March 26, 2007

BOB

Hi! My BOB's a bit late, because I haven't done the test yet. It's 11pm of Monday, March 26th right now, and I just finished a couple of calculus questions. That tells you how boring my life is when it's the first day of Spring Break, and of all things, cALcuLus is in my head. Well, it's because of the anxiety some people have expressed on Friday by the people who have taken the test. They said it was very difficult and they had a hard time doing it. I thought I had the main ideas down, but according to a few classmates, that wouldn't be enough.

This is my gameplan:

I'll try to come up with a step-by-step method in solving these problems. These are integral questions still right, but see, I still have problems with integrals. I'm not super duper comfortable with them yet. If there's a step-by-step method with the problems, I think it'll help me. Sometime when we come back to school, I'll probably stop by Mr. K's room to ask for help. Til then!
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Christian,

I meant to comment the day I read this---

I was so glad to see your BOB. I had noticed you hadn't posted and was concerned!

Your gameplan sounded like a good one! Hope it spurred you on to success on your test!

Best,
Lani

4/04/2007 8:39 AM
christian said...

Hi lani,

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it.

I really hope to do better with this test. I'm honestly finding Calculus much harder than expected. I think it's a course where one really needs to focus and stay on track. That's where I'm having a hard time on.

I'm still here though! So best to you lani, see you around.

4/10/2007 12:43 AM
Anonymous said...

Hi Christian,

I can really relate to your situation. I know it can be incredibly rough and I know that you can do it!

The National Board Certification process I mentioned in my last post found me in the same place as you. It was much more difficult in many ways than I expected. I had taught in Career and Technical Education for only 1 year and although I was pretty good in the area I was teaching, the testing expected me to be an expert in all areas of Human Resources. That meant I had soooo much to learn. I can honestly tell you that at more than one point I felt like the whole thing was killing me-- I was not a happy camper at all and that's an understatement. BUT I did try what you mention, I tried to focus and stay on track. And wow, that day when I learned my scores (and I had to wait 7 months) was joyous indeed. There's no high or rush like that of succeeding after I've worked so hard to figure something out or learn! Don't you think?

Are you setting aside time and chunking your goals? And then rewarding yourself with something you really like when you finish a chunk? If not, do you think that might help? I needed to learn all I could about how handhelds were used by educators, law enforcement, and social workers. The task seemed formidable until I broke it into pieces: what software for each area, how it changed what they did, etc. Then I'd set aside a specified time for each chunk. I found that knowing I had alloted only 2 hours (or whatever the time) made me focus more deeply. The important part of this too is rewarding yourself when you've accomplished each goal, so say the experts, so I did that and it did make a difference. Since I was preparing during the winter and couldn't work in the garden, I made my reward food! Something lovely and decadent! It worked. Not good for my health but it got me through and then I went on a diet! :-)

What do you tbink? What motivates you to keep you on going and going when the going gets rough?

Best,
Lani

4/12/2007 8:17 AM
christian said...

Hi again!

Wow, it was probably some time from now, but I want to congratulate you lani for doing great in that certification test because the way you got there is really admirable. It's one thing teaching out of knowledge, but you've experienced what you talk about, so it's much more meaningful.

I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to focus. It's so easy to say "I'll focus", but doing it is... a lot trickier than that haha. I find that when I interact with people, I have a lot of fun. Helping others especially gives me this high that lasts a while.

In class, my classmates and I all find the group work enjoyable. In the beginning of the year, Mr. K suggested that we have study groups, and that it'd help our studies a lot. I agree 100%. Finding time, however, is sooo hard. Extracurricular activities take up my lunch hours every day, and volunteer work in the afternoon.

The award system you came up with, lani, is interesting too! I think I'll try it out. Thanks for the insight lani, hoping to hear from you soon!

4/12/2007 11:41 PM
Anonymous said...

Hi Christian,

Many thanks for the belated congratulations; I appreciate that. I'll be far more joyful when I offer congratulations to YOU when you post on this blog your success on the test come July or August.

When you mention "It's one thing teaching out of knowledge, but you've experienced what you talk about, so it's much more meaningful.", I understand that. I'm thinking that lots of adults speak from that perspective, despite their current standing today, while students assume that "life" was always easy for the adult. For example, you speak of how difficult it is to really focus, even though you have the best of intentions. I can truly relate to that too. I came very near to failure when I was in college for lack of focus. (I was unable to complete a final exam on the honor system and the college asked me to take a leave). A long story, but I did return the following semester and learned sooo much the hard way about focus and achieving goals.

Will your study group help with the focus if you set specific tasks for when you meet? Is there someone in the group who can act as taskmaster? And recognizing the complexity of scheduling at school, might meeting online via skype be an option?

Hope you don't mind me, some 1000 miles and at least one generation away, just nudging, encouraging, and cheering you on to success--

Best,
Lani

4/16/2007 11:55 AM

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