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Can Academia be fun?
Posted by Jaybetee • 9/24/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: Academia, blog spotlight, blogger advocate, phd programs
Husdal takes on the question of whether or not academia can be fun in his first advocate post, The nutty professor? Most certainly not on blog.blogcatalog.com/.
The post highlights a PhD program "survivor" who creatively shares her academic experience with the rest of us. Take a look and let us know what you think of the post and of the blog being highlighted: Survivor: The PhD Years.
Also, did you enjoy your time in school or were you one of those people just waiting to be done? If you liked it, what made it enjoyable to you?
User Comments
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I know nobody likes a spoilsport, but yet again I would like to point out the need for better and possibly more categories on the blog. Otherwise the value of these posts will be limited to a fairly narrow stretch of time.
Also, when I did a post on the BC blog many months ago, it got scraped in a few places, and BC admin didn't seem to feel that taking any action, even sending a report to Google, was their job, even though the post occurred on their blog. And maybe they have a point because of who owns the words, but they might also be in a better position to go after such things, especially since usually more than one post is at stake.
As for academia, well, it looks very different depending on your field, department, job, place in the pecking order, and the job market. But it's all a lot like life outside of academia, because academics are human too, for better or worse.-
Yes, it can be a rather comfortable type position where you get to do research, garner respect from students and others in academia and one hopes inspires students to be more than they otherwise would have been without you. I've experienced professors whose job it was to make student's lives miserable as their belief system seemed to be that the harder one comes down on students the better the student becomes. Other professors are more inclined to take a real interest in each student as an individual.
I suppose professors receive all sorts of reviews and critiques, which is the part of their job that Id imagine if they took student's feedback seriously could either make them far better or far worse profs, depending on the judgement they used. -
... Or ... a very narrow stretch of MIND! Little Red Dog!
Had most of my professors been more like you Mark, I wouldn't have strained at the bit so desperately. With the exception of attending French Culinary School, I wanted OUT!
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I attended colleges and universities through my whole 20's and early 30's. Even when I have moved around in the decades since I have always tried to locate as near to a campus as I could. Hang out on hang out streets, cafes and bars. Haunt book stores. New and Used. Attend poetry reading. Dig some Sunday mid-day jazz. Go to art gallery shows.
Professors, new students, grad students, old hippies and even wanted-to-be-Beats (beatniks) like myself. Find all. Like all. Live about 4 blocks from cool street and campus ecge now. -
Academia offers a time and place where one can think about and discuss different types of ideas in an objective manor. (most of the time) I loved this part of it. I also really like to learn and interpret information of any kind, which plays a big role in my liking Academia.
However, I found almost all of my 100 level classes to be extremely boring. I am also a pretty bad procrastinator, which makes doing things like class projects and most homework rather undesirable for me. One thing I quickly realized and disliked about college is that you may not like or agree with your prof but you have to deal with it. Over all though, I would have to say that I do really like Academia. -
Ahem ... (she chooses to walk over broken glass shards in bare feet). I have left comment on both BlogCatalog Spotlight posts that have appeared in the Official BlogCatalog Blog. But, and it's a huge BUT, I don't think this "BlogCatalog Spotlight" category belongs in the company blog. I do not think the Blogging 101 category belongs there either. And I'm not clear about what kind of posts to expect in the categories called Community, Fortune Cookie Friday, Member Monday and Technology. I'm also puzzled why that huge Blogger Unite image is in the top right corner as it's a separate site.
I'm sharing my reactions and opinions in this thread in the hope that Admin may choose to develop another area for such "BlogCatalog Spotlight" posts, and to use the company blog only for posts that are directly related to BC business.-
You're assuming that it is a company blog. I have no idea what it is, which is part of the problem.
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Now that you have said that I'm not sure either. I thought it was a company blog but maybe I'm wrong. It seems to be sort of a kitchen sink blog. These are the categories:
* Announcements
* BlogCatalog Spotlight
* Bloggers Unite
* Blogging 101
* Community
* Fortune Cookie Friday
* General News
* Guest Blogger
* Member Monday
* Technology
* Uncategorized
* Widget
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As a prof myself, I'll just throw in a few thoughts. Like everything, there's never just one cause of something, but an interwoven series of causes.
Many students are bored in class. There are many causes. Part of it is our "quick-fix" culture - students today have a short attention span, and - it sounds funny, but - can't sit still for long. Part of it is also the profs, who are boring and burned out, themselves.
There are always the few ace students, who you give the lecture for, if you're a prof.
And there are those few inspired profs, who make you want to go to class, if you're a student.
Academia is good. But, I've found that it's hollow alone, since subjects are limited, and the knowledge it fosters is limited.
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