Post 6: Assessing Sarcasm

TSA

Last week were the Technology Skill Assessments. I passed, but I didn't really feel all that great about it. I went in thinking the tests were a waste of time, but a couple of the tests took me nearly to the limit of 30 minutes to complete. That's not right. My ego was fairly bruised by the end.

I'm a student of both the Technology & Engineering Education and Media Education programs. The assessments should have been easy for me, right? Should I drop out because it takes me nearly 30 minutes to make a poster in Word?

I took a class this summer in the education department and once the instructor found out that I was in the Technology Education department she had me sitting on the front row. She asked me to get to class 10 minutes early so she could go over what media she was using during class. I did, but I'm sure there were students in class that were much more adept at troubleshooting her computer problems than I.

I'm going to cut this conversation off shorter than it deserves. I suppose I just wanted to spend a little time reflecting on the differences between what is being taught and what others think is being taught. What am I expected to know? Will my Principal be disappointed when he realizes I'm not going to double as the IT guy?


SARCASM


Since the conversations in sarcasm in this class, I've been much more aware of my own sarcasm and the sarcasm around me. I have a friend that has been pointing out when I'm sarcastic, which is interesting because I'm much more sarcastic than I realized. I don't have very positive notions of sarcasm because when I think of it, I think a couple of people I know that use it so often that it is obnoxious. It's impossible to have any sort of conversation with them because all they want to do is be sarcastic.

In the classroom, I thought sarcasm would be fine until TEE 200. I am terrible in this class. I might fail it.  I have no idea what's going on and even when I do, I'm terrible at it. I need to be walked through every single step. The TA's sarcasm is not helpful. It seems less like humor and more like sadism.