Spring... uhm... break?

Last week, my school closed down for spring break. My professors all ladled out the "over the break" assignments as if they knew we would spend our break idling away the time and getting into trouble. I won't even try to deny that some students certainly did just that. I wasn't among them. (Not that I didn't wish I was among them...)

For my part, I spent the time that I would've normally been inside the classroom working extra hours at both jobs to make more money. The extra "over the break" assignments only increased my frustration and fanned the coals of resentment I hadn't even realized were burning. When I realized that such resentment existed, I knew exactly for what reasons they were ignited.

I have been agonizing over whether or not to continue with my schooling, even discussed those thoughts often on this blog. Each time, I have resolved to go on with my education by the whisker of a hair through sheer willpower. I could be making so much more money, money I need to pay ever growing bills. Instead, I have chosen to sacrifice so that the future may be all that much brighter.

Yet, this semester, it is hard to convince myself that I want to continue. In part, it is because of the antics of my professors. One professor treats us like grade school children. This person takes attendance at the beginning and end of every class. The absurdity of their actions increases when you are aware that attendance isn't mandatory.

In another class, we are in a room full of computers, which we are prohibited from using during lecture. I don't deny that there is a respect issue if you're surfing the 'net during a lecture, but I also realize that I am paying to learn, whether I do so or not. So, if I choose to surf instead of learn, that is my problem. The professor in this class insists that we turn off all the computers, and our attention be focused on the matter he is lecturing on. If some student gets caught using a computer, he goes on for a fifteen minute tirade about it. Now, who loses out here? The student who surfed the 'net or all of the students, who have paid for that time to learn?

There are more situations like this (I won't list chapter and verse), each of which has whittled away at my will to stay in class. I also feel the onset of a major attack of senioritis with spring (supposedly) in full swing. *grin* As if I didn't need any other reason to quit attending classes. So, with these reasons, the resentment has smoldered, and prior to spring break, almost became a conflagration.

What's worse than that, I had a test on the day we returned. During this test, I discovered one of the assignments that I had elected to put off was one of the test questions. Talk about insult upon injury.

I see that I need a real bonafide day off. Yet, with tax day around the corner, I know I can't rest. Especially since I'm fairly certain that I owe money this year. I did a quick calculation, and I made less than minimum wage this year. I am now below the poverty level. Granted, last year at this time, I didn't have a job. This year, I have two.

Yet, because I'm a "self-employed" worker, I owe about a third of what I make to the government. Hopefully, when the final numbers are tallied, I won't owe nearly that much. I am ever thankful for continuing education tax credits!

Still, be on the watch for some college student going postal from the work load, for that student may just be me. Good thing I don't own any firearms. I should point out, before I find the police at my door, that I'm not the type to fly off the handle like that. If I get that angry, I might throw my text book at that person, nothing more.

I just have to keep reminding myself that summer is merely a month away. It seems like an eternity from where I stand. That and an unseasonably cold spring might keep me in class long enough....