We had our first history exam today on what should have been our day off from classes. For some reason this college has classes either Mon/Wed or Tues/Thurs and always has Fridays free. I remember reading somewhere that schools that have Friday classes have less drinking among students, but I guess they don't have to worry about that here. Anyway, we missed a class last week because the teacher had to go to a funeral, so we had our make-up class today.
I'm usually in a mood where I'm ready and willing to take a test. I don't really know why - maybe I enjoy the challenge or being measured. That was not the case today. I just wanted to get it over with and go back to my dorm to curl up in my bunk and nap for a while, catching up on lost sleep.
I completed the exam and waited for the rest of the class to finish to have the exams graded and returned, wishing I had been a little more careful in starring my notes for things to study. When I saw my grade I was surprised to see an A. I checked it over and realized the teacher had let a couple of answers slide by with approval. Why he did that, I don't know. What I did know is that I did well on the exam and was ready to get some shut-eye.
*History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awaken." - James Joyce
Finals are over and I have my grades for both Trig and Brit Lit. My Trig grade is right where I expected it to be - an A. Even though we rushed the last week, we left quite a bit out, which made the final easier.
Brit Lit, however, was a different story. After the final yesterday, I received my grade - a B. Looking back over my grades, I could not figure out how my grades came to a B. I averaged them several different ways and still couldn't come up with a B. I had a 92, 94, 100, and 83 for my test grades and an A, A, A, and a B for equally weighted essays. There were no other grades.
I asked the teacher how she graded but she gave me a vague answer, saying that's the way she has graded for ten years. She told me that a B was still a good grade for a college course. I replied that it may be good but it was not what I was aiming for., what I deserved, or what other schools want to see when considering my application. Too bad; it's not getting changed. It just does not seem like fair grading to me.
Final exams are coming next week and we are nowhere near where we need to be in Trigonometry. In order to get where we need to be, The teacher decided to cover one chapter each day of class - crazy pace for this kind of math.I see most of the trig problems as puzzles to be solved and I don't think it will be easy to fly through all the puzzles I need to be able to understand. I don't think we will be able to cover the important stuff that is packed into the last chapter.I hope that none of my future educational outlets read this because, if they do, they will probably be disappointed by the disparity between the classes I say that I took and the things I actually learned in class.
Today I had my last test in Historical Geology before the final tomorrow. The way the instructor runs the grades is that we take five tests and the lowest grade gets dropped, then we take the final.
I've scored 100's on everything so far, so I don't need this lab practical at all. I studied for it anyway.
Once I got to class I just filled out the answer sheet with A's and B's to correspond to the number of the question (i.e., 12a and 12b). I made sure to fill out the bonus and inspect every fossil and make a guess in my head. I only got three or four wrong and missed half the bonus. My answer sheet was scored and I received a 34; with the six bonus points, a 40. The instructor let out a chuckle. I assured him I would study harder for the final.
I also had my Cultural Anthropology final today. It was over only the last two chapters we covered, so it was pretty easy. I didn't get to see my score before I left, but I'm confident that I did well. I'm looking forward to taking the World Religions class with the same instructor in January.
We had our second of three exams in Anthropology today. As I walked out to the education building I realized I had forgotten about it all weekend. I barely got a chance to look over my notes before going into the classroom. I didn't expect to ace this one like my other exams this session.
I sat down at my desk waiting for the exam to be passed out while information was flying through my head in a final attempt to get organized. When I received my exam, I whipped through it with no problems at all. Every answer seemed obvious to me. About twenty minutes later I turned it in.
By the end of class we had our tests graded and handed back. I had aced this one. Even without studying beforehand, I scored a 100. These classes just don't seem to be taught on a college level. It seems more like extended high school. Is this really preparing me for a challenging university or career in the future?
Today I had my first lab practical in geology. Again, it was mostly review - just rocks and minerals from my physical geology class that I took before I was arrested. All we had to do was identify the rocks and minerals by their names and identify what type of rock they were, all multiple choice. I scored higher on this test than any other so far - 109 out of a possible 110.
The only point I missed was a word in my answer on the bonus. I wish I had bigger challenges. It's kind of annoying to me to receive 100's on everything because I don't feel like I'm really being pushed to learn.
The same thing is happening in the Bible study that I go to on Tuesday nights. Tonight we stayed on topic, but the topics were either information that I'd heard many times before or so stretched in their spirituality that I didn't feel comfortable. I didn't want to speak up because I don;t want to confuse the other guys in the class or look like I'm contradicting the teacher. I think I'll give it a couple more weeks before I make my decision to leave the class or not.
I took two exams today, back-to-back, in a Wednesday doubleheader. After the dust settles and the synapse firing was over, I emerged victorious. Both were aced; no battle scars this time.
I was a little worried about the anthropology test. It wasn't so much the material itself, but the depth that I wasn't sure about. Most tests I take I don't have to do much more than a quick scan to be comfortable with the information covered. I'm pretty good at the multisensory learning - hear, see, write - so the info is retained well. For this test, I actually spent some quality time getting to know the chapters. It turned out that only minimal recollection was required for the exam. I still don't mind keeping in line with the Boy Scout motto - Be Prepared.
The geology exam was a breeze, just like the previous one. The material was still review from the last geology class I took, so it was fish in a barrel for me. I know that it's going to get tougher when the biology stuff appears. I'll be ready.
