I apologize in advance for the length of this entry!
Well, I made it through week one! It shouldn’t seem like a big deal but I’ll have you know I’m quite proud of myself.
I decided that for this week’s journal entry I would do a quick review of my 4 current classes and what my thoughts are on each one.
First, I would like to give you just a few overall thoughts.
Back in 1992, when I decided to go to LPN school, I was among the youngest in my class. This time around it is quite the opposite. I’m forty now and old enough to have fathered over 75% of the students I have in my classes. It hasn’t mattered the time of day I’m taking these classes. I’m old and stick out like a sore thumb with my receding hair line and a backpack complete with ibuprofen for those days when I’m feeling my age in a special way. I catch myself looking at the other students wondering what it will feel like when my girls are their age and attending college. They all look so much younger than myself and so much older than my girls. It’s almost confusing.
Most of my classmates seem so much more confident than me. Within just a couple of minutes of the end of class they are already getting their stuff together, ready to hit the door at the strike of (insert time here). For most of the week I’ve felt like a deer in the headlights at the end of class. I’m quickly writing down some final notes scared to death that I’ve missed some important piece of information or instruction. They all just come across as so much more care free. I know that is probably just my perception but it sure feels real.
Well, that’s enough of ‘James is old’ talk for now. Here are my thoughts on the classes.
1. General Psychology (Psych 140)
This was the first class I attended. We will be meeting twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, leaving me free to work the day shift to keep the income up. That’s a good thing! I don’t know a lot about this instructor other than she does have a nice sense of humor. She only plans on giving two exams for the whole year. I don’t expect to have many problems as I’ve been working in the mental health field for a year now. This class just has a relaxed feel that I’m sure I’ll be even more thankful for as the semester moves on.
2. English Composition (English 101)
I’m super excited about this class! I’ve known this instructor since high school. She and my wife have been best friends since kindergarten or something like that. Since I’ve spent the last 3 years doing a lot of reading and writing I’m expecting to do well in this class. Elizabeth has affirmed my opinion that readers make good writers. This class requires the students to submit quite a few journal entries during the sixteen week period. I will be able to submit my blog posts so I’m pretty excited that my blog content will be a part of my grades. I’ll try to find a creative way to integrate the two.
3. Elementary Algebra (Math 40)
Now, I’m assuming this class title doesn’t mean that I’m taking the same math class as my ten-year-old but with the way my first test went, it’s a distinct possibility. Yes, you heard me correctly, we have already had a test. This class is using a new format. The class is broken up into 6 modules. You will take a pretest before starting each module. If you get an eighty percent or better you can skip that module and get your grade accordingly. If you fall under that percentage mark you get to take that module and do a post test for your grade. Last Friday morning I took my first pretest. It wasn’t pretty. There will be no testing out for James!
4. Chemistry for health sciences (Chem 105)
I’m not sure where to even start here. This is the class I’ve been dreading. I’ve been getting all kinds of different stories when it comes to chemistry classes. I’ve only talked to two people who got an “A” or “B” and most everyone I’ve talked to either failed the first time or barely made it out with a “C”. I have no plans to get grades less than a B. It will affect my ability to get into an RN program. They are pretty competitive. A “C” won’t keep me out of nursing school but it could drop me down lower on the list. My instructor worked for forty years as a chemist and decided to become a teacher once he retired. The first night of lecture went by in a flash and I found myself dazed and confused. He breezed past the first chapter pretty quickly assuming we all know what he was talking about. Unlike many in that class it’s been A LOT of years since I’ve done anything in chemistry and even then it was very little. Chemistry was combined with my pharmacology class and even then all we did was memorize the periodic table. He decided to go over Celsius to Fahrenheit conversions. He just mumbled through the whole thing looking over his shoulder every couple of seconds saying something like, “You know all this, right?” and moved on. This was supposed to be a 2 hour lecture. He hit the last power point slide an hour early and dismissed us. I was completely freaked out! I don’t want to get out of class an hour early, not if you are going to actually cover material. Hey, if you are just doing introductions and an overview I get it but that’s not what he did at all. He was covering chapter 1. If he tries to let out an hour early next time I’m going to get him to give me some person tutoring. I’m noting leaving class early and confused, this is all too important for that.
Well, there you have it, the first week of college. It had it’s ups and downs but mostly ups. I’ll get to do a bunch of writing for both English and Psych and I look forward to that. I haven’t taken Algebra for a long time but I remember enjoying it quite a bit and I’m sure I’ll pick up on it quickly enough.
I’m only nervous about Chemistry but I am tenacious and there is always Khan Academy.
I empathize with your circumstances, especially with the chemistry. As I told you last week it wasn’t until much later in my college career that I had a real success with chemistry, and it was all about the professor. He “got” it and also knew how to teach us to “get” it. That makes all the difference. Hopefully you have a good text book that explains things well and that the tutoring will reinforce stuff for you.
I’d be afraid to take those math pretests. I don’t think it would be pretty for me either.
I’m proud of you for diving into the deep end and taking a lot of classes right off the bat. I would encourage you to read and re-read your material as much as you can so that you can really get it down. If so I think you’ll find the tests a breeze.
I read quite a bit yesterday. My eyes were crossed when I was done. Reading a text book is quite different than anything else I’ve been reading.
Yes, they rarely flow as well as even good nonfiction books. And that is a shame, really.
James,
Call me if you need to go over any topics, especially Chem and Math.
Careful what you volunteer for buddy!