JOY, JOY, JOY... TUTORIALS.

Tutorials. The most dreaded word along with DP (Dully performance certificate). Rhodes and some other universities like UKZN and UCT have tutorials to make sure that the students are on track and not on crack. Tutorials (tuts) are 45 minute talking sessions where you have to speak other wise you will be marked absent. You have to produce a typed out four page document that will only count 1.1% for your year mark other wise you will be marked absent. And, you have to deal with the fact that if you don’t attend these tuts then your DP will be taken away from you.


Before I start rambling on about Tutorials. DP’s are the imaginary certificates that let you write the June and November exams. Many things can be done for you to lose your DP’s for your different subjects. For example not showing up for tuts, not handing in assignments and not writing the term tests. Now that we know what DP’s are lets criticise tuts.

Tutorials are a waste of time and the only thing they do is make you some cool new Facebook friends. They are boring and they are most of the time not efficient. Let’s take my English tut for example; my tutor is one of those rare gems who have the talent of speaking in one tone all the time. If the world was crumbling and we were all to meet our doom he would probably scream in that tone as well. He wears only sport brands and attacks us if we say anything bad about Arsenal. The tut-lings don’t talk out of turn except when they are asked a question and so this makes for some entertaining commentary in my head. During the tut I try to imagine all the things my fellow tut-lings are thinking. I would share my thoughts on this but this blog is attached to amatomu.com and they don’t like my thoughts very much. So there I am trying to shatter the silence and boredom with my hilarious (well I think so) commentary in my head and he’s asking me a question. I pretend I’ve heard him and stare at my converse for inspiration then I smile at him with my retarded smile and say "I concur" He then smiles back and moves on to his next victim. The tut is over and he says that I’m really improving in this tut. I am surprised with this and laugh my self silly in my head and inform my tutor that his ultra cool tattoo on his arm is on the body of a Chelsea soccer player (He hates Chelsea like how Hitler hated the Jews). He looks at me as if I’m joking and when I don’t signal that the remark is false he starts shouting the F-word in his one tone voice. I in return just carry on laughing in my head and leave the castle of doom (the English Department).


With that story, I hope it suggested some cool pointers on how to survive tuts. And if the commentary-in-your-head doesn’t work then I suggest you move on to more illegal substances.