tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post4443231923102114327..comments2023-08-09T03:21:13.354-05:00Comments on Letters from Gehenna: The World on a Slant: Nose to the GrindstoneDw3t-Hthrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-16336469517224950262010-03-26T12:52:01.534-05:002010-03-26T12:52:01.534-05:00My sister and her wife both got MAs from Goddard. ...My sister and her wife both got MAs from Goddard. From the outside it seemed like a very flexible and supportive environment. They do a BA in Individual Studies, http://www.goddard.edu/bachelorarts_individualizedstudies. I don't know if it would fit what you are looking for, but it might be possible to build the BA around your eventual plans for a Masters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-67754334183552534682010-03-24T20:22:31.751-05:002010-03-24T20:22:31.751-05:00Very thoughtful post, as always, with some painful...Very thoughtful post, as always, with some painfully spot-on analyses of the school system. I had a different but related problem in college -- I'd so internalized the "follow the rules, SINNER" mindset I'd internalized back in my parochial grammar school that I had trouble taking the guidelines for any particular assignment and running with them, whether it was in writing or art. Instead, I painstakingly followed them to the letter -- or what I thought was the letter -- with painfully cramped results. I always panicked trying to come up with a thesis for my essays, so I tended to pick the first one that was suitably original that I felt I could defend, whether it had anything to do with my personal experience of the work I was writing about or not, instead of engaging with the work's complexity. In my drawing classes I drew precisely what I saw in front of me, no exceptions. In the back of my mind I thought doing otherwise would be cheating. I was so obsessed with DOIN IT RITE that I missed a lot of opportunities to learn. I made decent grades, but my professors never knew quite what to do with me. It wasn't until I neared graduation (and was suffering from crippling anxiety and depression) that I'd started to realize embracing nuance and my actual experiences and inclinations resulted in better work. It didn't have to be all about what I thought someone else wanted.<br /><br />(Looking back at the above -- holy crap was I screwed up.)Erin C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18150218510083075031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-45708933455570762292010-03-23T07:27:30.060-05:002010-03-23T07:27:30.060-05:00You don't technically need a BA for some maste...You don't technically need a BA for some masters programs. It very much depends on the school and the discipline.<br /><br />I hear you on the college front. It never occurred to me not to go to college. After all my parents had PhDs, so that was the logical thing to do. And it worked about as well for me. <br /><br />Now, I'm getting my BA more for my benefit than any actual real need. My parents keep asking what I'm going to do once I get my degree, and I can't think of anything that I would really be doing differently. I really love my job and my coworkers. The BA isn't necessary for what I do, nor will it help. But I want it....<br /><br />I'm terrible about self-discipline too. I can manage it in small chunks. Sometimes. And for very specific things (like finishing books or cross-stitch). But usually, I just punt after a while.Peeeeka-chuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07289661754866293534noreply@blogger.com