One of the reasons I chose to write on the strikes this week is that I had a bunch of free time. I wouldn’t think, as a third-year student, that this would be my position, but due to the 18 days of industrial action – here I am.
This is perhaps one of the first times I have not welcomed free time with open arms. During the first two years of university, I relished in a little bit of strike action, because missed content didn’t really matter in the long run. Strikes meant a break, which was always a relief. But now, in my third year, it simply feels unfair that my education is being compromised by the higher-ups who refuse to understand the plight of our teachers. My quarrel is certainly not with my professors, but with those who have the power to implement real change, and instead sit idly by.
This academic year has been the first during which I have experienced ‘real’ university. For the first time, all of my classes were in person. The positive impact that a normal, in-person schedule has had on my wellbeing and learning cannot be overstated. Who would have guessed that a lecture could be an enjoyable experience when it isn’t watched on x2 speed from a tiny accommodation bedroom?
My degree, English Literature, is largely directed towards independent learning, with a total of four classes a week. Aside from those few-and-far-between contact hours, my study comprises of reading, writing essays and more reading. I’m sure you can imagine that my sporadic seminars are incredibly valuable. Thanks to the strikes, I’ll be missing four straight weeks of class in one of my modules – the content from which I will be teaching to myself. Nice. It really makes my student debt feel worth it.
It’s not that my tutors haven’t been apologetic – I have been very grateful to them for offering the support that they can, but it is limited, and only goes so far – so as not to defeat the point of the strike action.
As for the University itself, their apologies are futile – if their aim is to make me feel better, they aren’t doing a very good job. The continued emails wherein we are told that our “difficulties are appreciated” are counterproductive, serving only as a reminder of their unwillingness to better the situation that both students and staff have found themselves in.
My sympathies and support are unwaveringly directed towards my professors, and my frustrations are with the governing body. I can only hope that there will be some alleviation in the nationwide industrial action; if not, I struggle to see how the University can continue to ignore the mess that they have created and refuse to clean up.
Image courtesy of Edie Holt.
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Strikes, strikes and more strikes
One of the reasons I chose to write on the strikes this week is that I had a bunch of free time. I wouldn’t think, as a third-year student, that this would be my position, but due to the 18 days of industrial action – here I am.
This is perhaps one of the first times I have not welcomed free time with open arms. During the first two years of university, I relished in a little bit of strike action, because missed content didn’t really matter in the long run. Strikes meant a break, which was always a relief. But now, in my third year, it simply feels unfair that my education is being compromised by the higher-ups who refuse to understand the plight of our teachers. My quarrel is certainly not with my professors, but with those who have the power to implement real change, and instead sit idly by.
This academic year has been the first during which I have experienced ‘real’ university. For the first time, all of my classes were in person. The positive impact that a normal, in-person schedule has had on my wellbeing and learning cannot be overstated. Who would have guessed that a lecture could be an enjoyable experience when it isn’t watched on x2 speed from a tiny accommodation bedroom?
My degree, English Literature, is largely directed towards independent learning, with a total of four classes a week. Aside from those few-and-far-between contact hours, my study comprises of reading, writing essays and more reading. I’m sure you can imagine that my sporadic seminars are incredibly valuable. Thanks to the strikes, I’ll be missing four straight weeks of class in one of my modules – the content from which I will be teaching to myself. Nice. It really makes my student debt feel worth it.
It’s not that my tutors haven’t been apologetic – I have been very grateful to them for offering the support that they can, but it is limited, and only goes so far – so as not to defeat the point of the strike action.
As for the University itself, their apologies are futile – if their aim is to make me feel better, they aren’t doing a very good job. The continued emails wherein we are told that our “difficulties are appreciated” are counterproductive, serving only as a reminder of their unwillingness to better the situation that both students and staff have found themselves in.
My sympathies and support are unwaveringly directed towards my professors, and my frustrations are with the governing body. I can only hope that there will be some alleviation in the nationwide industrial action; if not, I struggle to see how the University can continue to ignore the mess that they have created and refuse to clean up.
Image courtesy of Edie Holt.
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