Which--all makes me think about how ACCESS to educational opportunity is so key to which people can do HE and which cannot, and that access can be denied in the most unfair ways. The Little Rock, Arkansas school district closed down for a year rather than comply with the requirements to integrate. http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/school-integration/lilrock/shutdown.html

I mean, imagine, CLOSING DOWN the entire public ( that would be state-run in British English) school system rather than integrate the schools---??!

No doubt many people who would have and could have pursued even high school education, not to mention university and post graduate work NEVER EVER got the glimmer of a chance because of the color of their skin.

You think that 5 years ago was irrelevant, and 20 years ago beyond imagining, something like the Roman times. But now that I can reflect more about this time of American history and experience, it was not that long ago, and the issues that had been going on and on were still not resolved when I was in school, and many of my African American school mates may have had siblings or themselves struggled through the horrific experiences described in some of these books.

You think that 5 years ago was irrelevant, and 20 years ago beyond imagining, something like the Roman times. But now that I can reflect more about this time of American history and experience, it was not that long ago, and the issues that had been going on and on were still not resolved when I was in school, and many of my African American school mates may have had siblings or themselves struggled through the horrific experiences described in some of these books.

I was not hiding under a bush during these times--my parents stressed the importance of me attending an integrated school rather than participating in the white flight to the outer edges of town to other schools ( I am white, I should perhaps clarify), we talked about integration and racial prejudice, about equality and rights, etc, in my family. As a child you lack perspective, you do not really know how to put into any historical context or timeframe what is happening around you. You do not see the bigger picture, you just live.

Not sure that this is a PhD related topic entirely, or even at all, but it IS eduction related. I just finished reading another book on the desegregation of United States schools, and its so eye opening ( in a very distressing way) to read the accounts of what people went through to simply get access to decent education. I am not reading this for my PhD, and I AM American. I had thought desegregation was a fait accomplait by the 1970's but it WAS NOT!!!! Some 20 years after the original Supreme Court decision, there were still places where integrated education had not taken hold!

Congrats Lara, sounds like you did some hard work and some good work, and now you are another 600 or so words down the road--good job! Sometimes just getting ANYTHING on the page, so its not blank, is the most important part to get going! That blank page can be very intimidating. It sounds like your chapter is really shaping up!

I am not working full time now, and while I think my work has improved, I also waste my time than before....because its there. I try to keep focused on an achievable work schedule and work plan...and just keep typing and reading!!!

I worked fulltime and did my PhD at the same time for the first two years. It was hard, but it did keep me very focused, shall we say! I made sure I stuck to my workplans, and produced...sometimes I had to find strategies of what would work, like writing in the local coffeeshop, going to the library for a change of pace, and sometimes just not working on something for a day because of exhaustion! It did not do wonders for my social life to have this load, but understanding friends would meet me for lunch or a coffee break, or occasionally drag me out for an evening of chat and beer!

Its hard to work and do the PhD--but its doable. I think that 4-6 hours of PhD level thinking is the max my brain can do on any day, whether or not I was at work that day...so if you think about it, a few good hours each day, with more on the weekend if you have the time, is about what you might do without a job!

Ok, let me know how your 45 madman spree goes. Its amazing how many words you can write in that amount of time if you just WRITE! I am sure you will have good progress.



Its also nice to hear that the Flowers paradigm works for you--I know its made such a difference for me, to unpack the writing process and give it some different levels or tasks! It keeps me from feeling scared when staring at huge chunks of writing that need to be brought together--I just remind myself its time for the carpenter to get to work!

I will do some writing tonight, I think, as I need to get thoughts focused on a few particular sections. What my writing now feels like is filling in the potholes in a road--the main stuff is written and I am just finding the holes and trying to improve the discussion and my own analysis by including relevant pieces of things that add (I hope) some depth and clarity.

I will come back and see how your 45 madman spree went~!!

I was feeling blocked and tired last night, but had to get something written. I had typed up this section before, but either did not save it, or saved it as something so weird I will never locate it again. After fruitlessly searching, I just decided to sit down and re-write--the concepts were in my head, and I knew which articles I wanted to refer to, so I just sat down and typed. I got about 1500 words done in about 2 hours--something that will ultimately be ( I hope) the piece de resistance in the PhD conclusion chapter--wrapping it all up sort of points.

In the end I think what I rewrote was better than what I could not find--and it showed me again the value of sometimes just typing, something, anything! Because then there is progress, and you might surprise yourself with what you have. And its always easier to edit than to start on a blank page!

Don't mention it, Lara. I like to read on your progress, it gives me a lot of inspiration to keep on going, and I REALLY REALLY want to see you be DR LARA!!!

Sorry to hear about this, Lara! But I know you will keep going, you have made so much progress and worked so hard, I think its only normal that from time to time you feel the effects of pressure and fatigue.

You might want to look at a book by Bryan Garner, on Legal Writing in Plain English. Even if you are not doing legal writing, I think his book is great. He gives some tips on time management on the writing process for busy lawyers, that I would guess might work for you--such as give yourself x number of minutes/hours for the madman, then move on to the next one, carpenter, architecht, judge, leaving only so much time for each. And where you get is where you get. At least you have a mostly done, mostly edited, piece of work!

I enoy my PhD more than I enjoy marking and grading test papers.

I enjoy my PhD more than I enjoyed my previous legal education!

When I do not enjoy my PhD, it tends to be about factors outside of just doing the research itself--environmental things and internal questions about doing the PhD--but I always like my research, what I am learning, what I am writing, with great hopes of being able to make a contribution that is both original and also has some value in the real world.

Sometimes I love my PhD best when I turn off the computer for the day/evening/night...though at times I dream about it, and sometimes my best ideas come during my dreams!!!!

I LOVE my research and my PhD--most of the time! Yes, it has its not so great moments, but overall I am very enthused about that.