Bombs away!!

Well, hell week was last week. And here's the fallout:

History wasn't so bad. I had a quiz over federalists vs anti-federalists, and I got a 90 on that, we had our first test two days later and I got a 90 on that also. I really like this class so far.

I had an online test for my computer class that was just one big cluster. You're only allowed to get into this website that we do our grades on with Internet Explorer. So, I get into my test and take the first half which is just multiple choice questions and I go to to open the other half and... I get an error. I try to fix it, no dice. I get online with my brother who is a computer guy by trade and he can't fix it... Damn!

I think, "Hey, I've got my work computer!". I grab that and get it running and online. Go to the website... error. DAMN DAMN!

I think, well, the school is open, let's see what I can do there. I get there and the only part of the campus that's open is the public library. Get a pass and get on a computer, ERROR. WTF!

FINALLY I go to a friend's house and get on his computer and I figured out what my problem was. I was using Explorer 64-bit which doesn't work for this type of whatever it is that I use to take the test.

So, short story long, I got an 82 on that test.

Now, the elephant in the classroom... Algebra. I don't feel bad about the bomb of a grade I got, because I think I did about the class average on this one. I got such a bad grade, that I'm going back on my promise of full disclosure with whoever decides to read this. Suffice to say it's pretty close to my age. I'm also pretty sure that nobody in my class passed the test.

I did notice this week when we were in class that FIVE people did not show up. Almost positive they dropped.

But a good thing did come out of this. I think that the teacher realized he was doing something wrong and worked more examples, spoke a little slower, and asked US more questions than he has been before. Apparently one girl in my class (who looks like a tough cookie, pretty sure she could kick my ass if she had to) told the teacher before class, "You need to slow the hell down and explain things better." Looks like he listened.

As far as my grade in that class goes, I'm not incredibly worried about it. If I can grasp the new concepts (which I have been) I'll do fine. He is allowing us to use the grade on our final exam as a replacement for our lowest test grade. I had forgotten all about that but when he told us that in class the other day, I almost passed out from relief.

Life is rough right now. I have a ton of things going on at work, and the hours take a toll on me. Going home everyday and seeing my kid laugh and clap her hands when I walk through the door makes it all worth it. I'm thankful to her for making me get off my ass and do this with my life. She makes all my long days and nights worth it. It's her birthday this weekend and I'm looking forward to our little party and having some fun.

Have a great weekend!

This Semester Sucks

So, it's been a few weeks. I haven't written much on here because I desperately wanted to give this semester and my teachers and classmates a chance. I've come to find out... most of them don't deserve it. I hate to sound so cynical, but I really can't stand being in two of the three classes that I actually have to attend every week. It's absolutely exhausting.

The one class I enjoy is History. Mr. History is friendly, incredibly personable (he's the only one I have this semester that knows my name) and knows his stuff. He's totally reasonable, but he'll let you know when you're out of line. He had to shut up some people talking in the back row last week. I felt like I was in high school. Although next week is going to suck in that class. I've got a quiz monday (quiz in this class = 1 page essay) and a test on Wednesday. (test in this class = 2-3 page essay) So, that should be fun.

Here's what I don't like about my other two classes that I attend:

Government: Oh man, I think I hate this class the most. The teacher is this crazy weird conspiracy theorist/tea party type guy. He has some of the craziest theories I've ever heard. Greatest hits include "The Soviet Union won the cold war" and "WWII didn't end until 1991." It's our right as citizens of this country to raise questions about the government and speak freely... HOWEVER...

He's teaching a class that has a bunch of 18-20 year olds in it that are pretty impressionable. In my humble opinion he should be teaching the material provided for the class and teaching it on an even keel with no agenda. As crazy and conservative as Dr. Government was last semester, this guy blows him out of the water. (there's nothing wrong with being conservative... I tend to lean that way on the spectrum. It's the conspiracy garbage I have a problem with).

The class is divided into three groups it seems like. There's people that don't know any better and are buying into his theories, the people that just don't care and sit there and chit chat, and the people that don't buy it, and are just there to get his notes and the information pertinent to the test. Well, there's also Sister John Denver who is totally up the teacher's ass, but whatever.

Also... our notes? Lord. Our notes are a list of vocabulary words and "facts and figures". F&F being what percent of Texans live in rural areas, or percent of people doing this or that, years things happened. He might as well just have us read the chapters in the book and discuss it in class without the conspiracy garbage.

As far as Algebra goes, man this guy is something. He works super fast and it seems like he is irritated by us asking questions. He is hell bent on trying to get through the theory of everything just to get to "here's the formula you need to know". Wow, you know how all of this came to be, we're super impressed.

I've spoken with some of the people I work with, one with a doctorate in mathematics, two guys with engineering degrees and I've described what he's doing in class. They have no idea why he is going this far on a freshman level course. It's ridiculous. I learn more from doing my homework with the online help that is available on the website we do our homework on. I need to work my butt off one weekend so I can get ahead of the game and so I'll know what this guy is teaching us each week.

Walking out of class this past week, I spoke with two of the people in that class and they were easily as confused as I was. Nobody gets this guy. It's going to be a harsh reflection on him once the final grades come around or if he gets completely crapped on in his course eval. And if there ever was a reason to do an eval, it's because of teachers like this. He needs to change his tune with the way he treats his classes if he's going to keep teaching.

Furthermore this was the teacher with the 10 minute rule where he supposedly locks the door. What really makes me mad about the situation this past week is that I asked him politely, and respectfully to keep the door unlocked in case my quiz went long a couple of weeks ago and he tried to give me a lesson on time management. The reason he doesn't want people walking in and out of class is that he doesn't want to be distracted.

This past week in class some girl I guess got tired of just standing out in the hallway making faces and trying to whisper to her friend in the front row, so she just WALKS INTO CLASS and has a seat, saying hi to everyone as she entered. SERIOUSLY? I was waiting for him to say something to her but he just said hello and kept on teaching. The whole class was watching her as she walked in and he just lets her in so she can come hang out with her buddy? What the hell is that?

I'm getting close to having to have a chat with this guy one day. It might not be pretty.

I'll be back on here soon enough. My week ahead is going to be great. I've got a test in my computer class that I have to take at home, a quiz Monday in history, a test Wednesday in history AS WELL AS a test Wednesday in algebra.

I did this to myself... but it'll be worth it... it'll be worth it... it'll be worth it...