Things have been heating up on the academic front. During the past couple of weeks, I've had to complete a short written assignment for Policy, a research assignment for Research, and a draft paper involving an interview, writing AND research for Human Behavior. I haven't actually written a paper in 18 years and have never used the APA format/method of citation that SSW requires. But collecting full text articles for the Human Behavior paper and compiling the abstracts for the research assignment in Research were much more significant struggles for me.

I realize I am dating myself in writing this, but when I stopped working nine years ago, the internet was just beginning to really gain steam in the legal profession. I saw this one coming. This is where I feel my age as compared to “the young'uns” in my classes. The last time I did this sort of research I was an undergraduate and back then research consisted of flipping through a bound index, pulling hard copies of articles off the shelf and pressing a button on a copier. Indeed, just to ease my discomfort, I did wander through the deserted aisles of the Health Sciences Library, retrieve a hardbound version of a journal and copy my desired article. I saw no one else in these aisles; clearly there was a more efficient way to do this and I needed to learn how. Actually, though, once I had reassured myself that my “dinosaur method” of obtaining a resource still existed, I felt a little more relaxed about experimenting with the electronic approach.

After spending way too much time collecting my research articles (and winding up with MORE than the 10 required sources!) I hastily drafted up my Human Behavior paper. ‘Not the best paper I've ever written by a long stretch. But, given my steep learning curve on the technology side of things, coupled with the time constraints of the the assignment and my own work and family obligations, I felt this was my best effort as I walked into class (late, again, after a 2 hour drive to Baltimore in traffic!!! More about this in another post…).

We exchanged our papers in class so that our classmates could correct the APA formatting errors in the draft paper. Leaving class, I knew there were plenty of things wrong with my paper. The “go for the A” part of me was smarting a bit. But I realize, too, that this academic experience is different. My time is not entirely my own. When one part of an assignment takes longer than it should, the other parts are going to suffer; I just don't have the luxury of the time to offset things. But, perhaps for the first time in my “academic career”, I am ok with this. So far, at least, it seems more important to me to feel like I'm progressing toward a goal that feels right, even if road is not paved with A's. I really hope I can sustain this perspective in the months ahead.

Posted by Kathi at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, we’re off to a roaring start. My 6 year old has been sick the past two weeks. She started with some congestion the first week of school but developed a full-blown sinus infection, which the doctor did not want to treat until 10 days had passed (read: a week of sleep deprivation for child, mom and dad). She then struggled to knock a fever early in the course of antibiotics. Not a good beginning. She missed four days of school in the process, which meant my husband and I had to juggle changes in a schedule that has not really been established yet. As a result, we still have no rhythm going into the fourth week. The kids seem unsettled still about mom’s new endeavors and I think it’s because of this lack of a settled routine.

My 6 year old wanted to play soccer this year but, due to the illness, has not been to the two practices held thus far. We showed up at the first game, in the drizzle, on Saturday. Just what someone getting over a sinus infection needs: an hour playing soccer in the rain. “Playing”, however, is not really the operative word. When we arrived at the field, there were four other teams finishing up. The chaos of 8 teams of 1st graders and their respective parents/fans/siblings got to my performance anxiety prone child. At first there was outright refusal to participate. Then drama ensued as my husband and I , the coach and her teammates tried to cajole her into playing. The attention fueled the drama which reached a climax when, once prodded onto the field, she stood in the middle crying, the game at a standstill. Lovely.

Thinking of the pile of reading, writing and research assignments back at home on my desk, it was very tempting to just go home. The rain was picking up anyway. But she chose this for herself and I felt a (misguided?) compulsion to teach the meaning of being part of a team. In a moment of parenting brilliance(?), I told her, quite firmly, that if she did not participate without any further tears, she would be spending the afternoon in her room while her sister watched a movie. (Yikes, that sounds harsh as I write it! I mean really, we are talking soccer here, not life or death.) She moped her way over to her teammates, head hanging. But when the lines changed in the game, she played, a smile on her face. The parents of her teammates, who had been enjoying “the show”, commented on how she seemed happy out there and actually was a pretty decent player. Afterwards we headed to the car for PB&J sandwiches, amid endless chatter about how “her” team won, how good “they” were, etc. Ahh…lessons for another day.

Posted by Kathi at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi! My name is Kathi. I’m 41 and can’t believe I’m back in school. I really thought I was done with the school chapter of my life. I have two children, ages 6 and 8. We live in Rockville, Maryland, so my classes are divided between the Shady Grove and main campuses. I ‘m part-time but am taking three courses this fall — Human Behavior, Social Policy and Social Research. I’m hoping to finish in three years. My approach is to load up a little on the academic work this year to make things easier when I’m doing the Field and Clinical Work in years two and three. I anticipate it will be a challenge in terms of the family schedule to balance the academic work with the Field and Clinical Work. I will also be making use of my summers to the extent possible.

It’s been a bit of a blur so far. We all started school the same day, coincindentally also my birthday! It was a rocky drop-off at the girls’ school. My first grader has been worried about this since last Spring. Then I had to literally drag my third grader in the door of the classroom and hand her over to the teacher; she was really worked up about the homework load and social issues this year. My heart was a bit heavy as I hopped on the DC Beltway to go to my 9 a.m. class in Baltimore. Once I was there, though, it felt great to be out in the world again, pursuing something that’s all mine. I’ve been home full-time for the past nine years, so this is quite an adjustment for my family. In addition to the course work, I work a few hours a week from home to help with tuition costs. My girls are not happy that mom is doing these other things. I have been trying not to leave for Baltimore on Tuesday mornings until the kids are off to school but, since I’ve now been late (5 minutes, but still late) for class two weeks in a row, I’m going to have to come clean and tell them the real deal.

On Fridays I take two classes at Shady Grove. It works well in the sense that I’m not concerned about being home in the afternoon to help with homework and I have a much shorter commute. The only negative is that the kids’ school has a 12:30 dismissal every Friday so some juggling on the child care is necessary.

Reading this, one would think that I am nuts to be undertaking this Master’s Program. Part of me would have to agree. The other part is at a loss to explain why this just feels like the right thing to do. I’m not entirely certain where I am going with this degree. I do plan to follow the Clinical track and would like, however indirectly, to make some use of my law degree. I know I don’t want to practice law in a private firm as I once did. The hours and demands are just not compatible with my idea of family life. Law was never a perfect fit for me and the experiences of motherhood have changed me in ways I never would have anticipated. So here I go….

Posted by Kathi at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)