May 17


School days, school days

by Terry 17 May 2008


I’ve been twittering about it, but it just occurred to me that I haven’t done a school update here. I’m 2 weeks into an 8 week program in statistics and probability, and after 2 homework assignments and 2 tests, I have an A. Yup, I’m pretty impressed with myself. It’s taking me twice as long as the younger folks in the class, but I’m persevering until I’ve mastered each concept. I have a notebook full of equations and practice exercises - I do every example and every self-test question in every section. Perhaps when I get further along I won’t need to do that, but for now that’s what it takes. My motivation? If I can get As in 2 of my 4 classes, added to my previous GPA, I’ll graduate magna cum laude. The requirement at BVU is a little looser than some other places - just a 3.70 GPA, class rank not counted - so it’s not as impressive as it would be from a major university. But it would be thrilling to me.

But that’s months in the future. Right now I’m focusing on staying caught up day to day, managing my meds, and finding time to write a blog post once in awhile. I got the go-ahead from a dear friend on the manuscript I want to workshop this summer, so that pressure is off. After the crises of this past week, work is under control, too, so I can just enjoy being a student for a little bit.

All I need is a kegger out at the lake to make the experience complete. You bring the tapper, I’ll bring the PBR. :)

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4 Responses to “School days, school days”

  1. Ahistoricality on May 17th, 2008 1:52 pm

    3.7 isn’t slouching, magna or no. Sounds like you’re being careful and responsible and are going to do quite well!

    Maybe it’s a good thing you’re not taking history: we’re notoriously strict graders. I’m doing finals now, and it’s not pretty….

    Seriously, though, I actually give out better end-of-semester grades than I give out during the semester: nobody gets 100% in my courses because I grade on quality , so I use the highest score in the class as 100% and adjust the others up accordingly; final grades are more relative (though if I don’t feel like the adjusted grades reflect the work done, I’ve been known to do less adjusting; it’s not a giveaway).

    I don’t believe in curves or distributions: there’s no limit on the number of A’s I’ll give out if they’re deserved. I’ve had upper level courses in which nobody got below a B-, but my lower-level courses almost always include the full range of grades just because of the wide range of preparation and effort in the group.

  2. Terry on May 17th, 2008 2:06 pm

    You’re right that history would be tougher to hold my grade in. I was successful in those classes when I was younger because I wrote well, which bent the subjective in my favor. I was also confident about debating in class, which made the instructor like me. All those things played into my grade, I’m sure. I don’t envy you having to do the grading for several levels of classes - you must have such a wide range of students to deal with!

    It’s different in math, I think. You either get the right answers or you don’t - not much judgment needed on the part of the student. Or the instructor, in grading. In that way it’s easier because repetitive practice makes a difference. But I’ve got a 98% raw score in the class (pre-tests at the start of the chapter don’t count), so I think that’s pretty good. Next term I have science, so we’ll see how that goes.

  3. Mere-dizzle on May 18th, 2008 3:05 am

    Yes, but grading math tests is a little tricky–on tests where students have to show their work, you have to follow their logic and find their mistake, then judge exactly how fundamental or trivial the mistake was and grade accordingly. But for multiple choice, it’s pretty simple.

    And as far as the A goes, ahem: I told you so!! :D

  4. Terry on May 18th, 2008 6:24 am

    No multiple choice for me. But they don’t see my work, so it’s a trade off.

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