Peeved

I’m really upset about one of the courses I’m taking this semester.  It’s only a two credit course, so it is scheduled to end November 3, while I’m in Africa.  Which, fine.  I knew that going into the matter, and I planned accordingly.  I shall be lugging Winnie Laptop to Africa, not a problem (make it easier to deal with pictures, too!).

But I’ve been having problems in the class.  I’ve been struggling with the CSS, then I tried to move my Dreamweaver files (which, hello, yes, I know that is NOT ALLOWED, my bad) and everything went all to shit.  Also, I could not figure out how to use the webspace set up for me through the school; that was a disaster and prevented me from actually displaying any of my assignments.  But throughout this I continued to keep up with the reading, complete my assignments, and post my reflections on my class blog like a good little multimedia student.  Because the syllabus said that we would use our blogs to communicate with the professor and our classmates.

However, no one was communicating with me.  I began to feel isolated.  I began to wonder if I was actually still in a class, or if it had gone away while I wasn’t looking.  I heard not a peep from my professor for two weeks.

Finally I broke down and e-mailed her directly, explaining my problems and asking what files I should submit to her to prove I’d been doing my assignments all along. 

Nothing.

Finally, yesterday, five days later, she called me at work.  Because it’s an online class, you know, so apparently e-mail is out of the question.

And she was just deeply shocked and deeply apologetic to find out that I’d been having trouble all this time because I was just her star pupil, and quite frankly, I intimidated all the other students early on and she had been in contact with them over e-mail and held meetings in Breeze and there was just so much contact that she hadn’t been reading the blogs and she just had no idea I was struggling and oh my goodness she wouldn’t have expected her star pupil to be struggling.

The fuck?  I was doing well when we were creating graphics.  I know how to use a graphics program.  Big fucking deal.  By this point we had moved well past that, through Dreamweaver, and were using Flash. 

One of my poor classmates who is so intimidated by my ability to build a graphic and change the links on my Blogger blog (you know, the ones that say “EDIT ME” when you first choose a template?), she e-mailed me three weeks into the class to ask me opinion on whether or not she should buy the textbook.  I can see where maybe she was having some trouble…

And I really resent being ignored.  I am not in this class to be the star pupil and float through it.  I’m a little beyond that at this point.  I’m taking these classes so I can get a job I enjoy.  I would really like to learn something.

So once we got through all that, my super genius professor said I didn’t have to worry too much about coordinating my time in Africa for the online showcase at the end of the class because everyone else had asked for an extension.  In fact, to make it easier for everyone, why don’t I just present BEFORE I go to Africa?  You know, a whole TWO WEEKS EARLY.  I’m not sure who exactly this is making things easier, but I’m guessing someone who goes by the title Professor, because Miss E wasn’t the one being pushy about it…

And the worst part?  I can’t even write the scathing evaluation she so very much desrves, because if I want to apply for the full-time masters program, I may need a recommendation from her.  If I can ever get in touch with her again.

In other news, I shut the cat in the dryer last night.  Luckily I didn’t turn it on, cause cat blood and guts would really stain my favorite jeans…..