Any other imperfect students here?

Any other imperfect students here?

apparently not.

Hi PurpleCat, I know there's lots of students out there who are 'imperfect' or 'normal' as I'd call them but they never tend to get in touch to let us know about themselve, hence why you don't often read about them.

I'm one of the normal ones. I did the Start writing fiction course and I don't run an orphanage or (thank god) have triplets waiting to pop out, and found a small course like that quite difficult but pulled my way through and felt pleased in the end, despite my normal status ;-)

I think this could make a brilliant blog entry in our student blog section - fancy having a go? If so, email platform@open.ac.uk with the subject - FAO Tracy Buchanan. Student Blog idea.

PurpleCat, I feel similar to you. But you and I are not ‘rubbish students’, but we reflect openly the reality. We also achieve exceptional things by working hard, but do not feel the need to let the whole world know. Okay, let me clarify my view on this:

There are people that strive on praise, always pushing themselves to achieve outstanding results with the aim to be perceived better than others. For these people life is a constant competition. Once the game is won, it is important to communicate success to collect the well earned praise. Any shortcomings indicate weaknesses that are hidden by the ‘overwhelming’ success.

Than there are modest people that keep their success to them selves and are almost embarrassed when questioned about their studies. These are people that tend to just get on with it, with their studies, their job and their private live. These people tend to be under little pressure because they do not let their mind trick them into believing that things need to be done in a panic, a very different personality. However, what is difficult to identify in these people is how they really feel. Some might come across as perfectly stable and relaxed, but inside they might be panicking.

People that tend to be generally good at expressing their feelings, or not so good at hiding them, are often those that provide the most realistic insight into their lives (and OU studies). These will express their feelings when they have done well, when they have done not so well, and even than when they have failed and exam. This helps them to get over the frustrations, anger and sadness. It also allows them to enjoy success to the absolute maximum. Not just going out having a good time, but for weeks feeling that yes, yes, yes, feeling.

Regarding SESAME, obviously this magazine will write about the achievements, but hardly ever about downfalls. It is after all a marketing method the OU uses. By writing about students with success SESAME is telling us that we have chosen the correct university. All this business with studying, working, having a family etc is what we all experience. But we are all individuals and express our feelings differently. But in the SESAME context this is somewhat different. These articles are written for a purpose, and that is surely not to communicate how much someone had to suffer to achieve the qualification they aimed for.

Now, what is a rubbish student?

Stefan

Regarding my comment above and with reference to the section about SESAME, this comment was not written with the intention to make SASAME look bad in any way. Marketing is obviously not its sole purpose. It is after all from students to students for students. So, I apologise to anyone feeling hurt by this comment.

Hi Stefan, I used to be the Editor of Sesame and am not hurt by your views as you make an intelligent point.

Platform is striving to show the reality of being a student and help people through the process so I genuinely think this is an interesting point to make. That's why I think a blog post about it would be great.

Great topic!

Tracy (Platform team)

i am doing similar course - I am aiming for a lit degree and did A103 last year and am doing A210 which is somehting of a challenge to say the least!! I am finding that I am somehting of am imperfect student I am behind!! When i did A103 I managed to keep ahead of myself but this lit course is intense !!! anyhway - you are not alone I think the solitary nature of the O.u can make you feel a bit like you're the only one who is behind.

By the way - i think as Tracy pointed it it would be a good blog - I wouldnt mind having a bash at it if that is okay with you Purplecat.

Hi everyone and what a great subject to get going with.I agree with Stefan D on this one.We all know that there is no such thing as either a rubbish student or a perfect one.We all are after the same thing; to set and achieve a goal. I doubt if those students who, seemingly, achieve easily do any less work than the rest of us.There are two possibilities: 1)some people have photographic memories...they can't help but to do well;it isn't their fault, and anyway this is somewhat negated by the computers we all use; 2)some people are so eaten up by their own lack of self worth , or are so doubtful of their own abilities, that they fail to see the merit in their own undertakings.Against feelings of inadequacies any halo, shining or otherwise, will stand out.Don't let it eat you up. We're all here and we're all just going to get on with it.The forums should help with any feelings of isolation and with topic discussions. We are at the start of something good. Let's not spoil it by introducing such low expectations and making assumptions about others who, like ourselves, are just trying to get ahead in life.
Happy Christmas! Ness.

Purplecat
Thank you for allowing all the rubbish students to admit their rubbishness
I too am rubbish and proud of it - always leaving tma's to the last minute, finding excuses not to study, cramming things in and feeling bad about it
Lets not feel bad any more but reclaim our rubbish status and wear it like a badge of honour

Hello, I think that we are all probably 'amazing' students in one way or another. We all have committments- job, home, family and other demands that life throws at us.

Studying is not easy, and I sometimes wonder why I put myself through it ( as I am sure everyone must feel like this at times). I am doing an open degree, my subjects have been mostly in health and social care as I worked as a carer for 8 years. Some of my family members don't understand why I am doing a degree, especially as I am not linking it to a specific career. However I like many of you believe that studying opens up possibilities.

As distant learning students we mostly study alone with little imput form others, this is no easy feat. I failed 2 A levels at school and embarked on the start with my OU journey filled with both excitement and fear. From day one the rewards of understanding new concepts, and passing of assignments has given me much pleasure and hope. I started with the OU 10 years ago, and have just started my 6th course. I cannot believe I have come so far in my studies successfully, and am both excited and fearful as I continue with my last course for my BA.

Reading the experiences of other students has lead me to believe that we all have our imperfections. We either change them or accept them and live with them. I wish everyone well with their studies.

i know what you mean

i hardly have many family/job commitments, but i'm doing my course as an extra curricular thing, and am currently studying for five a levels on top of this.

it's not easy and i often do things at the last second, or do huge chunks of my work (which, with it being a language course [L192], is not a clever move), and find it hard to go back over things

i'm only sixteen and despite the amount of free time i have on weekdays, i still find it difficult to stay motivated
i suppose nobody said it'd be easy!

Well I am not perfect by any score but I dont do late ut I do do messy and not perfect. and I think I am good at not saying anything as well.
I read a lot, juggle the kids, and house and strive to do a better job on block three than on block two that sort of got messed up with work on the house and no internet issues

would love to be better just dont get the time to learn how smiles

Yes, I am very imperfect. To me the time to submit a TMA is as important as the day, as I had a habit of doing them in the week before.
TBH, I do everything this way, so it isn't unusual, and I have just finished my degree. Caught me out though with the postgraduate stuff, left it to the last minute and then had to go away for work, and had to get an extension. I will try not to do it in future.

Trouble is, I know I will fail!

Wow glad to see I'm not alone anyway! Sorry haven't posted earlier, but haven't been online since, what with Christmas and everything. Thanks everybody for replying.

When I say 'rubbish student', it was a bit tongue in cheek, what I do mean is 'normal' really, as someone else pointed out I think. I just mean the sort of student who isn't exceptionally gifted, or having to battle incredible obstacles to pass their course (eg. extreme health problems). Everywhere I look with the OU, I just seem to read or hear stories of these kinds of people, and although I really admire them obviously, I'm left feeling rather inadequete when I'm struggling to finish a TMA before the deadline, without any good excuse, I mean reason, for being behind!

I started U211 in Sep 2007, but then both my grandparents died within a fortnight and I had to travel a long distance to attend the funerals. I was also attending evening classes in holistic therapies twice a week, started a new job and had to spend 2 weeks on a training course in Birmingham - right when the first tma was due. However instead of overcoming all this, I ended up dropping out of the course,( as well as dropping one of my evening classes) - not managing to complete a single tma! I felt a bit of a failure. (Still do.) I know other OU students have gone on to pass their course faced with a lot worse problems!

It would be great if someone did a blog on this theme, think I've been beaten to it, ah well I probably would be too rubbish to keep it up anyway! lol

PurpleCat xx

Hello everyone,

Hopefully I haven't missed the 'boat' with this one, I usually do...

Absolutely brilliant. I am so glad you brought this up Purple Cat.
It is good to see one is not alone in feeling somewhat frustrated by the apparent perfection of others, and evident imperfection of oneself.
(This is not to say that I would not be willing to give credit to those, who despite adversity achieve exceptionally good results, or anyone else, who through sheer hard work does well ). However, there does seems to be a notion that unless one indeed juggles several jobs, umpteen kids, health problems etc... ones existence as an OU student is not legitimate.

I have asked for extensions and submit work at the last minute, current record stands at 20 minutes to midnight on the cut-off date. Mostly because of lousy time keeping and terrible lack of confidence in being able to come up with anything worth sending in. Worse still, I also seem to have a god given gift for getting up the noses of those 'whose details should not be passed on to a third party'. Completely unintentionally of course, but some seem to take the view, that unless
the students achieve at distinction level all the time, they should not
be there. Somewhat impossible feat I think, as the OU purports that most TMAs receive level 3 or 4 passes.

Someone else made a very valid point about competition. I tend to compete only with my own sense of inadequacy and desire to do better next time, often letting myself down and falling flat on my face...
Yet, this has to be worth the effort and frustration, I will come out of the other end with a decent (what is that?) degree one day. Will probably never feature in the Sesame, not that I would particularly want to either and disappear off to my 'perfect and privileged' life
as a mundane mother of three, with no particular challenges to overcome. Other than English not being my first language. This of course could be read as a blatant attempt to fish for some brownie points...

Please someone, do start a blog on being imperfect (perhaps otherwise, and not just as a student).

And just as an escape clause, I do not mean to offend anyone perfect or otherwise, and wish to extended good luck wishes to absolutely all students.

Regards, Obese Moggie (should not be confused with 'fat cats').

The great thing about the OU is that you can drop the ball, and then pick it up again later. And they treat you so kindly! I have two unfinished courses on my list, one of which I restarted and completed the year after, the other I didn't. And wow, I felt like a total failure at the time! But I got going again, got my degree, and am now launching myself - with more hope than skill - into an MA.

It's starting soon, and I can go from euphoria to depair in 60 seconds, because although I'm passionate about philosophy (my MA subject - I love it, I'm crazy about it!)I am a last-minute-TMA, tears-at-midnight, don't-want-to-look-at-my-results student, and now it's at post-grad level.

I'm going to be kind to myself, however. I realized, in my pre-start date enthusiasm, that there are things that make me feel bad about myself as a student... okay, one main thing... and that is the Philosopher's Chat forum. I'm sure they're all great people, and obviously they're doing really, really well with their philosophy studies. But I'll do what I'm sure many other students do. Plod along, working hard, having a goodly share of dramas, and not really joining in with the high-level chat. In fact, not even reading it. I am ordinary, curious, willing to study hard, but I feel like Dumbo the Dummy on a dumb day when I even peek at that forum!

I'd love to read a blog by a student who had doubts, and fears, and TMA panic syndrome. And I think this is a good place to meet other students and talk about this stuff! Much as I want you all to do wonderfully well, hearing about other people's struggles makes me feel a little more... balanced. Thanks.

Hello and hallelujah, purple cat..... I too,am less than perfect...in fact my boss, my collegues, my family and pets dread the imminent TMA scramble. I should acceptI am no good at crisis management and PLAN AHEAD, yet this seems beyond me .I am adult, mature(hmm) professional and yet picking up those books and getting down to it beats me everytime. My tutors have been understanding ,thank goodness, and my excuses are true due to my son and heir being as chaotic and accident prone as me, however ,I did manage a 'B' in my first politics essay I did for him (cheat).I like to think as someone who takes life by the horns, carpe diem ,I say, if I were too perfect , life would be dull, and I will acheive that degree one day! Cheers, you made my day!
ToothFairy x

hehe thanks toothfairy! :-)

I'm not sure whether or not I should be replying to this.

I started my first Science Short Course with the OU in November of last year with the first deadline being the end of January. This could have been a slight problem as I was going to be away on holiday in New Zealand and Australia for 3 weeks in January, only returning home the day before the ECA was due to be submitted.

Fortunately for me, I didn't find the course too difficult and I was able to submit my ECA before I left on holiday. However, due to not fully appreciating what was required in my answers (it's well over 27 years since I last did any serious studying) and a failure to review my answers as well as I should have done, I did not do as well as I could have done. However, I passed and that's all that matters.

I've now completed my 2nd Short Science Course but still have a month before the answers need to be submitted. Now, that should be ample time to review what I've written, but the longer I have to do this, the greater the chance that I'll leave it to the last minute and again fail to make any changes required to my answers.

So, whilst I am fairly well organised, I think I still qualify as an imperfect student.

Alan

Just to make a point from the opposite end of the spectrum I was a tad hurt/confused/didnt know how to respond when a woman in my tutorial group said she didnt appreciate me making her and others look bad by having stuff done 2 weeks early. I think she was joking but I didnt know what to say, I'm sure people dont do it to be smug or make people feel bad.

Addendum: Phlipers I am in the same boat - in my gap year before Uni running a level 2 and a level 3 alongside each other as i have nothing else to do, I cant work as I have a disability and am living in the sticks with no means of travel- thats why i get stuff done early.

Oh Jinni I can understand where you're coming from, and I wouldn't worry about what the woman at your tutorial said, I'm sure she didn't intend to make you feel bad in any way, she was probably a bit jealous that you were so organised with your studying!

I felt a bit embarrased at a tutorial on my first course, we were all discussing our last tma, and I'd got a higher mark than a lot of the others. I only revealed my grade cos somebody asked me outright; then when I told her, her face fell as she'd got much lower then me. (I didn't realise obviously or I wouldn't have told her my grade.) I think she was a little envious and made some comment about the course being easier for me 'cos I was young. (?!)

I must add that when I started this thread, I didn't in any way mean to belittle people who do achieve against the odds, or are just more organised at getting tma's done in good time! It's just a bit of fun for the more scatty amongst us!

Purplecat x

Jinni,

I hate to think what that woman would have said about me. I finished my S194 short course a month ahead of time. It was a necessity as I was going to be on holiday in New Zealand and Australia for 3 weeks in January, only returning home the day before the ECA was due in.

I've also finished my current short course, S196, well ahead of schedule, but again I am going to be away in Malaysia for 11 days later this month. Kuala Lumpur is only a 2 hour flight from Bangkok and the flights are relatively inexpensive with Malaysia's low cost airline, Air Asia.

By sheer chance, I discovered that I had got the answer to one of the written questions totally wrong so I had to spend some time this afternoon correcting my answer.

I don't think it matters when you complete your assessment. I'm retired, so I have plenty of free time, perhaps too much!

Alan

there is a certain amount of posturing and preening on forums. that is human nature. people who manage to do the work easily and before the deadline should be posting on another thread, in my not-at-all-humble opinion.

when people write about things they can't do well - yet - like get the work done in time, you either empathize or shut up and move on.

i've been in both cases. depends where your comfort zone is. when i am in my comfort zone - academically - i get stuff done 2 weeks ahead of time. otherwise: it's teeth-gritting, fretting, depression and incomplete assignment time.

never mind the people who come on the forums to pat themselves on the back. they are still in their comfort zones! bless. but where's the challenge in that? they already know how to preen, so what on earth can they be learing??

sp

I'm far from perfect, but I consider myself pretty extraordinary, as I believe all OU students are.

As I completed a degree the 'normal' way by attending university for three years I can contrast the two experiences and I believe that as an adult, with the kind of demands we typically have on us, finding time and energy for the sustained period that OU study requires is a significant achievement in itself.

Aged 20 I little appreciated the luxury of having nothing to worry about outside of my studies, (I'm old enough that I received a grant to support me), and reflect ruefully that rather than siezing the opportunity, I idled along to a 2II. One motivation to study with the OU is to prove that I am more able than this grade would suggest, and also to make accessible to me further study which demands a minimum 2I grade.

For me then the grades are important, but everyone has their own aims and motivations. Judging oneself against others is invariably futile as someone, somewhere will do 'better' than you.

What you get out of study is rarely truly reflected in a single grade number anyway.

I have found organising my time greatly aided by the logical and clear time-plans provided with the courses, left to my own devices experience tells me that I am not very good at imposing deadlines on myself.

How you choose to manage your time is a very personal decision. I know that if I allowed myself to fall behind I would struggle to catch up and my marks would suffer. Consequently I try as far as possible to complete TMAs ahead of time. (And I agree, If getting TMAs done ahead of time makes other people unhappy that is their problem not yours).

Hi all

I'm definitely imperfect and normal, you are not alone.

Mark

Hi I have to agree to all of these I am a terrible student really i leave things to the last min and am happy with a pass when i know damn well i could get better marks if i put a bit more effort in, but i have a busy job and health problems that always seem to slow me down. So after reading this lot i have decided to complete my TMA 05 early ! just to prove to myself that i can get off my backside and do something early for a change!!!!!!

every TMA i do, i plan to be earlier and earlier at submitting it. Every time i get later and later. Last count was 24 minutes to midnight....everything i do is a last minute rush.. i have grades from 86 (yay!) down to 26 (ohdear!) i can't take anything for granted...
I don't know how the superhero students manage it - it's all i can do to get through the course never mind all the other stuff some people manage like working, families etc..
Sometimes i wonder if i actually would do better if i DID have all those extra things going on, maybe it focusses the mind a bit. Maybe the superheros succeed not in spite of their difficulties but because of them.

Yep

a total waster in fact

I've managed to procrastinate my way through a first degree and I'm now on a postgraduate certificate

I don't think that there has been one module in the whole process where I haven't resolved that I'm never doing it again because I'm not the right kind of person for this study business