With spring classes starting this week, students are gearing up for seven really intense weeks of studying. For me, spring classes have always been a double-edged sword. They’re done quicker, but can a person really learn—actually absorb and keep—information in half the amount of time of a normal semester? Of course some people can, but these courses aren’t for everyone.
If you’re anything like me, you might have tried to talk yourself into it; taking an extra course or two a year can sound pretty appealing. Graduating sooner, getting ahead in life—all those good things.
The fact that more students don’t do it tells me just how niche spring and summer courses really are. The ability for your brain to process the same amount of information in half the time is a really personal thing. It’s the Yankees of academia: you either love it or hate it.
Maybe I’m weird, but I’ve always had mixed feeling about spring and summer courses. The idea of them appeals to me, and, long-term, I’m always happy I took them. One of the most memorable I’ve taken in my very long time at Camosun was Canadian Literature with Nigel Books. (Nigel, if you’re reading this, rock on, brother!)
But while I clearly remember the majesty of Nigel, Nigel may not remember me. I was completely unmemorable. I loved the course material, but struggled with the pace of it. Reading something as socially loaded as Mordecai Richler’s Solomon Gursky Was Here, as we did for that course, takes time. It takes heart. It takes introspection, and it takes meditation. In a seven-week course, there was time for one of those four things, and that’s because Nigel always puts heart into his lessons, not because I was feeling particularly dedicated.
I got a horrible grade in that class, and yet, it was one of the hardest and most fun courses I’ve ever taken. That sums up the paradox of spring and summer courses, and it’s a two-sided reality I’m about to embark on again this week.
What the hell am I thinking?
I know hard times lay ahead, because of the way I learn. I know that, when push comes to shove, I can do it, but I also know it won’t be pretty.
But sometimes that’s okay. After all, has anything about the last 14 months been all that pretty? No. Does it seem like we’re carrying on with life, being productive, and moving forward? No, not really. But we are. The extra courses on your transcript prove it, so as we start up a really intense seven weeks, hang on to that, and remember the goal. Focus on the big picture and your goals—as a student and as a person—not the emotion of the day.