Now that the first semester is over and I'm looking ahead, I feel like I'm better prepared than I was a few months ago and know what to expect. It would be very easy for me to quit now because my kids really need me and I know my husband would like to go back to working days instead of nights. I'm just going to keep going while I can. The kids have to be my first priority, but there were some almost irresistable things about being in school, that I am craving now that we are on our winter break.
I loved being on the campus. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed being a student and learning. It probably sounds cheesy, but I really felt good being challenged and having to think about science and math, after going so long without it. I didn't feel like an old lady while sitting in class with the 18 year olds. I almost felt like I was one of them again. I had forgotten what it felt like to be a college student, but going back and being there again brought me back to those days almost instantly. When class got out and I had a short break before my next class, I'd sit on the lawn under a tree and watch people walk by, while writing my pre-labs or having a snack. Sometimes, when I'd left the house in disarray and the kids were particularly difficult or sick, I'd have so much guilt going off to school, then I'd get there and it was like stepping into another world.
On one hand, it was amazing to be challenged intellectually, on the other, I knew I wouldn't be able to work as hard as a lot of the other students because I had a family at home to take care of when class was over.
I have to mention a few things that I did not like about being back in school with all the kids. First of all, the students were very disrespectful. This new generation has not been taught to respect their teachers or other students. Kids were walking in late all the time, texting during class, putting their feet up on seats in front of them (even if they were occupied), talking during class, and cheating! I've never seen such blatant cheating before in my life. One more observation I made was the smoking! The students smoke everywhere on campus except in the classrooms. Since I can't tolerate smoking, I was constantly trying to dodge the cigarette smoke. Maybe these problems I had would not exist at a regular university. I don't know. I just couldn't get over my biology professor having to stop class dozens of times because the talking had become so loud.
This next semester is going to be busier than the last, but I'm so looking forward to it. The classes I registered for are subjects that will not be too challenging for me, but are more of a needed review, with the exception of Botany, a required class for my major.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Chemistry
In high school, I had a very dynamic chemistry teacher, Mr. Stewart. He made the class very entertaining and it was a breeze for me. Nothing about chemistry intimidated me. Mr. Stewart sang silly songs about the periodic table and used to jump on top of countertops and desks to keep us awake and to give us a visual understanding of whatever topic we were studying.
I then took chemistry two years later, in college in West Virginia. The class was also not intimidating and I didn't struggle at all. It was my freshman semester in college and unfortunately, there were so many reasons to not attend class. I missed a little too much toward the end of the semester. Why didn't someone just hit me over the head and drag me to class? I actually missed the final and made up a very believable excuse. The professor was so nice to me and told me he'd give me an incomplete. All I had to do was take the final when I came back to school. I never went back there.
Here we are 16 years later and I signed up for chemistry my first semester back. This was not a good decision .It didn't occur to me that I needed a review of the math used in chemistry or maybe some type of refresher course before diving in head first. Within the first two weeks of class, I knew it was going to be hard keeping up. There was so much work. I signed up for group tutoring and put all of my other classes on the back burner. By the middle of the semester, my grades were so bad and the work was piling up. Coming home to my three kids, having my husband working evenings, and knowing I had several hours of studying and homework for chemistry was making me sick. I made the decision to drop the class before it was too late. I didn't want to get an F.
I need to take the class and pass it with at least a B. I'm preparing for it by taking a math review class this semester. I have decided that I am terrified of the course. There is only one professor at my school who teaches chemistry and he is not a good teacher. I like him very much as a professor and I think he's a smart guy, but he has no teaching ability whatsoever. I have since learned that the average grade on his final exam was a 63. No one got an A. Doesn't that mean that either he's not a good teacher or most of his students are just not smart enough to do well in his class?
I'm fearful that chemistry is going to be the one big obstacle that I will have to face. I'm considering trying it at a different school with a different professor, but that will make my life incredibly difficult.
I'm thinking of ways to be able to prepare for the class and do extremely well in it. Maybe I need to study it all summer long. How would I do that with all my kids home and my husband deployed?
On a happy note, I've discovered that I have enough college credits for an associate's degree. I'm not sure if I'm going to apply to get one or if I'll just keep taking the classes needed to transfer for my degree. Maybe I'll do both. I don't know.
I then took chemistry two years later, in college in West Virginia. The class was also not intimidating and I didn't struggle at all. It was my freshman semester in college and unfortunately, there were so many reasons to not attend class. I missed a little too much toward the end of the semester. Why didn't someone just hit me over the head and drag me to class? I actually missed the final and made up a very believable excuse. The professor was so nice to me and told me he'd give me an incomplete. All I had to do was take the final when I came back to school. I never went back there.
Here we are 16 years later and I signed up for chemistry my first semester back. This was not a good decision .It didn't occur to me that I needed a review of the math used in chemistry or maybe some type of refresher course before diving in head first. Within the first two weeks of class, I knew it was going to be hard keeping up. There was so much work. I signed up for group tutoring and put all of my other classes on the back burner. By the middle of the semester, my grades were so bad and the work was piling up. Coming home to my three kids, having my husband working evenings, and knowing I had several hours of studying and homework for chemistry was making me sick. I made the decision to drop the class before it was too late. I didn't want to get an F.
I need to take the class and pass it with at least a B. I'm preparing for it by taking a math review class this semester. I have decided that I am terrified of the course. There is only one professor at my school who teaches chemistry and he is not a good teacher. I like him very much as a professor and I think he's a smart guy, but he has no teaching ability whatsoever. I have since learned that the average grade on his final exam was a 63. No one got an A. Doesn't that mean that either he's not a good teacher or most of his students are just not smart enough to do well in his class?
I'm fearful that chemistry is going to be the one big obstacle that I will have to face. I'm considering trying it at a different school with a different professor, but that will make my life incredibly difficult.
I'm thinking of ways to be able to prepare for the class and do extremely well in it. Maybe I need to study it all summer long. How would I do that with all my kids home and my husband deployed?
On a happy note, I've discovered that I have enough college credits for an associate's degree. I'm not sure if I'm going to apply to get one or if I'll just keep taking the classes needed to transfer for my degree. Maybe I'll do both. I don't know.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Where I am now
My name is Rose. I am married to the military and have been for just over 13 years. I have three beautiful and sometimes very loud children, ranging in age from 22 months to 10 years old. We live in Northern California and have been here for almost 4 years. We are not terribly happy to be here, but it looks as though we may be here for a few more years.
I started college at 17, the way you are supposed to do it. I was a pre-med major, although my high school guidance counselor called that a "pipe dream", and all these years later, I remember her words. The summer after graduating from high school in New York, I went to a four-year university in West Virginia and left after a semester. It seemed to me that the school worked so hard to entertain the kids, that the academics were not the focus and it felt like a waste of time to be there. Off to warm and sunny, San Diego, CA, and moved in with Dad, intending to go to school full-time, working part-time, but the reverse happened and school became part-time and work was full-time. The ratio of single men to single women in San Diego in 1993 was reportedly 5:1. I fell in love, moved to Hawaii, and got married. Never to attend school again, until now.
Yes, at 35 years old, after telling myself that I was happy being home with the kids, I made the decision to go back to school, just to see if I could do better the second time around. I started a few months ago. Due to my husband's military status, I was able to enroll in school for free.
It never occurred to me that it might be a challenge getting through the actual work. There was so much schedule shifting to arrange for childcare and the kids' school pick-ups. I had to buy $750 worth of textbooks. I wasn't worried even in the least bit about the work being too hard. I'd always managed to multi-task before. In high school, I worked sometimes two jobs, plus babysitting and school activities. I always considered myself pretty smart. My first semester was a wake-up call.
I had registered for three classes, all of them with labs. I was determined to get through all of them, but by the middle of October, I had dropped two of the classes. One was too hard. The other was at night and created too many problems for my kids. I stayed in Biology, which was 5 days per week and required a lot of time. I managed to make it through and finish with an A in that class, but so much regret about dropping the other two.
At this rate, I may not have my degree finished until I'm 40.
I started college at 17, the way you are supposed to do it. I was a pre-med major, although my high school guidance counselor called that a "pipe dream", and all these years later, I remember her words. The summer after graduating from high school in New York, I went to a four-year university in West Virginia and left after a semester. It seemed to me that the school worked so hard to entertain the kids, that the academics were not the focus and it felt like a waste of time to be there. Off to warm and sunny, San Diego, CA, and moved in with Dad, intending to go to school full-time, working part-time, but the reverse happened and school became part-time and work was full-time. The ratio of single men to single women in San Diego in 1993 was reportedly 5:1. I fell in love, moved to Hawaii, and got married. Never to attend school again, until now.
Yes, at 35 years old, after telling myself that I was happy being home with the kids, I made the decision to go back to school, just to see if I could do better the second time around. I started a few months ago. Due to my husband's military status, I was able to enroll in school for free.
It never occurred to me that it might be a challenge getting through the actual work. There was so much schedule shifting to arrange for childcare and the kids' school pick-ups. I had to buy $750 worth of textbooks. I wasn't worried even in the least bit about the work being too hard. I'd always managed to multi-task before. In high school, I worked sometimes two jobs, plus babysitting and school activities. I always considered myself pretty smart. My first semester was a wake-up call.
I had registered for three classes, all of them with labs. I was determined to get through all of them, but by the middle of October, I had dropped two of the classes. One was too hard. The other was at night and created too many problems for my kids. I stayed in Biology, which was 5 days per week and required a lot of time. I managed to make it through and finish with an A in that class, but so much regret about dropping the other two.
At this rate, I may not have my degree finished until I'm 40.
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