Comments on: I think grad school is making me crazy

By: ASTD Big Question: Am I still stuck? | Adventures in Corporate Education

ASTD Big Question: Am I still stuck? | Adventures in Corporate Education — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:00:22 +0000

[...] This month the ASTD Big Question is about a blog post I wrote back in December! The post was called “I think grad school is making me [...]

By: gminks

gminks — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:11:42 +0000

Thank you Charlie

By: Charlie Brooks

Charlie Brooks — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:13:28 +0000

You’re not crazy. It’s simply that graduate school is starting to “take.” You reach a point where your realize that even give all you’ve learned (and hope to learn) you will still not exhaust all the possibilities there are for learning. Fearsome and exhilarating!

As for those who say someone is “book smart,” but their ideas won’t work in the “real world”: mostly these folks are neither “book smart” nor live in a world where change is possible. Remember Robert Kennedy: I see things as they may be, and I ask: “Why not?”

By: gminks

gminks — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:05:48 +0000

So you guys are saying I am not crazy, but I am normal? Thanks! Nice to see others are in the same boat as I am in. HueiHsien where do you work?

By: HueiHsien

HueiHsien — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:54:15 +0000

I agree with Steve’s first sentence. That’s my motivation that I keep improving and learning.
I was also just graduated from the graduate school from UGA. I really appreciate for what I have learned, including instructional design theories and technical skills, because they are the foundation for my advanced learning in the future. The company that I work for also faces the situation that they are trying to transfer training from instructor-led courses into blended learning. However, I could see that they are in the slow progress. I am not sure if I could have the influence on them, but I always try my best to leverage on my skills and knowledge to make good suggestions and complete the tasks.

By: Jane Bozarth

Jane Bozarth — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 12:34:54 +0000

Steve,
I’m with you. I just (as in, 5 weeks ago) finished my doctorate in training and development and for much of the 9 years of that experience felt the very way you describe. There’s so much to learn, and so much to be be done! I was able to cope with it in a couple of ways. One was by focusing on a few things that really caught my fancy, and that I felt were reasonably within my control — something I could get done even if I had to do it by myself (like effective design for e-learning). I also realized, as did you, that I was learning just too much to ever get done, and addressed that by getting very involved in trainer development efforts — my organization now offers a stellar training skills certification course meant to help develop those who are NOT, and maybe never will be, in grad school. It also helps that I am involved in a good community of trainers who were interested in what I was learning and gave me a place to share it in ways that were related to my and their work.

Does this help at all?
Chin up and keep breathing! The end result will be worth it.

By: ruthdemitroff

ruthdemitroff — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:50:41 +0000

Steve I don’t know how you did it but you’re amazing. Trust me, you’re going to look back in 20 years and decide that you did the impossible – that you juggled so many deadlines and online/real world responsibilities and actually created a good life for yourself as well. We have potential and we have limitations and with each year we get more experience in how to flow with both sides of the coin. I can’t believe all those people I went to university with are now at the pinnacle of their game and hold the senior positions in everything. Lucky for you most of them also have a semi-retirement date in mind.

By: Steve Todd

Steve Todd — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:09:42 +0000

The more you learn the more you realize “how much you don’t know”. I think that’s normal.

Impacting your company with your great ideas takes time! Pick the most realistic one and work hard on it. Use your influence to make it happen (because you do have quite a bit of influence IMHO).

Oh, and make sure to goof off a ton.

Adios!

Steve