Amy, you are right, your "advisor" was very mean! What an awful thing to say
to a student! She was an idiot. Shouldn't she be helping you in some way? As
in trying to discover *why* you are failing these courses, especially if
it's something you are very interested in? Perhaps you should have given
voice to your inner feelings and told her exactly what you wrote here.
One thing I noted that you wrote - something about getting B's without
breaking a sweat. I know some very smart people who never really had to
study in order to get good grades, but then when the situation arose where
they *needed* to study (like taking a course after being away from school
for years) they just didn't know how to do it. I always had to work for my
grades, and by time I hit grad school I finally figured out how to do it
right. (And then I taught a course...and realized how little I really knew!)
Remember, though, grades are usually a reflection on how well you can take a
test - not how smart you are or what you've learned. It's just a hoop you
have to jump through before you can take the next step. So focus on the
basics of why your grades have dropped, and how you can improve them. And
whenever you think of your so-called advisor, remember that she probably
doesn't understand the wonders of nature, and frogs, and all that stuff that
goes with herpetology. (As I microbiologist all I can say is that they are
pretty cute.) She's missing out on something big.
Take care,
Gina
Amy (mikenaim at bellsouth.net) wrote:
> My advisor was mean to me today. That is probably the reason for my negative
> attitude and total loss of self-confidence in my decision to finish my BS in
> Biology. She said, "We try to treat you like adults here. I tell you what to
> do and you do what you want anyway. If you keep jumping into upper-division
> courses and failing them, you are going to pay the consequences of extra
> tuition charges for repeating them. That your decision. But remember that we
> always have the power to suspend. After your second try at Organic
> Chemistry, taxpayers are paying for your tuition." I said: "Well, the G.I.
> Bill doesn't pay for remedial courses that already have credit for. I'm
> running out of benefits."
> I felt like saying: Listen, B****, I am almost 30 years old, had a career in
> the military, a career as a graphic artist and have payed for my own tuition
> >From day one with, literally, blood, sweat and tears. Give me the f******
> program of study, stop trying to call yourself a "counselor" and knock that
> "M.S. in Allied Health Services" chip off of your shoulders.
