…to school that is. Classes at UGA resumed yesterday, and I’ve gone back to being a full-time student- or something like it. Here’s a review of the classes, thus far:
SOCI 6800: Sociology of Work and Industry
I was excited about this class because I get to go back to my sociology roots. I wanted to take a class similar to this while at UNC, but I was unable to find it at a time that fit my schedule. Anyhow, at UGA we’re required to take content courses to fulfill our social science requirements…so I ended up here.
I think this class will be interesting. We’ll cover some traditional sociological ideas from old-school theorists such as C. Wright Mills and some new stuff as well. I’m really excited about the excerpts that we’ll be reading from a book entitled “No Shame in My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner City“.
Other than being in a mosquito/roach infested classroom located in the basement of an old building, this class is promising. The professor is cool (he’ll be bring coffee every week and told us to bring our jump drives so that he could give us all the articles), the people seem even cooler, and I’ll be glad to get back to my traditional field of study. I’ll keep you posted.
EPSY 6300: Introduction to School Psychology
I enrolled in this class because we’re encouraged to take other education classes- higher ed, social foundations of ed, ed psych, ed admin- just to fulfill some requirements and to be well rounded. When I first became interested in education, I thought that I would want to get my Ph.D in Ed Psych. But times change, and so do our minds…
This class had the potential to be GREAT…but there were some shortcomings. There were only 7 people in the class, and while I’m all about seminars, it’s not what I was expecting for an “intro” class. Of those 7 people, 4 of them were doctoral students in the School Psych program. That wasn’t a deterrent, but what did deter me was the professor basically talking to those 4 doctoral students the ENTIRE class period. I, along with the other 2 students in the class who aren’t in the doctoral program got NO eye contact, NO questions, NOTHING. I left class wondering why I came, and that led me to my next decision: dropping the class.
Classes for grad students are hard to come by outside of their department, but it wasn’t something that I needed- and since she hadn’t created a curriculum for people outside of the School Psych program, I didn’t think that I should take it. If a class is going to be open to all people, you should teach it that way. Anyhow, I figured I could find something else to spend my tuition dollars on…
PSYC 6500: The Psychology of Prejudice
As of now, this class is the winner in the bunch. The professor is excited, the material is interesting (although the books ARE pricey), and I actually know some people in the class; despite the fact that it is outside of my department. It’s a class that has undergrad and grad students (yay for meeting more people), and the professor seems to be REAL. She is all about creating an open classroom environment where we are honest with ourselves and each other, and she started by telling us where some of her own prejudices might be.
We’ll read some good material, some that I’ve read before; from people such as Peggy McIntosh, Beverly Tatum, and W.E.B. DuBois. Reading good stuff for a class is always exciting.
The downfall of this class- it’s at 8am. On Tuesdays AND Thursdays. I might as well be a first year student in Chem 011.
so…that’s the rundown thus far. I’ve got 2 more classes to check out. I’ll keep you updated…
life beyond the well... 