Nice people thread 2 - now even nicer

silvercar

Oh Sue, well done on getting the assignment finished. I'm sure everyone doubts at some point whether they can keep juggling everything without crashing. You seem to be coping amazingly well.

vivatifosi

SingleSue wrote: »

I am seriously wondering if I am actually up to all this, call it a crisis of confidence if you will but I completely feel out of my depth now.

That's normal for anyone studying by distance learning Sue. Its very different from learning at uni as you don't have peer group support immediately to hand and to compare notes as to what other people are struggling with. Although there are fora to cover this, I don't feel people are as open on these as they would be if they were taking classes together every day.

The reality is, if you weren't up to this you wouldn't have had such good results to your work so far.

My experience is that it isn't about being able to learn, its about finding time to learn. If you aren't studying full time it is that much harder because real life has this way of intruding, whether through the day job or demanding family life. Are you more or less on target with your study programme Sue? If so, take a couple of days off and get your head back on track and come to the subject fresh. My first OU tutor always said "remember its a marathon, not a sprint" and never a truer word has been said about taking a degree over 6+ years. You have to pace yourself and find a way of making the study work for you. You aren't out of your depth, your brain's just full of other stuff and not allowing the OU in. Been there!

carolt

Agreed. I have a brother who did an OU degree on top of a full-time job. Very hard work. But he ended up being the only one of us who got a first. (And no-one was more surprised than him.) I think the extra maturity and life experience and commitment you bring to your studies as a part-time mature student counts for and contributes a lot more than you think.

carolt

SingleSue wrote: »

Assignment in! Thank god for that......

I am seriously wondering if I am actually up to all this, call it a crisis of confidence if you will but I completely feel out of my depth now. It is not helped by all that goes on around me, I just can't concentrate even when the boys are not here as the phone invariably goes off asking me to pick one up or see a teacher and when they are here, study is not possible at all!

I suppose I will feel better in the morning......

I so know how you're feeling, Sue. I'm not trying to study, but trying to mark, which similarly needs intensive concentration, and yesterday I had one of those days where it was so much one thing after another that I was just beginning to despair about holding it all together, and what the hell the point was...

We all have those days. Maybe it's the change in weather?

Anyway, big hugz... :grouphug:

SingleSue

Thanks guys, feel a little more positive this morning...although I am still questioning my choice of degree.

I won't give up though, one thing I am not is a quitter.

carolt

Gosh this marking is dull.

Exocet

SingleSue wrote: »

I won't give up though, one thing I am not is a quitter.

You could try nicotine patches.

carolt

Oh come on Exocet, you can do better than that...

Davesnave

carolt wrote: »

Gosh this marking is dull.

The worst thing about teaching is the marking.

I used to write occasional ridiculous comments in pupils' books, just to see if they read anything I wrote there. I suppose it made them look, and it livened up the Parents' Evenings as well.

One would hear occasional cackles of mirth as the next pair read through the books while they waited outside the door. :rotfl:

Of course, sometimes it could go the other way.

Education = serious business.

Can't win 'em all.

Exocet

carolt wrote: »

Oh come on Exocet, you can do better than that...

Yes I probably could.

But this is the nice people thread...