Summer School

"I hope he doesn't die. I can't handle summer school."

Truer words were never spoken. For those that don't know, the above quote is from Ferris Bueller's Day Off and I can definitely relate to that guy. If I knew someone that could get me out of summer school, I would be his/her bodyguard 24/7.

This is the second summer in a row that I have wasted many a daylight hour inside taking classes. Of course, in defense of summer schools everywhere, I made a choice to take those classes in order to accelerate my graduation schedule. That not withstanding, summer school sucks. Last year I took two three credit hour classes at the same time over a six week period. The classes met for an hour and a half a day, five days a week. The class size is generally smaller for summer, because no one wants to take classes over the summer unless they absolutely have to take them. Class size can also be affected by the weather. A sunny Friday (like today) can turn summer school classes into a ghost town. The major problem arises when you pack 16 weeks worth of assignments and tests into six weeks (or God forbid four weeks, but more on that later). It seems like you have homework assignments every night and a test almost every week. And don't get me started on the cost. During the Fall and Spring semesters, you can at least take fifteen or eighteen hours or more for the cost of twelve. It's almost a bargain, even with UK's standard double digit tuition increase each year. Summer school tuition, however, is based strictly on the number of credit hours you take. No breaks, no deals, no bargains, no passes and no super savers. At least last summer, I had some time off after the summer session ended. Fast forward to this summer ...

I had to take seven credit hours this summer in order to graduate "on time." Three credit hours were mandated by my major and the other four were electives. I chose an interpersonal communication class and a one hour introduction to home economics (I'm sorry, it's now called Human Environmental Sciences). Both teachers knew their stuff, bust since they taught the class as if they were dealing with students in their major, they were a little intense. Being in a four week course also made it more intense. Classes met for two hours a day (only two days a week for the one hour class) and we had assignments in class or for homework after every class. Right now I am taking an e-commerce class. It is a little dry, but at least I have a little more vested interest in the material. It is a four week class also, but we are doing more reading than actual written assignments so far.

One of the biggest problems with taking summer school classes this year is that the last day of class is Thursday, July 7th and orientation for the MBA program is Sunday, July 10th with classes starting the next day. Like I said, summer school sucks. No rest for the wicked, I suppose. Oh well, at least I can escape by going into work at Toyota. I'll save that story for another day ...