Student parent support thread - New for Sept. 2010

[MiaWallace]

Starting a new thread for a new academic year.

Previous thread here

If you are currently studying a course or about to start one (at any level) please come and join us. We offer each other support, tips and encouragement, plus we use the thread as a means of procrastination

We started off the previous thread with a short introduction so here's mine -

I'm 30 years old. Recently married with a 5 year old dd. I completed my degree in Education studies in July and I'm about to start my primary PGCE in September.

Stats sounds scary madwomaninthe attic

well done on getting some work done Ilythia. dd and ds are now both in school so I have set myself a target of writing 1000 words today. so I need to switch off internet and get on. hopefully be back later having done lots of words.

woohoo think I may actually be able to do this essay after all. I have completed my target of 1000 words already. going to get some lunch and sort out the washing before I try and get some more done before the school run.

Going to aim for another 500 words this afternoon I think

well done dylsmum!

Nice one Dylsmum!

Madwoman - You probably know as much as he does, he is not in maths or anything like it, human geography like me, but because he likes stats so much he keeps arguing for more stats based work in the curriculum (please no!!!).

I submitted my horrifically boring data collection essay today, and my research proposal :) So now I need to turn my attention to a whole essay on ethics...gah, plus a daft essay contrasting two human geography research seminars - the quality of the presentation rather than the style - so un-enjoyable

Hi, hope it's OK for me to join in. I'm 38, I've got a DD 7 and I work for the NHS 30 hours a week.

After doing a selection of post grad certificates and a diploma over the years I've finally gotten around to starting an MSC.

I'm hoping to send my first assignment in tomorrow, it's due in next Tuesday but I've been working on it off and on for so long now I just want it gone. I'm planning to take a break before I start my next module, it's a distance learning course in Leadership and management so there are no set terms to follow, you can start modules whenever you like.

I've found this last 15 weeks hard going, I knew it would be tough from previous study, finding motivation to study in the evenings, but I think the biggest shock has been the total lack of any contact with the Uni or any other students, I could be the only one doing this course for all I know. I've had one email from my tutor, in response to an email from me, and the study day I was supposed to attend never happened.

Anyway, I'm going to take a break until probably the end of February, with a plan to catch up with the housework, do some serious decluttering, get back onto flylady properly again and then start the next module - assuming I pass this one.

My plan for the next module is to spend my study leave days either in the office or possibly in the Uni study centre(I can be there in about 40 mins) I think I'll get more work per hour done that sitting at home with access to the internet/tv etc. I have also vowed never to start a module which ends with an assignment due in just after Christmas again.

If anyone has any tips to share I'd appreciate it.

Sorry that was a bit long.

Hello all :) was on here earlier but changed my name, will be back to FreudianSlippery soon. I just signed up to my next course, m248 (statistics) as I've changed my degree! I'm now doing mathematics and its learning so in a few months I will also need work experience in a school. Really excited!

Anyway... Have to do my funding application retrospectively (thank goodness for kind parents who loaned me the fee!) and I was wondering have any of you had the OU computer grant - I'm particularly wondering if that is retrospective too, as I need to buy one soon. Hope to get through to them tomorrow

all this ou talk is veyr confusing
Teaonesugar, I find the working from hoem thing desperately distracting, what with the wifi and filthy house to distract me. most unhelpful. I decamp to costa or the shithole uni library if I really need peace and quiet. I have firmly established that I can get feck all done when children are awake.

oo manatee, data collection and ethics! i'll swop you
is your research proposal for your dissertation? (sorry, it probably explains all in the thread, but it's so looooong). what are you looking at?

mm, human geography. i have a research proposal for a thesis i (still) didn't get around to writing (yet) on gendered spaces in the inter-war period (based on inter war texts)

i can't believe you confessed to doing a stats course Jung! wanna send me copies of your course notes?

waves to TeaOne - i'm really not the right person to ask for study tips lol. they are far more reliable. they submit work and everything. i think about it.

that said - i took some reading to the hairdresser this morning (max travers qualitative research thingy) to ease me into it, and have had a flash of inspiration. so the new year, new mojo thing is still on course.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't concentrate at home, I usually end up cleaning out the fridge .

Haveahappynewjung I used to be with the OU and got the computer grant. Can't really think of much to say about it though - I applied,and got it, was a bit worried they would ask for it back because I left OU to go to Exeter, but they didn't :)

Madwoman - The research proposal is for a data collection module, it is obviously handy if you do this as your diss because it cut down on the work when it comes to planning the real thing, but I don't know that I will. My proposal is about 19th Century representations of fat bodies in print. I have found some fabulous articles such as one form 1898 with the title "The end of enormous obesity". Anyway, I like fat and challenging the category of 'obesity' I did my undergrad diss on pro-obesity websites and won the 'best dissertation' prize

Thanks I'm getting DH to phone up the finance office today as I can hardly talk due to bad throat and later dad is taking me to PC world to browse.

I hadn't originally planned to do stats - it's my least favourite part of maths, and doesn't feature in the regular maths degree. But it's compulsory in the maths education degree, I guess because data handling is a big part of school maths curriculum.

ManateeEquineOhara: your research proposal sounds great. I wanna read your undergrad diss!

So, here I am. I'm 31, graduated in July (BA in Spanish) and a week later had my DS.

I'm hoping to start a p/t Applied Linguistics MA/MRes at Birkbeck in September. Anyone know anything about the course? I'd love to do a pHd after and go into teaching/research.

I'm thinking of emailing the admissions tutor to ask about funding which would also serve as a kind of "hello!" email - but is this totally unnecessary and in fact annoying move to make? Should I just apply cold? I'm very nervous about all of this. You know, forming sentences and all that.

oo, manatee, that sounds really interesting! i find internet research really fascinating, but love rootling around in archives, too.

mothi, hi. i would call the admissions tutor, personally. have a quick spiel to hand about you and why you have an interest in the course (particularly as it is different to your first degree) and have a couple of questons to ask about the course or app process... you can always say youb want to clarify the process. birkbeck always seems such a sensible place - been to few conferences there, and i love their ethos.

Thanks people - if anyone does want to read my diss pm me? But I am hoping to get it published, which is a bit scary, but then it will be out there for anyone to find on EBSCO or suchlike!!!

Mothi - when I was applying for my masters it was much more informal than undergrad, obviously you have to apply officially, but I also spent quite a bit of time just chatting to people in the department, I think doing that, or contacting admissions is fine. Masters funding is in short supply though, which sucks.

grr. i ended up at work today, and i'm working for the next two weeks straight. it's now hit me that yet again this blardy 'part time' job isn't quite as 'part time' as envisioned. week on week off my arse. if it wasn't for the mortgage it would be toast i tell you.

so, i've got mucho head scratching to get done. relying on time off to complete this masters just doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling today.

i did get quite a bit done in the two days though - but nowhere near enough, and i had planned for three in my head. bah humbug.

about to get in the car for four drive as a passenger, so should be able to get some more reading done, but arrrrgh. i am fed up.

four drive? four hour drive. i can't even type i'm so fed up.

hope you are all working smoothly, though.

Well my new course materials just showed up, and I have my shiney new laptop ready to start after a few months off.

Once more into the breach dear MNers

(fwiw I am normally much more excited than this, but statistics really doesn't float my boat like mechanics or pure maths)

Advice MUCH appreciated. I'll put on my best trying-not-to-sound-like-I'm-trying-to-sound-posh voice and give them a call.

Madwoman - jobs are just so irritating getting in the way of study! I actually work in the locality office at the medical school at my Uni, While everyone else in the office hates submission dates, my empathy is with the students.

HappyNewJung - I used to love it when my course materials arrived!!!

Mothi - Good luck with that voice :)

I want to try and get my daft contrasting seminars essay finished this weekend, so I can concentrate on the ethics one. I shall have to see how well I do with the kids around :s
Next week I have my first contact session since before Christmas with my fellow cohort - all four of us! Not really looking forward to it tbh.

Hello everyone - good to see lots of other student mums here! I've read through a lot of this thread - sounds like some really interesting stuff! I'm in my final year of an undergrad degree with a view to going on to master's next year which will form the basis of a doctorate. I'm just realising that my finals are this year - yikes! I have two dc in primary school.

I'm in post-Christmas / NYE slump - I need to get motivated again pdq. I've got waaay too much work to do to slump around. Time for that Spotify motivational playlist for me!

Hi everyone, not been on for ages. Quietly stressing as have deadlines on the 17th and I've got half a forest's worth of paperwork to do for this film! Aaaaargh! The film is almost done but I slipped and let the paperwork go un-done for ages....again. I do it EVERY TIME! Grrrr.

Still, someone has offered to work with me on the collaborative project we have to do next semester, and I was worried no one would, so that's good.

Right, back to the work!

Getting this stupid essay written is going...BADLY. This is such a rubbish essay to write. Books on 'how to make a presentation', are so shallow, and I can't find any relevant journal articles. I have opened the last of the Christmas wine instead

Shit. Shit. Shit.

So, last day of term was cancelled due to major snowfall, which means tomorrow I have my first seminar of the term, essay to hand in (electronic version has been done, but paper copy has to go in as well) plus presentation handout/poster to do, as well as all the paperwork etc that shoudl have been done on the last day of term.

Adn DD2 has a fever.

And DH is about to start the busiest month of his year, and he is project manager for the thing that has to be done, and has to be on site tomorrow, no way around it, as he is the only one who can tell the contractors what to do.

Shit.

Is everyone else back tonorrow? How are all the essays going?

What paperwork needs doing for the film then lollipop?

manatee, is your essay on presentations? that sounds...um..well, dull actually

Ha, yeah it is contrasting two research seminars on style of presentation, part of what you need to show you can do in a MRes. It is so incredibly stupidly dull.

I am not really back until next week with lectures, but I do have a contact session on Wednesday which I am anticipating being a bit crap.

If your DD has to stay home that is a legitimate reason to hand in late. What is your usual situation with childcare? I noticed you had posted on that daft thread about people who moan about the cost of childcare!