A Start-Of-Quarter Vent

Yesterday was suppposed to be the start of the quarter at Seattle Midwifery School. This afternoon I got access to partial syllabi for most of my classes. My financial aid is still up in the air.

Why is this so hard? This is the process, quarter after quarter, year after year. This school wants to be a model of professionalism in midwifery - but this is the kind of shit that happens time after time after time. It isn't even different shit each time..it is the same shit. Late syllabi, late course openings, students/school not knowing or understanding their financial aid paperwork and packages.

This reminds me of those people that are chronically late. That can't leave the house on time ever, because they always seem to not give themselves enough prep time or traffic time or fuck-up wiggle room. The solution to those of us who are generally on-time kinds of people seems really simple - start getting ready earlier. The same advice would apply, or one would think, at Seattle Midwifery School. Chronically late with the syllabi? Why continue to delude yourselves into thinking you can get it done better and faster this quarter? Start the crunch earlier. Move up those deadlines. However you do it, I count on you to have the materials where I can read and use them in a timely manner so that my life can move on. I have three kids to homeschool and a busy midwife preceptor to keep up with. I don't have time or energy to waste on this shit. Again.

School Rant Addendum

We are losing a classmate this quarter. Losing someone always makes me sad, but she has held on so well for so long with so many other things going on in her life. I am sad for her and sad for myself and my classmates, who will miss her presence both online and at onsites. And I am mad. I am mad because this school has let her down. Because they have jerked her around. They have charged her for practicum credits that haven't been completed, and then - THE FUCKING GALL - not followed up appropriately for her to get those credits despite all the effort she had to go through to get someone not really friendly to midwifery to complete their end of the work. I am so upset about this I can hardly see straight. How can a school that wants to be inclusive and about making good, qualified people into good, qualified midwives turn around and do this shit? This is someone who CAN and SHOULD be an excellent midwife, the sort of person that is an asset to the school and the profession, and she has been thoroughly run over and left in the fucking ditch. HOW. DARE. THEY.

Seattle Midwifery School - all about helping people, when it's convenient and easy and doesn't mess with our day too much...and doesn't mean we have to part with any possible cash...?

No, it is not SMS's fault that she can't get federal grant/loan money as easily as some other students. But there has been a ton that SMS could have done to help her stay enrolled, and they not only didn't do it, but the callousness has been astounding. I'm not talking about forgiving tuition; I'm talking about keeping their end of the bargain. They didn't just fail the one student that dropped out this quarter; in a sense they failed us all.