FIRST DAY OF CLASSES

WELL, I JUST GOT BACK FROM MY FIRST CLASS (PHYSICS). NOT A WHOLE LOT TO SAY ABOUT IT. IT WAS MOSTLY JUST REVIEW, IN FACT IT WAS ALL REVIEW. I CAN'T REALLY TELL YET, BUT I THINK I'M GOING TO LIKE THE INSTRUCTOR. I DON'T MUCH CARE FOR HIS HANDWRITING AND HE SEEMS TO GO OFF ON TANGENTS A LOT, BUT HE SEEMS TO HAVE A GOOD TEACHING STYLE.

THERE WAS ONE FUNNY THING THAT HAPPENED TODAY THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT. DURING CLASS, I VERY RARELY TAKE NOTES. THE WAY I SEE IT IS IF IT'S SOMETHING WORTH WRITING DOWN, IT'S PROBABLY IN THE BOOK ALREADY ANYWAY. I THINK NOTE TAKING TAKES AWAY FROM LEARNING AND PAYING ATTENTION DURING CLASS. IT'S HOW I'VE DONE IT WITH MATH FOR A WHILE AND IT SEEMS TO WORK WELL, IN FACT A LOT OF TIMES MY CLASSMATES HAVE COME TO ME FOR HELP WITH PROBLEMS. ANYWAY, I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET AT IS THAT IT GIVES ME A CHANCE TO OBSERVE THE REST OF THE CLASS.

THE INSTRUCTOR ASKED THE CLASS TO GIVE HIM A SHOW OF HANDS OF WHO HAD A COMPLETE GRASP ON TRIGONOMETRY. MOST PEOPLE (IF NOT ALL) RAISED THEIR HANDS. WELL, SHORTLY AFTER THAT, HE STARTS REVIEWING ON THE BOARD ABOUT THE VERY FUNDAMENTALS OF TRIGONOMETRY E.G. THE PROPERTIES OF RIGHT TRIANGLES AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SINE, COSINE, AND TANGENT. IMMEDIATELY AND ALL AT ONCE THE STUDENTS DROP THEIR HEADS AND START WRITING IN THEIR NOTEBOOKS! HERE THEY HAD JUST CLAIMED TO HAVE A COMPLETE GRASP ON TRIG. YET THEY HAVE TO TAKE NOTES ON THE VERY BASICS OF IT. I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS HUMOROUS. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT KEEP ME GOING DAY BY DAY.

I MAY UPDATE THIS AFTER MY CALC CLASS THAT I HAVE TO BE AT IN HALF AN HOUR.

I'M BACK.

OK, SO THAT DIDN'T GO VERY WELL. BEFORE I BEGIN, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE TROUBLE I HAD WHEN I FIRST TRIED TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. I WENT TO MY ADVISER (AS WAS REQUIRED OF ME) TO GO OVER WHICH CLASSES I NEEDED TO TAKE. I HAD ALREADY TAKEN A GOOD BIT OF TIME DOING RESEARCH ON THE INSTRUCTORS SO THAT I KNEW WHICH ONES I THOUGHT WOULD BE BEST FOR ME. ONE OF THE CRITERION OF A MATH TEACHER WAS THAT HE/SHE HAD TO HAVE AN AMERICAN SOUNDING NAME. NO, I'M NOT RACIST, BUT I'VE HAD TROUBLE IN THE PAST UNDERSTANDING SOME OF MY PROFESSORS' ENGLISH AND WHEN IT'S A MATH TEACHER ALL HOPE IS LOST. WELL, WHEN IT COMES TIME TO TAKE MY REGISTRATION FORM TO THE REGISTRAR, THE LADY AT THE OFFICE TELLS ME THAT SINCE I'M A FIRST YEAR TRANSFER STUDENT, I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER ORIENTATION TO REGISTER. APPARENTLY THAT WAS NOT ENTIRELY TRUE BUT IT TOOK A FEW DAYS TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. BY THE TIME IT WAS FIXED AND I WAS READY TO REGISTER, I HAD LOST EVERY SINGLE SPECIFIC CLASS THAT I WANTED. THEY WERE ALL FULL. NONE OF THE INSTRUCTORS ON MY NEW SCHEDULE WERE THE ONES THAT I HAD CHOSEN. THE WORST PART ABOUT IT WAS THAT THE LAST NAME OF MY CALCULUS INSTRUCTOR WAS KHANAL (I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO ATTEMPT HIS FIRST NAME).

WITH THAT BEING SAID, IT TURNED OUT THAT MY FEARS WERE COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED. HIS ENGLISH WAS SO BROKEN AND HIS ACCENT WAS SO THICK THAT I PROBABLY UNDERSTOOD EVERY OTHER WORD AT BEST. ON TOP OF THAT, HIS WRITING AND GRAPHS WERE TERRIBLE. TO MAKE IT EVEN WORSE, THE CLASS ITSELF REALLY GOT ON MY NERVES. IT WAS NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF YOUNG MILITARY-LOOKING GUYS THAT SEEMED TO HAVE VERY HIGH OPINIONS OF THEMSELVES. THEY WERE KNOW-IT-ALLS THAT DIDN'T ACTUALLY KNOW IT ALL. YOU KNOW THE TYPE. THEY WOULD BLURT OUT ANSWERS AND START TO PAT THEMSELVES ON THE BACK BEFORE EVEN REALIZING THEY WERE WRONG. UGH. I HATE THOSE TYPES. THEN YOU HAVE THE GUY WHO GIVES US A WHOLE HISTORY OF THE DERIVATION OF PI AS HIS ANSWER TO THE QUESTION "HOW DO WE FIND THE AREA OF A CIRCLE?". WE'RE SO PROUD OF YOU THAT YOU KNOW ALL OF THAT! NOW SHUT UP AND LET'S GET ON WITH THE COURSE. ONE GUY ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT THE FORMULA OF THE AREA OF A TRIANGLE AND EVERYONE LAUGHED AT HIM BECAUSE HE HAD TO ASK. IT REALLY WASN'T THAT DUMB OF A QUESTION EITHER. I MEAN, YEAH, HE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THE ANSWER, BUT I'VE HEARD SOME GENUINELY STUPID QUESTIONS AND THIS WASN'T ONE OF THEM. I WANTED TO WALK OUT RIGHT THEN. COME TO THINK OF IT, I REGRET NOT SAYING ANYTHING. I MEAN COME ON. HOW RUDE. AND HOW HUMILIATING FOR THE KID THAT ASKED THE QUESTION. HE'LL PROBABLY NEVER GATHER THE COURAGE TO ASK ANOTHER QUESTION FOR THE REST OF THE SEMESTER.

LONG STORY SHORT, I WENT TO MY ADVISER RIGHT AWAY AND HAD HIM GIVE ME FORCED ENTRY INTO ANOTHER CLASS. AND GUESS WHAT? IT'S THE CLASS THAT I WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE. I'M RELIEVED. I'LL LET YOU KNOW HOW MY OTHER CLASSES ARE TOMORROW.