Summer school's insanity

By Pratsara Katathavorn, On-line Forty-Niner

June 11,1998

School is out for summer! No more jumping out of bed and rushing to class late. No more getting up extra early to start that paper you had no time for. Wrong! For some students, school has just begun.

I considered myself a veteran summer school and winter school student. This is not the first time that I will have journeyed through six weeks of intense labor. In fact, this is my third time experiencing what many students think of as insanity.

Although summer school is tough, it is a great way to take care of units in a short amount of time. Personally, I saved my worst feared classes for these short sessions.

Last year, I enrolled in a history winter session class. History is not my subject. I was scared to death of having to learn thousands of different dates and events and being tested on them. I needed the class, so I jumped into the uncertainty of a four week class and made the pain of the class shorter.

To my surprise, I passed the class with a B. My grade was not only satisfactory, but I actually learned something. Imagine that, going to school to learn.

Taking the class was a wise decision. The knowledge I learned in that history class helped me out in related classes that I took the next semester.

I recently walked in the graduation ceremony, however I still had nine units to take. I did not want to go through another full semester of classes, so I enrolled in summer school. Enrolling in these classes gave me the option of taking these classes in two months and if I pass all three classes, I can graduate quicker than I expected.

Why is summer school so effective for me? It may be because of the shorter amount of class time. It may be that there is no time to slack off. Whatever the reason, I sure am glad these classes are offered.

Pratsara Katathavorn is the opinion editor of the Summer Forty-Niner.