Sanskrit floundering
Jan. 10th, 2007 09:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusSanskritsanskritsanskrit...
I'm skipping. My teacher was too upset yesterday when half the class didn't have their homework done and I can't face him to say that, yes, your class was a low priority compared to the teacher who gave us all our readings the day before they were due, because your class is daily and this one is only once a week.
The whole class is having a tough time adjusting to the new teacher, floundering. Our last teacher focused almost entirely on written Sanskrit, while he's clearly had an Indian teacher, focusing on oral recitation. I have to admit, I was pretty thrown to have our first quiz last Friday, three days after class started. (I did terrible.)
When no one had done the written work yet but we had done the reading yesterday, he finally asked, "What did you guys do last quarter?"
We explained that the written work was just handed in, most of the class was lecture and then we focused almost entirely on translating the readings. Then there were the weekly quizzes that were the main focus. We didn't say that we did the reading to understand the written assignment, spent most of our study time memorizing the paradigms, and put off turning in the written work until the end of the week.
I have to come up with an entirely different pattern of study. I find his syllabus sketchy and confusing, however. And I'm not alone in this.
He's a sweetie, though, and the oral focus will help us ultimately, I think. But *flounder, flounder, flounder*
ETA: Well, that was a bad decision. I could have easily gotten away with not reading the materials for Wednesday's class yet since it was mostly lecture. Live and learn.
I'm skipping. My teacher was too upset yesterday when half the class didn't have their homework done and I can't face him to say that, yes, your class was a low priority compared to the teacher who gave us all our readings the day before they were due, because your class is daily and this one is only once a week.
The whole class is having a tough time adjusting to the new teacher, floundering. Our last teacher focused almost entirely on written Sanskrit, while he's clearly had an Indian teacher, focusing on oral recitation. I have to admit, I was pretty thrown to have our first quiz last Friday, three days after class started. (I did terrible.)
When no one had done the written work yet but we had done the reading yesterday, he finally asked, "What did you guys do last quarter?"
We explained that the written work was just handed in, most of the class was lecture and then we focused almost entirely on translating the readings. Then there were the weekly quizzes that were the main focus. We didn't say that we did the reading to understand the written assignment, spent most of our study time memorizing the paradigms, and put off turning in the written work until the end of the week.
I have to come up with an entirely different pattern of study. I find his syllabus sketchy and confusing, however. And I'm not alone in this.
He's a sweetie, though, and the oral focus will help us ultimately, I think. But *flounder, flounder, flounder*
ETA: Well, that was a bad decision. I could have easily gotten away with not reading the materials for Wednesday's class yet since it was mostly lecture. Live and learn.
