have access to the Internet. So, that meant that my assignment was late. I looked at my grade as it would stand if I didn't turn in my assignment, and it was an 89. Right on the border of an "A". There is a chance that I could still make the "A" without the assignment, but worst case, I would settle for a "B". When it came down to it, I couldn't make myself settle.

I was afraid that would happen!!! All my life I have been an overachiever and have never allowed myself to settle for mediocrity. Some of you might say that a "B" is not Mediocre, but for me it would be. I couldn't bring myself to just walking away from the "A". Even if I can't get a 4.0, I can still have all "A"s.

So, here I am working on getting my "A". I am getting excited about my work, just in time to finish it. I guess that is the best time to be excited. Three weeks and Seven assignments left, I am pushing on. My "A" is in site with 4 weeks down.

Two Weeks Done...

Well, I am completed with two and a half weeks of my class. I need to be working on the research and assignment that is due tonight, but I wanted to take some time to update you on where I am at.

Previously I mentioned that I had planned to strive for a B, but might as well work towards an A. I am still on that path. After two weeks of assignments, I have a 97. It seems that every assignment I turn in has something wrong so I lose one or two points. It has been a little frustrating. I have spent the past two years writing using APA 5th edition. That is the edition that is still acceptable for me to write in because of when I started the program. The problem is that some of the students in my class are new to the program and are under the 6th edition. So, to make it easier, the professor is grading using APA 6th edition. Although they are very similar and almost identical, only being one edition off, there are minor things that are different. So when I reference my 5th edition guide, I am sometimes wrong. I guess that is okay, because by the time I am finished with this class, I will be used to the 6th edition. My gripe about it is that while it is only one or two points here and there, that gives me fewer points I can miss in the end to make my A.

The class is going well otherwise. I am exhausted, but getting through it. Still have my A and hope that the next five weeks will bring fewer errors and more points. The bright side, I am two weeks done.

It has started again...

Some of you might be confused by the title of this post. One of the things I love in my life right now is that I am close to completing my coursework for my doctorate. What most of you don't know is that I am having a hard time getting into some of my classes. Part of that is because they have so much busy work.

I have been trying to make A's in all of my classes. Although I have, I still don't have a 4.0. That is a gripe for another day. In short I am going to say that apparently not all A's are created equal. In some cases an A- doesn't count the same as an A.

I had come to the decision that I would strive to be satisfied with a B in the class I started yesterday. I was feeling good about the fact that I could put in less effort, maybe not do some of the assignments and still get a B. Life was good. Then we got the syllabus. For those of you who might not know what a syllabus is, it is the single most depressing document for any class. It tells you all of the work you have to do and when it has to be done. In the case of this class, it also broke down how the grading would be done. I assumed going into the class that I would have four assignments due in a week. That is pretty standard for the classes at my school. Based on this assumption, I thought that I could skip an assignment or two and still get at least a B. I think someone was reading my mind. The course has a total of 370 something points possible. If you divide that among the 29 assignments, missing a couple of assignments would not kill you. The problem is that the overall grade is divided into 9 assignments. Each of those assignments is divided into multiple parts. In order to get credit for the assignment one must complete all of the parts. Thus my skipping assignment thought is gone. As my best friend, next to my wife, told me, "You might as well try for that A."

I guess that is where I am at. the class has started and there is much work to do. The course culminates with a 40 page final project. Here's to hoping I get that A.