What a difference a term makes.  When we left the discussion about the “concerns” I had about last term with the instructor having her nose to the ground, pushing the APA writing style like it was the only cure for the ills of the world, taking every opportunity to deduct points from projects for not having margins set correctly or attaining a level of “readability” that was consistent with her beliefs, and absolutely not paying attention to the content of the course, we’re back to the “old” way of doing things.

I’ve just finished the second week of the term with my Project Management and Operations Management courses.  Compared to the last term, I can just tell the difference in the attitude of the class.  Where we had a partial (or partially-complete) disconnect with that previous “teacher”, the instructors I have now seem to be more in touch with what is going on and appear to be promoting a “flow” within the class that makes it more fun and beneficial.

In most of the classes I’ve taken at Kaplan (all but two), the flow of the class seemed to be beneficial to learning.  Nobody was pressured.  Students were actually encouraged to learn.  The instructors were available to answer questions, the students took more pride in the message boards, and it was overall a pretty good experience.  I actually enjoyed doing the work.  I learned something every week.  And even if we were covering a topic that I was already very familiar with, I took pride in the fact that I could help other students who had not been exposed to the subject like I had.

I didn’t know how fun it was until I had survived experiences of last term.  I reflect back often (as hard as I try not to) and see that it was much like a tornado or a hurricane.  It is disturbing, violent, and you are so focused on the three-foot circumference around you and what happens in your own world.  You stress out and try to get away, trying to stay alive and in one piece (in this case, maintain a high GPA).  It’s only later after the rain and the wind has stopped that you look back on the devastation that you realize how completely out-of-the-ordinary that situation was.

The result of that experience is a double-edged sword.  On one side, I am a little miffed that the teacher didn’t focus on the curriculum, and refused to address my very specific questions about the course.  On the other side, I learned that we as students must rise above the incompetence of others and enjoy what we have.  We need to appreciate what we’ve accomplished, enjoy the moment, and look forward to the things to come.

Four years at the same school has provided me with a great opportunity to build structure into my life and plan for things on a daily basis.  When someone throws a wrench into those plans and destroys the structure, we regroup and rebuild.  That’s what I’ve done.