School news

Aug 24, 2002

It’s been hot, very hot, in Chapel Hill this week, but I’ve survived my first week of graduate school and I’m ready for more. I admit that the transition wasn’t entirely easy; on Monday night, the eve of classes, I was filled with anxiety and angst. I have a strong sense of self-confidence, a trait my parents instilled in me, and I’m aware of my talents and strengths and experiences (when I was in high school, dad told me to keep a log of every activity and adventure I undertook so that I could see the variety of experience that makes me who I am). But the first few days of graduate school rocked me—I failed a newswriting test that would have allowed me to pass out of a required comprehensive course (my lead wasn’t written to the correct audience), my spelling and grammar test score came in at 81 out of 100, and the other students around me kept spouting the word ”pedagogy.” Once I realized, though, that I could tailor my skills to this new environment of academia, I became much more comfortable. My classes are stimulating, my classmates interesting and my instructors very learned. This should be an invigorating program.

In case you’re interested, here are the classes I’m in this semester. Click on each link to see the syllabus for the class, to see what I’ll be reading, when I’ll be writing and how I’ll be challenged.

JOMC 195 – Medical Journalism
JOMC 201 – Mass Communication Research Methods
JOMC 264 – Mass Communication Law
JOMC 391.1 – Making and Living in Online Communities

In addition to my classes, I serve as a Teaching Assistant to Dr. Debashis Aikat for JOMC 050 – Electronic Information Sources; as a TA, I’m responsible for two sections of lab instruction, with about 20 undergraduate students in each section. To brush up on my teaching skills, I attended sessions today on lesson plans and classroom communication. I picked up some good tips and strategies, as well as a deeper appreciation of the numerous excellent teachers in my own education.

Stay tuned …

Anton Zuiker ☄