Rachel writes: Writing the ALM thesis–two of five chapters complete!

So far I’ve written two chapters (of five planned) of my ALM thesis, submitted them to my thesis director, and received them back with comments. I’m now working on my third chapter. My schedule allows for one chapter per month, so I plan on finishing all of the writing by mid-April. My thesis director prefers that I mail paper copies of chapters to him as I complete them, rather than send digital copies by email–I suppose that other thesis directors have their own preferences. But this routine suits me very well.

In my fantasies, I will finish early and graduate in May, but I think that will be pushing it. Alas, I need every day in my current schedule; so though I will nearly finish by that date, it won’t be quite early enough to meet the April 1 deadline set by the ALM office for submission of the completed thesis.

I am finding that it is very advisable that the bulk of one’s research should be complete before writing begins. I have had to run back to the Fine Arts and Widener libraries a number of times to check on things and go a bit deeper in some areas of my research. Another reason for researching thoroughly by taking notes early on from library materials is the dreaded “recall” notice, which compels you to return books requested by other library patrons. So it behooves you to take thorough notes and record the bibliographic data right away, just in case. Of course, the “recall” road runs both ways, and we can likewise request a book to be returned by a fellow scholar who has checked out a tome we must have for research . . .

Like many of us, I work full-time, so an overarching theme of being an Extension School student is actually finding the time to attend classes, research and write papers, and still do everything else we need to do. I am officially scheduled to graduate in November, and an interesting part of this arrangement is that I think it will leave me with the summer free, since my writing will have been complete by the end of the spring semester. Corrections, formatting, and binding will still remain to be done, however.

As you may know, the thesis isn’t complete until it’s been checked for format, printed, and bound, per the specifications of the ALM guide (the seventh edition of which is now on its way to you, if you are a degree candidate). So, since all of that finishing-up takes time, I will likely complete my writing by mid-April as planned, get the binding, etc, done as I can, and look forward to a mostly leisurely, laurel-resting summer.

Sol G. Writes, “A new year, a new you?”

Resolutions.

 

We make them, we break them, we promise ourselves that this will be the year we study more, be more, try harder, lose weight, quit smoking, climb Mt. Everest, make that first million, return to our homeplanets in triumph, and win that pesky Nobel prize.

That’s the first of January. The first of, oh, say… March, we find ourselves back in the same bad habits, usually thanks to the same bad reactions to the same bad stresses. Nothing’s changed except our morale; we find ourselves beaten another year by our own inertia, which took over where our newfound energies flagged.
More and more, we’re learning that if you want to change your habits, it’s by tricking yourself into new defaults. We know all the tricks, by now. We know to make our goals small, achievable, realistic, and public. We know to make ourselves change how we eat by focusing on adding one positive thing instead of taking away a negative; we know to fight not for what we want, but for who we want to be. So how do we always end up in the same place?

 

Well, for one thing, we’re making the same old resolutions. It’s still about losing weight, it’s still about studying more, it’s still about the same actions and the same habits. Here’s another way to look at it. You can’t expect the same person to do something different when given the same situation and no new information. If you want different results, you need to change what you’re doing. If you want to lose weight, stop relying on a resolution to do it, because if you’re relying solely on willpower, it’s going to fail the first morning you realise that bed is a much more comfortable place than the gym at 5 AM. (Which shouldn’t take you long; if you don’t understand this concept, you may need a cat to help.) However, if you have a gym buddy picking you up at 5 AM whether you’re awake or not, preferably one who’s been doing the same routine for at least a few years, it’s harder to say no. Or you could force yourself: change your T pass from the linkpass to the trains-only, making you have to bike to the train station. It will suck in the wet weather, but you’ll get fit.

 

Most of our resolutions focus on improvement, and this makes me happy. Seriously, whether we succeed or not, it’s heartening to me that deep down, we WANT to be better people. We want to improve. And for those of you, like me, who are looking at radical career transformation this year, I came across this article, “New year, new identity,” about how to help make that transition work by weaving it effectively into the narrative of your life.  I think it also reflects on these little annual updates we try to make via resolutions. If we weave them coherently into our stories, we have to do them to still believe them true. I don’t want to get up at 5 AM to exercise- but I want to be someone who can, and that helps me do it. If I see it as an integral part of my narrative, it takes on meaning as part of who I am, and that makes it harder for the bed and the cat to keep me.

 

What helps you? Have you made any resolutions?

 

 

Rachel writes: “Structured Procrastination”–I’ll get to that eventually!

Have you ever wondered why, when you have a research paper to write, you suddenly get the urge to clean the refrigerator? Easy: because by comparison, psychologists tell us, a simple task permits gratification more quickly than a complex one. The fridge-cleaning lends an easily managed emotional snapshot of the sense of accomplishment which we want to end up with when the paper is completed.

When we perform a simple task such as cleaning the fridge, we thus avoid that nagging little twinge of inadequacy, always hovering in the background whenever we have any daunting task before us. Fridge-cleaning is the accomplishment-junkie’s quick-fix. Who knew? Of course if fridge-cleaning were at the top of your list, you might want to avoid that and do something with a quicker pay-off, such as writing your research paper. The idea is that you’d actually get quite a lot of stuff done, if incrementally, based upon the strategy of avoiding something else which is kind of fearsome.

John Perry, an emeritus philosophy professor at Stanford, won an Ig Nobel prize this year (see http://www.improbable.com/) for a subject about which he first wrote 15 years ago and which he now calls  “Structured Procrastination.” Perry asserts that while procrastinating about a particular task, you can actually accomplish a range of other tasks in the meantime, while getting some diversion from the most daunting chore on your list.

In the essay, which is reprinted on his Web site http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/, Perry begins by noting that he’d been meaning to write such an essay for months, and that he only found the time to write it because he had a  lot of other work to do.

Naturally I’m not advocating avoidance strategies. I think everyone should write and submit their papers on time. Schedule a bit ahead if you think you’ll need that extra chunk of time to get in some quality procrastination. You may end up with a both a brilliant paper and a clean fridge.

Rachel writes: Really Grass Roots — Occupy Harvard Yard

Undergraduate Michael and Extension School student Lee Ann greet the curious at the Occupy Harvard info table, Nov 12 2011.

One of the advantages of waiting a month for feedback after submission of my revised thesis proposal was that it coincided with the forming of the Occupy Boston encampment in Dewey Square. I was thrilled to be able to participate in one of the initial Occupy Boston marches, from Dewey Square to the Charlestown Bridge. Accompanying me was my daughter, a 2011 graduate of Brandeis University.

The assembled crowd was amazingly diverse: a large contingent from Boston’s Chinatown, representatives from a variety of unions, suburban and urban contingencies, young, old, middle-aged, all ethnicities.

When we reached the bridge, Boston police formed a barrier and prevented us from crossing. What happened next was a stunningly powerful and impromptu display of pure democracy in action—the crowd, using the “human mic” technique, discussed a range of positions, tactics, and opinions: Should we stay and attempt to force our way across the bridge, risking arrest and injury? Should we return to Dewey Square? Apparently an arrest had already taken place; should we stay and demand release? Rather than shout assent or disagreement at each speaker, assenting fingers were waved in the air; disagreement was expressed by lowered waving fingers. Everyone who had something to say was duly heard, and all opinions were carefully mulled before a consensus was finally reached. The moment was one of urgency and intensity, yet of thoughtfulness and caution, and I took a second to observe the reaction of the police officers, trying to sense what they must be thinking of this crowd with its leaderless, megaphone-less, finger-waving approach to intransigent police authority.

We marched back to Dewey Square to find hundreds of people linking arms around the perimeters of both Dewey Square and the square next to it, where a second, overflow encampment had been set up, to which the city of Boston objected. Hence the protective encircling of both camps, in the light of rumors of eviction and arrests to happen later in the evening. Indeed, 129 people were arrested around 2:00AM that night.

In my work as a photo editor for a college-textbook publisher, I acquire photographs for several economics titles. The other day I read a manuscript for one such tome, which purported to explain the current economic crisis by blaming regular folks for creating a demand for the sort of mortgages which turned out to be toxic. While I don’t know what textbook was used in the Econ course at Harvard from which scores of students walked out the other day in protest, I was struck by the bias in the text I read.

That walkout has led to an Occupy encampment in Harvard Yard, where there are now I’d say between 30 and 50 tents pitched. The university administration has decided that, for the safety of all, including students who live in buildings in the Yard, that access to the Yard will be limited to those who can present a Harvard ID at the one gate open for entrance and exit. Email notices regarding the restricted access to the yard have been sent to the Harvard community.

Yesterday when I arrived at that gate, I was met by a bouncer-like security official, to whom I showed my ID. I was able to breeze in, but there was a large crowd of onlookers milling about, including a Japanese TV crew. On my way to Widener Library, I stopped at the table set up near the tents, and spoke to the folks you see in the photo at the top of this post: Michael, an undergraduate in Harvard College, and Lee Ann, an Extension School student, who were welcoming the curious and answering questions.

Two students (I didn't catch their names) answer questions about Occupy Harvard.

My feeling is that those initial 70 or so students who drew focus upon the treatment of economic ideology within the academy are very brave to have done so, as are those who dare to camp in Harvard Yard for the duration. The inconvenience of being locked out of the Yard is outweighed by a sense of gratitude and a reassurance that our democratic spirit is alive at the grass roots (literally) and that we are witnessing that collective power in action in its purest, most elemental form.

A view of the Occupy Harvard encampment: Massachusetts Hall on the left; Harvard Hall on the right.

Now that I have passed the hurdle of thesis-proposal approval, and have been lucky enough to have a marvelously original professor sign on as my thesis director, I will hope to find a way to meaningfully integrate the writing and completion of my thesis with the exciting and compelling events happening right in our own back-Yard.

Rachel writes: ALM thesis proposal approved; thesis director assigned!

Thrilled to say that I am about to set off upon the final stretch of my ALM degree.

Last week Dean Schopf, humanities research advisor, let me know that she had approved my proposal, a second draft of which I had submitted on Oct 3, about a month after the initial submission. Dean Schopf rightly sent the first draft back to me for revision, having given me a very useful critique.

She reminded me that the potential thesis director, a professor who doesn’t necessarily know me or any of my previous academic work, will likely be reading the proposal, and that what he or she will see first is the “research problem” outlined in the proposal’s first pages–hence it behooves us to imagine the writing’s impact from the perspective of the eyes of such a reader. In a sense, you are making a pitch to someone who has never given any thought to the subject at hand–or at least in the way you are framing it–therefore you’ll need to write with the notion of making your case to the uninitiated.

I advise everyone, first, to carefully follow the instructions in the ALM guide regarding all aspects of the thesis-proposal submission process, including both formatting and issues of substance. Don’t simply model your proposal upon the example proposals included in the ALM guide–I found enough variation among these to cause me to question what was appropriate in my case, especially since my subject is on the interdisciplinary side. If you have questions about format, consult your research advisor rather than attempting a best guess–format mistakes too can cause your proposal to be sent back for more mustard, and that can consume big blocks of time in your schedule.

I’ll also mention, regarding schedule, that you should be prepared for waiting the full month or so which it takes to have the proposal read, commented upon, and returned for revision. Aside from routine matters, research advisors’ schedules can be affected by the unforeseen–illness, travel, office demands–which can also eat into one’s schedule. “Tentative” schedules are just that.

Luckily, within a day or so of hearing that my proposal was approved, Dean Schopf submitted it to a potential thesis director, who agreed to serve that very day. Part luck, yes, but Dean Schopf has an excellent sense of who among the Harvard faculty would be an appropriate match for a particular subject. So I suggest relying upon your research advisor’s knowledge of the lay of the land.

I work full time, so as with coursework, managing my schedule will be a challenge–I wonder at this point if I will be able complete the thesis in time for graduation in May 2012. Naturally my thesis director’s schedule will come into play; so considering all the variables, graduation in November may also be a possibility.

I will also mention that if you plan substantial work on your thesis proposal over the summer, remember that the Harvard libraries are on summer schedules, and hours are curtailed. That’s especially a problem since opening hours in the summer mirror typical office hours (9AM-5PM); so if you work full time, it’s hard to find a chance to actually get to the libraries. Of course, the Harvard library system’s Scan-and-Deliver service becomes essential at this point! Besides Scan-and-Deliver, regardless of season, I also make use of the Hollis online catalog, create a list of call numbers before trips to Cambridge, and plan my library visits like surgical strikes.

Meanwhile if anyone has any comment, feedback, input regarding his or her own experience with thesis-proposal submission, I would love to hear about it! Please feel free to leave a comment right here!

Sol G. writes, “Harvard at 375″

I hope you were at the parade! The party! The event!

 

Wow. Well, we’re all shaking the confetti from our hair still, and I have to admit, I’m still cleaning it out of my shoes. The downpour was drenching, the Yard was packed, and the Extension School was well represented! I’m so proud of the people who marched and the people who shouted and the people… well, all of us here at the Extension School. It was a beautiful night. I bailed before the afterparty, but I hear a good time was had by all.

 

So now that that’s over, what’s next?

 

Well, I don’t know whether it means I’ll need to start at a different blog or not- I’m hoping to continue here- but I’ve been elected Director of Student Affairs in HESA. I hope to use that to help create a distinct and unified school spirit for us, and a strong sense of student identity. I have to, because I’m so proud of everything being done here. I’m excited about it. More on that as it develops, but I also hope to inspire you to get involved and engaged, to make the most of your student experience by speaking to one another.

Also, you might want to get involved in this project, telling your story for Harvard Stories.  You can contact them directly here. It’s a chance to add your voice to Harvard history, since you really are a part of it. 

 

Sol G. Writes, We’re Harvard. Let’s Vote Like It!

Harvard University
Maxwell Dworkin, Room G115

33 Oxford Street

 6:30 PM.

Be there. Bring your ID.

We are having elections. Yes, “us”. You and I. I’m going to mention that I am running for a post: in the interests of full disclosure, yes. I am. But I’m not going to talk about that part here, because that wouldn’t be fair. Also, I plan to volunteer if I don’t win, because it is more important that we get involved… similarly, it’s more important THAT you vote, than HOW you vote.

And that’s what I’m asking you to do, as a fellow student served by the same student government.

There are a lot of extremely motivated, personable, capable people running for posts. I was privileged with the opportunity to meet most of them at campaigning meeting; I’m always thrown by how real enthusiasm shows through. These are people who want to help, who want to get out there and make changes for us, the students, because they ARE students.

So Extension School students: You are part of Harvard. We have a student goverment to represent us. Friday night, come out and vote. Bring your ID to the meeting, get a ballot, hear the speeches, and vote. It matters, because you matter. By having a strong student government, we have the ability to see our issues voiced and acted upon. We have people to speak to, who can speak for us.

I’ll see you there. I don’t care who you vote for (and as soon as possible, will link to the information for EVERY candidate, so that you can see them all!) I’ll see you Friday. Yes, there will be an option for distance students. Again, please use it!

As for me, I’m going to use the opportunity of running for candidacy to campaign relentlessly for you to vote for someone, anyone, because what I really want is to see people there. All of you. Show us all just how much Harvard is OUR school, too! Gather your classmates, get out the vote, come over on the 6th and speak with the ballot. The goal is to have more students voting than ever, and to be a voice for our own representation.

Make me proud!!

Sol G. Writes, Meet HESA! Also, the Writing Center.

http://hesa.dce.harvard.edu/

 

Who is HESA?

 

HESA is our student organization. That’s right, yours and mine. You may not have realized, when you signed up, that we even had one. You may think of the Extension School as just a loose group of students, all over the world… we meet in classes, but we’re not really part of…

 

Stop right there.

 

You’re Harvard.

 

You may not feel like it, but you signed up. Whether you’re just taking a class to better understand a language, or signed up in an undergraduate program like I am, you’re Harvard. Harvard is made up of multiple organizations, branches, and schools. We are one of them. Its founders really did believe in education, and in greatness, and we are a vital part of Harvard’s lifeblood, because not only are we attending, we’re out in the world already, too, showing that world what we can do. You are not an afterthought, and you are not just out on the educational fringe. You, yes, you- you’re Harvard.

 

And nobody understands that better than our student organization. They have a website. They organize events so that we can meet each other. They are students, like us; they are earnest about making our lives as students more interesting in good ways. They also welcome ideas, so (since this is your school!) please speak up and contact them if there’s an aspect of student life that you feel needs exploring.

Now, I know I say this every year. i’m a broken record when it comes to this, forgive me. I can’t help it. But if you haven’t started making your writing center appointments, do it now, because assignments are coming due already and they really can help you. The more help you get now, the more your writing improves, and this means that by the end of the term, your term papers will be kicking staples and taking names. (Why, yes! Here’s that link!)

There’s one other Harvard resource that I’d like to recommend. That’s “time.”

 

There are a lot of people willing to offer theirs. Students, teachers, chaplains, advisors. This campus and this community are full of people who would love to talk to you about issues you have with class, adjusting to student life, pretty much anything that you need. Even here, on the blog, we welcome your comments. They matter. YOU matter. So don’t be shy- there’s pretty much help out there for any random emergency or event that you need help on, whether it’s math tutoring in the math center for your Algebra homework, or a listening ear at the chaplaincy. (Yes, atheists, there is a Humanist chaplain, and he’s wonderful.)

On a personal note- AUTUMN! It’s cold! It’s perfect! Those of you lucky enough to be here in Boston, I hope you’re ready to enjoy the change of seasons. I love the way the leaves smell as they turn. I’m having a wonderful time in class, and have met an astonishing number of fabulously creative people on the online bulletin boards. We have students from all over the world; I’m constantly amazed by the variety in our classes.

For me, autumn means more walking, because I love to look at the foliage. It means less light, and I fill my apartment with lamps to make up the difference. It means the kitten huddles up to me when sleeping, and it means that reading outside is one of my favourite things. For some reason, reading outside in the fall is just more fun for me. Maybe it’s just my body trying to soak up all the last fun it can before winter comes, I don’t know.

Got any favourite fall activities? A lot of folks are new to Boston, so let’s hear some ideas for things to explore!

Brandon writes – Improvisational Acting speaks to the mind AND the Body

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Improvisational Acting (DRAM E-21), brought to you by ninja master Thomas Derrah, is one-of-those-courses from which everyone in the whole world can benefit. No doubt someone will say, “Will improvisational acting really help me get a job?” and my improvised gut-reaction is “YES, improvisational acting will help you get a job AND, more importantly, improvisational acting will help you get a LIFE!” ;D

Enroll first day of early registration because this course is limited enrollment and fills up fast. Note: When you enroll in a degree program you are given the advantage of early registration.

Thank you to Harvard Extension Alumnus, Ricardo, for telling me about this course! AND Thank you to Tommy, Tyler, Alex, Allysa, Beliz, Jack, Julia, Kurt, Lauren, Lindsey, Lucy, Luke, Max, Mook, Nastasia, Pavlo, Sami, Sarah, Shiraz, and Stanley, the motley crew of  international classmates that made this Harvard summer truly EPIC! …AND may this blog post count as my official request to have more classes of this ilk in the future of Harvard.

Sol G. Writes: It’s time! Let’s get started!

I’m so excited. We’re back! It’s the end of August, we’re all scrambling to get into classes and trying to remember how we ever had time last spring. I’m signed up for the psychology of creativity class highlighted this semester on the main page. (My computer’s acting up as I try to place links, so here’s the URL: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/spotlight/psychology-creativity)

 

I’ve taken a class by Ms. Carson before. I have one very wonderful thing to say about her approach, which I feel has been characteristic of my Harvard experience studying psychology. The teachers here have a very humanistic approach. Even in the Intro to Psychology (and if you get the chance to study under Dodge Fernald, take it, because his stories about Skinner are not to be missed) there was a strong, beautiful sense that people do what they do for reasons. In Abnormal psychology, we studied at length the things that can go wrong.

 

One thing which we were taught, and it’s a difficult thing to teach people, is that we had to look at why people did things; to embrace that everyone does things for a reason. Our job is to find out those reasons, and help people find other, healthier ways to get by. That was a beautiful lesson in the dignity of being human, and one that I feel is pervasive in the teaching here. It was certainly the undertone of the entire class, and the other psychology courses I’ve taken here at the Extension School. It’s about compassion, and respect, and so I’m really looking forward to this semester’s class.

 

When you take a class online, there’s a few resources to be aware of. One which I found incredibly educational was the discussion board, where we were able to talk about the course, our perspectives, and how it all related to our lives. I learned as much from other students as I did from the course; we had a wonderful mix of people. So when you sign up for these courses, use all the resources available. They radically inprove the class experience, and I’d love to hear your voice on the boards if you’re in class with me this semester!

 

Prepping for classes- you know I have to touch on this. I always come round to this. It’s a hot button for me, I’m disorganised by nature, so I work very hard to get myself prepared for classes. It’s worth it, and a little time now can save a lot of time later. For example, you have a spot in your home just for classwork, right? So you have everything in one place? Oh, it’s been summer, so it’s full of things you put there, meaning to move them later. Go move them now. I’ll wait. (Mine had been filled with sewing materials, so I know how it is…) 

Now. You have a place for classwork, where your projects can go undisturbed and you won’t accidentally leave your textbook under the bed or in the living room. Do you have folders, so there’s a place for your finished work?

I recommend this every year, and I see no reason to stop. Those multipocket folders are one of the best things for class. Put the syllabus in one, and other class materials. All in one pocket. Get a magic marker, and write on it, “class materials” The next pocket is “homework requirements,” and that’s where you’ll put the assignments: papers, essay subjects, the math homework if it’s a math class.

 

The last pocket is “finished homework.” There’s nothing worse than losing something and having to try to print it again at the last minute before class! I’ve done it. It’s a pain. However, one way to save yourself trouble in advance, in case you ever have to try this, is to email yourself the document every time.  IF you somehow have lost it,  eaten it, zombies took it on the way up from the Red line, you can go to the computer center, open the document in your email, and print it out right on the spot. It only works if you remember to send yourself the work, so do it every time and you’ll have it where you can find it easily in a hurry.

Another thing to do in preparation, which I always do in advance: make time. Clear blocks on your calendar just for homework. I do mine on google calendar. My friends have access and can see the blocks of homework time; we plan around them. It makes it easier if everyone knows I’m busy that night in advance.

 

I’m so glad to be back to school. I really am; I missed it over the summer. I can’t wait to see you in the halls.