Week Four

Week Four

Four weeks pass. Things are still going steady. We haven't ran into the super complex stuff, which is great. Like I've said before in recent posts is that I shouldn't expect to see anything major until later...maybe the second quarter for my guess. But this is all good. I'd much rather start off with the basics not just because it's easy, but because I need a foundation for the future material. Since this stuff is been pretty easy so far, there's not much commentary that I can produce about the current subjects.

What I like is the new way of discussing the topics within the class. It's nice to see that we don't need to raise our hands to express our ideas and opinions. That's a good change in the class room setting. I don't think I've seen this in other classes before....I am (and perhaps others are too) so used to waiting for the teacher to control the discussions. I see this as a very vital piece of experience of learning for today's students. We need to be able to discuss topics openly with each other, since in our jobs we won't have some overseer to control us. It's a great way to practice communication and to gain experience for the adult world. While this is all great, I honestly think this is a little too late. How long has this been in effect? In my case, I've been accustomed to waiting for the teacher's instructions. I've never had the will to direct the conversation myself. It's too new and aberrant to my experience. I'm just not used to it. Being schooled for 12+ years with this system, and all of the sudden the chains are released? I think it's too late to preface this concept to most people. This should really begin with the younger students who are just starting their academic careers. That's just something that I've been concerned about, although I do approve this system for everyone.

About assessments, I was really surprised. Experienced with Honors Physics last year, I thought I would get all fours...I knew the material well in my opinion. I couldn't believe the results. I scored just like anyone else, as if I didn't even have the experience. Maybe I was over confident? Not sure about that, but I think my major malfunction was that I wasn't being thorough  enough with my detail. Plus I made a few mis-calculations from mechanical error, which doesn't really mean if I know the material or not. I think that's a little unjust if that's considered below the satisfied grade. Maybe I didn't see something? Maybe I plugged in the wrong value? Could it have been that I misjudged? Well, there are re-assessments which are nice and I am already taking advantage of. Last year, I learned the benefits of using the re-assess. I find that it either takes me more time to really know something, or I make the mechanical errors as described  above. I learned last year that if I always use this option I know that I can get the grades I deserve. Last year in H.Physics I was getting above an A in 3/4 of the year.