tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9012099963418495439.post3634307000224868920..comments2023-08-23T05:41:49.595-04:00Comments on GEARS:: Independent Studies for One and AllAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00954417680857046868noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9012099963418495439.post-87507394419831598712011-03-18T03:55:23.831-04:002011-03-18T03:55:23.831-04:00It seems that picking out your own curriculum has ...It seems that picking out your own curriculum has worked for you. I don't think that would have worked for me in Jr High, HS, or even UG. I was the first in my immediate family and one of only a few in my extended family to get a post-secondary degree, let alone a PhD. I think you'd have to have some family or school support mechanism in place for it to properly work.<br /><br />At UGU, I was able to choose all of those classes except for one graduate math course. That still doesn't mean the choices were useful or enjoyable. I don't think it's entirely black and white (enjoying and loving vs not enjoying and floundering). I had all A's in those classes I was allowed to choose but that still doesn't mean I enjoyed it. And just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean I floundered.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00954417680857046868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9012099963418495439.post-41498555661355474442011-03-17T11:07:34.590-04:002011-03-17T11:07:34.590-04:00I was home schooled all the way through high schoo...I was home schooled all the way through high school, and my parents let me pick out nearly all of my own curriculum. I always suspected that it was so that I could never complain to my mom about math - after all, I picked the textbook! :) But I agree that it also had the effect of making me very self-motivated, because I felt invested in my schooling.<br /><br />My experience in grad school here in Boston is that I do get to choose all my own classes, with the exception of two required courses. So almost all the classes I've taken have either been a) useful for research, or b) personally interesting to me. I find that the effect of this independence is that people fall into the extremes. Either they love it and are self-motivated (me), or they end up getting nothing done and floundering (many other people I see). So it's either very good or very bad.Miss Outlierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01554916486302075437noreply@blogger.com