As a part-time law student, I often feel like I am being pulled in a million different directions. I work remote and by appointment for my full time job and cover a very large territory so most days I am driving or traveling and then rushing to make it to class on time. My full time job is in sales so if a last minute meeting gets put on my calendar, I can't say no because it would impact my commission. My full time job is very important because without that I wouldn't be able to live comfortably or attend law school.
I actually dropped one of my courses this semester because the professor had a strict rule that if we missed the 10 minute grace period for attendance, we would be marked absent even if we were present for the majority of class. I do not enjoy arriving late but as we all know, living in Tampa/St. Pete, the traffic can be unpredictable. For the most part, all of my professors so far have been understanding except for this one.
Sometimes I feel frustrated that there are students in the part time program that do not have full time jobs. It's obviously not a requirement and I know we shouldn't be comparing ourselves. However, sometimes when I think about class rank or grades, I wish that I had more time to complete assignments or study for exams. I try to give myself perspective and tell myself that there are others with more demanding jobs or with full time jobs and children so in reality I have it easy. This class definitely has helped me especially when you explained how little grades/rank truly matter. I still strive to do my best, but knowing that helps take a little bit of the stress off.
As a part timer with full time work (and other responsibilities / time sunks), I understand the frustration - I was lucky enough to find my sweet spot on "good enough" early on, because I know I can't compete on an hour for hour basis.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, I also know that some folks come into the part time program jobless because they understand going in that they can't juggle both, and it gives them a slightly longer way of obtaining the degree without being overloaded.
(As for the prof. with the inflexible attendance policy - I'm sure there's sound reasoning for when we're in practice, but...at the end of the day, this is school, not practice.)