Being in my 3rd year, I've realized that my class sizes have gotten significantly smaller. As opposed to first year, when I sat in Con Hall with approximately 1, 500 students, I now have classes that range in size from…
Everyone, mornings are not my friend. I'm the type of person who crawls out of the bed slowly, sloth-like, and is counting down the hours until I can return to that safe haven. I'm also a self-professed night owl, meaning…
Happy New Year, U of T! When New Year's comes around, I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions. I couldn't see the point, especially when I knew that I would inevitably give up after a week (at most).…
My inbox is usually flooded with e-mails regarding new course information, scheduling details, and other announcements from various departments at U of T. As I was scrolling through my e-mails looking for anything important, I noticed I received an e-mail…
I took a course in creative writing some time ago, but something that my professor said on the last day of classes always stuck with me. She encouraged us to write in any form, whether it be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or…
I know you just read that title and exclaimed, "Exams? Prep? Already?" But I checked my calendar and today is exactly three weeks until my first exam. Initially, I thought that sounded very far away from now as I still have final…
Now that the storm of mid-term season is done for me and the Fall Break is upon us, my mind turns to my neglected readings and upcoming essays. This year, I had the unfortunate luck of having a bunch of mid-terms one after another. By the end, I felt completely drained and ready for relaxation. But after a bit of relaxation time, I realized that I was two weeks behind on readings in all of my classes. Oops. In my majors of English and Book & Media Studies, I have a lot of readings that range from novels to textbooks. When I looked at everything I had missed out on over two weeks, I noticed that I was behind on over 500 pages of readings total (granted, that total included a 250 page novel). I've started the process of catching up on those readings and trust me, it's important to do so. Every year, my profs have emphasized two key aspects to success: attending class and doing the readings. They know what they're talking about, so take their advice! So far, I've learned a few things about this process.
If someone asked me the name of my favourite teacher from kindergarten to high school, it would be easy to answer. Personally, I have been to seven schools in five different countries, my experience varying from year to year due to the knowledge I learned throughout the years. The setting in which I learn and really does matter, and for this reason, my high school teachers and my new university professors are not the same. I believe that the main focus of high school teachers is to make sure that the student is learning, preparing them for their higher education. However, university professors are different, they are there to help me in different ways; in this new setting making sure that I am learning is my job. After all, I am an adult now, right?
I didn't know if I was going to like tutorials when I came to U of T. I've been notoriously known for not participating in class and it was never for any reason except for the fact that I preferred to listen rather than input my thoughts. When I received those syllabi for the first time, my heart dropped. How could participation in tutorials be worth 15% of my final grade? I dreaded going to that first tutorial because I had so many questions. What was a tutorial? What was a TA? How would I participate? What if I said something ridiculous? Never fear, I have the answers here (Ha, I rhymed).
I once had a tutorial in the basement of UC, which was difficult to find. Can anyone relate? (Source: uc.utoronto.ca)
