So it's back to school for me as of yesterday. So far so good, but this morning's instructor thought classes started next week and didn't show. Ouch! While he's a great guy and I know he'll do what he can to make it right, there were some steamed students. A couple headed for work, one home to bed and those of us who were commuters went to breakfast and are now arrayed here and there, shopping, studying, and blogging ;P.
We've lost one student, and three more are considering transfers. One will go for sure, because this program doesn't fit her, but another is struggling with a significant other who wants to go back where they came from, so she's looking at transferring. Not sure what's up with the third, but if they all go it will leave us with a TINY cohort! We're already down to 9 as it is. I'm glad I've made some connections with the class ahead of us and the one behind as well.
This second term we're beginning to seriously focus on dissertation topics. I am such a generalist that this is going to be very hard for me. I've been thinking on it for four years and have so many ideas I'm going crazy. EVERYTHING seems interesting and exciting to me! I've whittled it down a bit based on what is pragmatic, but then in our Research Methods class yesterday the instructor, who also happens to be the program director, strongly urged us not to rule anything out yet, but to talk it over with her and as many professors and students as possible before discarding anything. If she only knew what that meant for me. LOL! I envy those students who have it dialed in and already have their lit reviews pretty well in hand. But then again they all envy me my previous research and experimental design experience, so perhaps it's all even in the shakedown.
I think cyber stuff is fascinating. Lots of possibilities there with Computer Mediated Communication including online therapy, education, mentoring, role playing games, business conferencing, support groups, dating and on and on. My chosen population is late adolescence and early adulthood; specifically behaviorally or mentally disordered youth from a forensic perspective. I'm currently applying for what will hopefully become a Doctoral Practicum position with Juvenile Justice in the probation dept. Lots of psych testing of court ordered offenders, as well as the possibility of assessment and treatment. I have serious problems with the system in my state (and nation wide) as it exists, so I figure the best approach is to first learn all I can about it, participate in it, and then if I still feel the same way when I am an 'insider' see what there is to be done from that vantage. So here I am at step 1/2. LOL!
Oh, I should take a moment to plug my favorite cyber cause here...
www.icouldbe.org
Fantastic program for career mentoring with at risk kids nation wide and they always need more mentors, so visit the site and see what you think! It's also a fun way to meet other interesting people (in an online sense, of course) and I have definitely gotten as much or perhaps even more than I've given there. Can't praise it highly enough.
Well just 30 minutes to my last class, Cognitive Assessment, so I guess I'll review the reading. Somehow reading up on WISC IV Compilation just doesn't sound too appealing. I'm still clinging to my break time novel. Sigh. It's going to go bye bye right quick, I know. Call me the Duck of Denial... I think I can finish it and still get all my coursework done.
I know; delusional. =0
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Hmm... well I'm fairly new to blogging and not sure how I want to go about things, but since I am interested in forensic work I think I'll try to avoid pinpointing my location, so no offence intended, but I removed this thread for that reason.
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