The Farce of the Academic Quarter System

My 6th year into graduate school and I still really feel like the 10-week academic quarter as implemented by the UC is a fundamentally dysfunctional system for meaningful learning and teaching. I mean, yea the quarter is over quickly but there is no time to think or reflect about anything. Its just work, work, work. It has a kind of industrial schizophrenic feel to it, if that makes any sense. I deeply miss the semester system that I grew up with in college back in Virginia. It is much more rational, a lot more conducive to high quality learning, and a lot easier for teachers to manage. I have also come to the conclusion that it is virtually impossible to produce high quality academic writing while TAing on the 10 week quarter system. I really hope some of these grants come through. TAing is really beginning to wear on me. And I am also running out of TAships. As of right now I have no employment lined up for spring. And to tell you the truth, I am not sure I even want to go through the hell of TAing during spring quarter. Maybe some time off is what I need. I am not sure. As always, I continue to have a love-hate relationship with academia, even as I move toward the end of this PhD program (which seems further and further away each day lol).