It's all over until August

I ended up getting really burned out this semester. It was pretty bad. I didn't care to submit any homework, study, or anything else. I had to count down the assignments to help me get to the end. It was torture. But it's all over now.

History was painful. We had double the workload this semester compared to the previous history class. But there were only 2 exams. That is really tough trying to remember specific details covering 7 chapters of a world history textbook, website links, and lectures. I worked my butt off though and hopefully I fared pretty well in there.

Spanish II was scary towards the end. We were moving at such a fast pace that I felt I wasn't putting as much into long-term memory. I feel like I need a nice break from Spanish before attempting to learn more in there.

Chemistry class had a major turn-around right after the last day to drop the class. We started with 32 students and after the last day to drop the class we had only 8 students remaining. I had a solid A average in there. It was very tough to maintain that grade but I knew the final would be dreadful and I needed a high grade going into the final. Then the instructor opened up all quizzes and offered us to retake them to improve our grades and to prepare for the final exam. I only tried two quizzes though and they only raised my grade by a point total. It was good practice for the final exam though! The lab final exam was awful and I barely studied for it. I paid for it with a 76 but I could have skipped it altogether and still managed a B in there.

I still have my work cut out for me this summer. I need to pass the Praxis asap. I need to get accepted into the Teacher Education Program this fall. I took a seminar last month and there were some in attendance who had taken parts of the Praxis 4 and 5 times. Oh dear.

This fall I will be busy finishing up the last 2-3 classes at GTCC and taking my first 1-2 classes at WSSU. So far I am signed up for 2 classes but the third class is full unless someone decides not to pay for it.

I'm off to study and take a break from the daily grind until Fall!

Step 2 Praxis

Apparantly, there are certain steps to this process that must be taken in order to reach the final goal. Therefore, my next step is the Praxis. Since I am so late in realizing this, I really need to get it passed by this summer. I have been advised to drop any summer classes and concentrate solely on passing the Praxis.

In the meantime, before I realized this process, I have been accepted into WSSU starting this fall. I have 2-3 classes I could take this fall at GTCC and then I can take 1-2 additional classes at WSSU. I say 2-3 classes because I am enrolled in two classes but the third class is closed unless someone else drops it or forgets to pay. It is a Speech course so I am not overly anxious to get in there anyway.

I spent Tuesday on campus at WSSU and, after gathering the materials I needed, I felt like I hit a wall. I am already behind schedule in the regular program. Ugh. I am also still reconsidering which major to stick with. I think the elementary education would be much easier overall and less demanding once I secure a job but my passion has always been Math. I think I decided to act on this a litte too late though and I wonder how effective a 60 year old Math teacher would be. I know I would thrive through the 50s but beyond that I just cannot visual it.

Then I have the added dilemma of figuring out all the logistics involved with taking seated classes on campus. I could put Bailey in a preschool but that is only from 9-12 each day and it only gives me time to take 1 class. I'm still a four months away from that problem so hopefully by then we will know more details about Steve's position at work and whether my dad or his wife can help in any way.

Plagiarizing

Why is it that a handful of students can negatively stereotype a population so easily? Students have a honor code, even online students must abide by the honor code or face the consequences. We just had a major world history midterm exam and apparantly some students took it upon themselves to copy and paste essays responses from the internet onto their EXAM. First of all, I didn't even realize we could copy/paste. Second, the instructor has already explained that this is a closed book, no notes exam. Apparantly, we have some bold students in our class.

I'm concerned because there were several students that were caught plagiarizing. Several. Wow, that is shocking. It is also completely unfair to the rest of us. I studied my heart out and could only manage a solid 90. I'm frustrated. That exam was very hard, covered seven chapters of material, and took a full three hours to complete. But most importantly, I don't want the actions of those students to reflect on the rest of the class. I went straight to the Distance Education Coordinator.

Gearing up for a new semester

Well, I stopped journaling last semester because I was just too frustrated with the bad batch of instructors we were assigned to. I'm slowly getting over it but not without complaining about it. I feel really bad for my fellow students who didn't fare as well as I did due to their instructor's lack of guidance. I already know we will have a repeat instructor for next semester so I just need to keep my tail between my legs until May. I should never see the other again though and that really is a good thing.

We were not given a fall break or a Thanksgiving break like the seated students. When there is inclement weather that closes or delay classes, we attend regardless. If school is lengthened, we attend those days as well. I only hope that as this online program comes to fruitation over the next few semesters, these kinks will be ironed out eventually.

I applied for the Faculty Academic Scholarship and won. That was a huge accomplishment. I have never qualified to apply to anything yet and I not only qualified but I also won this one. It really helped give me an incentive to keep working hard. There are too many days when I wonder if a 4.0 is any better than a 3.75. Well, I do still wonder but I have a feeling the 4.0 definitely helped me gain an edge with this scholarship.

Next semester is the second part of Spanish, second part of History, and Chemistry. I scaled down because fall was not fair to Bailey at all. I hate to see her tugging and pulling at me when I am running behind with my deadlines and cannot give her the attention she deserves. I also want to work with her more to prepare her for K and I have duties at the school that will require more of my time this second half of the school year.