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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by javableue on May 12, 2006, at 22:30:10
Back after much time; school has been keeping me. The day after choosing which university to attend (in a second language, no less...) is a poor time to get this kind of news. As is being in the middle of finals.
Wednesday, I received the result of my last Linear Algebra test and by my calculations, it looks like I've failed. My mark is a little above 59, so I suppose it is open to a "charitable" interpretation, but I really doubt I can count on that; the teacher has been very nonchalant with this course. The fact that I've had extreme difficulty staying awake in class doesn't help. I am not letting myself sleep; I can be actively listening, taking notes, and will still end up dozing off for a few seconds at a time. I really haven't been able to help it but I also can't deny that it must look like sheer laziness to my teachers.
This is not good news. I was told I didn't need this course to graduate when I bombed my first test and asked about it, but... I do. Due to the program I'm going into, I need to start in the fall semester. I don't really have the time or money for this. I'm afraid of failing again, and of the impact that failure is going to have on my (already questionable) confidence re: going to university and even getting a summer job.
I just need to vent, I guess. With everything else going on in my life right now, this is too much and I don't know if I can handle it.
jb
Posted by javableue on May 12, 2006, at 22:30:51
In reply to Argh., posted by javableue on May 12, 2006, at 22:30:10
Posted by Racer on May 15, 2006, at 12:45:25
In reply to Argh., posted by javableue on May 12, 2006, at 22:30:10
I'm sorry you're struggling. I had the problem of falling asleep in statistics, even though I sat in the front row and tried hard to will myself to stay awake. For that matter, I was even interested in teh subject! But the prof had this great, sexy, late-night-jazz-DJ voice, and the class was midmorning, so every single blessed class session, I fell asleep, with my forehead resting on my hand, and hoped to goodness I didn't snore.
I don't know what to suggest about the falling asleep, but I do know what I would suggest about the grade: do you have access to a tutor? Find yourself some tutoring, and do all you can to get past the final.
What I do, in my current math class, is to do all the problems that have answers in the book, even though they're not assigned. I figure the practice gets it stuck in my head, and so far it's mostly been OK for me. Even sections I wasn't clear on, got clear when I'd done a hundred of them.
Hope that helps. And I do know that it's hard to do this sort of thing in summer classes. They're so condensed.
Posted by javableue on May 15, 2006, at 21:26:35
In reply to Re: Argh., posted by Racer on May 15, 2006, at 12:45:25
> I'm sorry you're struggling. I had the problem of falling asleep in statistics, even though I sat in the front row and tried hard to will myself to stay awake. For that matter, I was even interested in teh subject! But the prof had this great, sexy, late-night-jazz-DJ voice, and the class was midmorning, so every single blessed class session, I fell asleep, with my forehead resting on my hand, and hoped to goodness I didn't snore.
No sexy voice here... actually, my professor always sounded angry (a mix of the pitch of her voice and her accent), which is probably the only thing which kept me awake at all.
> I don't know what to suggest about the falling asleep, but I do know what I would suggest about the grade: do you have access to a tutor? Find yourself some tutoring, and do all you can to get past the final.
I don't have access to a tutor... at any rate, for this semester, the grade is largely decided, so I need to consider what I'll do if I need to go to summer school. Obsessive problem-solving and haunting the prof if possible seems to be the solution.
At any rate, my program coordinator has offered to ask about the grade on my behalf, so that may go better than if I had gone myself. (I'm in a pre-university program of all of about 30 students, and the nature of the program puts crazy demands on us so he often has to step in and help.) I'm just glad I don't risk breaking down in front of a professor I barely know now.
> What I do, in my current math class, is to do all the problems that have answers in the book, even though they're not assigned. I figure the practice gets it stuck in my head, and so far it's mostly been OK for me. Even sections I wasn't clear on, got clear when I'd done a hundred of them.
>
> Hope that helps. And I do know that it's hard to do this sort of thing in summer classes. They're so condensed.I think earlier practice would do me good... I would do upwards of fifty problems the night before the exam, but by the time I stopped I was so braindead that I couldn't really make use of whatever I had learned. Coffee can only do so much.
Thanks for the post and tips. I'm going insane not knowing. Thank goodness that, after this, I won't have any math courses apart from statistics. Studying in a second language doesn't daunt me nearly as much as trying to study something (science) I'm really not made to study does.
jb
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