A word from my second math class.

My first math class has ended and I passed. Whew.  How did I do it?  Notice I said, "I passed."  That means I worked very, very hard and got a C.  I am proud of that C.  I have not had math in many years and it never was my best class.  To get a passing grade in a remedial course I really have no apptitude for is something.  I stand a little taller and walk a little prouder because of that C.  Way to go!

I have started the second remedial math class.  It is nothing but more algebra.  I get home after class and get started around 2 pm with my homework.  I work until I can't think any more.  I suppose the important thing is I am learning.  I refer not to learning algebra but to learning how to deal with a very linear process in a meticulus way.  (I am too laid back to be meticulus, and am NOT a linear thinker.)  I use colored pencils to organize the equations, take my time and double check my work.  I use my calculator for even the most basic of problems and found it helps to circle the positive and negative signs to keep everything straight.  I also find it helps to write big.  Since June, I have used up three legal pads and at least one hundred pages of filler paper.  I keep thinking the batteries in my calculator are going to die and need replacing. 

One thing that keeps me going is thinking of my Shakespeare class when I was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  I think of Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, and All's Well That Ends Well.  I think of five acts and conflict,  Queen Elizabeth I and guys in drag on stage.  But most of all, I think of Shakespeare's incredible use and command of language.  I think of words, and somehow get through tedius algebra.

Tomorrow is Monday and it is back to math class.

I was right!

Yes, I was right.  I was not prepared for last Monday's exam.  The amount of work required for the course was more than I anticipated.  I have not had algebra since high school, and what little I learned I long ago forgot.  Algebra seems to be one of the classes that, while required, has almost no practical value unless you are a chemist, an engineer, or want to know when two speeding trains will collide.  I think high schools should require practical math skills of every student and put less emphasis on the algebra.

But I am back in algebra class and have worked hard to keep up.  I spent at least 5 hours every night on my homework and was able to keep my nose above water, so to speak, until we did quadratic equations.  I don't remember doing those in high school at all.  As I said before, I am slow in math and the quadratics required lots of practice.  It got to the point I couldn't keep up and got very far behind.  There was no way I could get a decent grade on the exam, and I didn't.

We had the final on Thursday, and I wasn't prepared for that, either.  I did the best I could, though, and somehow managed to pass the course.  My next math class started this morning.  It is a continuation of the one I just took, so I am sure I will put in lots more hours into the review and study of algebra.  I am sick of math, but if it makes chemistry that much easier in the fall, it is full steam ahead.

Back to school and ready to write



My blog is now about going back to school, so let's jump right in.  What is it like to return to school when one is old enough to be a grandmother?

First, it is scary.  I lost my job two years ago and my unemployment has run out.  That means the money has to come from somewhere.  Going back to school means making the financial commitment to pay the rent, food, insurance, whatever, and of course school and tuition expenses.  There are many times when I ask myself,  "How can I do this?"  The answer is I don't know.  At times it seems like I am pulling money out of thin air.  But I have no choice.  I have to do this.  I am trained as a librarian, but despite being a darn good one don't want to return to the field.  Library-ville doesn't challenge me.  I have spent 10 years teaching composition.  I loved that job but am burned out from correcting papers.  I need a new job and a new direction; let's see where learning about the body takes me.

Returning to school re-defines you.  I love college and love learning, so I have been in school on and off for various degrees over the years.  You would think I would have defined myself a long time ago.  Not so.  I find I am, as I study something I was always afraid to study, more than I ever thought I was.  Science (and now mathematics in summer school) is allowing me to see myself in ways that astound me.  I am walking with more assurance, standing taller and looking people in the eye more because something I was always afraid to study is before me and I am tackling it.

I will conclude shortly.  I have an exam tomorrow morning and I am not prepared for it.  I am taking a remedial math class which is an incredible amount of work for me.  I have not had this stuff since high school and to keep up means about 5-6 hours of work every night.  I am slow in math and the course condenses an entire semester into a month.  I have learned a great deal, but it is very difficult for me to do math.  I am off to bed, and so I say good night.