Midterms, Work, and Soccer!

Midterms are going well for me. Two of my classes are English classes, so I do not have midterms for those. Of course, I just finished a chapter for this class, and I am working on expanding a paper to 15 pages for 3210, so that is stressing me out more than any midterm would. For history, I just took a midterm and did really well on it, so I am happy about that. I also just took a Political Science midterm and got an "A." Now, I have to start on a major writing assignment and a group project for that class.

It seems like every semester is more difficult than the previous one. Still, I am managing. It helps to have a loving and caring wife, great professors, a supportive boss, and awesome friends. I am trying to take it one semester at a time. I should be done with most of my coursework by next summer, leaving only my capstone project—and hopefully graduation—for the fall of 2012.

This always seems like the most stressful and difficult part of the semester. We are halfway through it, and I am already exhausted, yet the other half still remains. At least when the semester is beginning, I am fresh and excited about my classes. And at the end, the hard work seems worth it because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The only thing getting me through the semester (and particularly this week) is my beloved Real Salt Lake. I do not know what I will do in the off season. Going to Rio Tinto and yelling and screaming for ninety minutes has been a tremendous stress reliever. I forget about all my assignments and troubles, I let the rush and excitement of the game take over my brain, and I release aggression in a very healthy way (others might disagree about this) during game days.

I guess there is always next season to look forward to. Until then, I will be hard at work at the center and in each of my classes.

Yay! Mid-terms are finally over. It has been nice to have a couple days to relax and not have to worry about everything that is due in the same week.

I think I did pretty well on everything that was due, though. The only thing that is getting me down is that in two weeks, it's like midterms part two. Ahh! And with the Ethics Bowl tournament coming up at the same time, I have a lot cut out for me.

I should get a head start on things while I can, but first of all, I am a masochist. I like to make myself stress out. And two, I tend to work better under pressure. I need deadlines.

I really can't believe there are only five or so weeks left in the semester. Maybe next semester won't be so rough.

Midterms

Currently I’m only taking two other classes. One of them is a graduate synthesis class where I sum up everything I have learned in the education program and create a portfolio. The other is my Master’s Project class where I conduct my research study, write up my report, and do my defense. As such, I’ve escaped midterms and am focusing on writing my literature review instead.

No comprendo "midterms"

I don't remember the last time I had a midterm. Even in my exam-based classes we just had three or four throughout the semester rather than a mid-term and a final. Most of my finals weren't even comprehensive exams. Maybe I was gypped.

Since this is a slacker prompt, I'll share that I watched The Cove this weekend with my 10 year old step-daughter. She already didn't like seafood, but now she wants to go to Japan and beat up the fishermen who were slaughtering those dolphins. I didn't realize how bloody some of the scenes were going to be, but I may have created an activist.

Then we watched Eureka and all was forgotten, for now.

Slacker Prompt

How are midterms shaping up for you all?

É importante sabermos o que é que o Freire disse, porque ele tinha umas idéias boas!

I found the discussion on Freire's paper very interesting - especially the 2 minutes of silent awkwardness at the beginning of class. It was very interesting to see how everyone responded to the leaderless situation. For the most part, we partnered up because we cannot work alone in a classroom setting.
This, too, would have upset Freire. Pairing up is closer to his goal than the lecture setting found in normal classes, but wants everyone to be equal. We can all learn things from our peers – and we are all peers. There are some things I know that others may not, and I know that are things that other people can teach me.
I did find it interesting in class how some people were so against this discussion method. I personally found it exciting and new. I can see their point that if this method were followed for a full semester, the amount of knowledge acquired by the students would be drastically less than if they were lectured to… but the usefulness of that knowledge might be far greater.
While knowing about all of the classes needed to take to get a degree in welding at Utah State, the idea is relative. I may be struggling with a problem in some class or even in my life, and someone in a Freire-esque classroom might be able to offer a solution that I would not get from tem anywhere else.

Personally, I think that having discussions like that are great occasionally and in fact should be done more often, but having a teacher who can lead the discussion in a particular class is also very useful. The teacher is there to direct a discussion on a subject in which he/she is an expert.

The good news is that Freire’s ideas changed the way things were to the way they are… which is a good change. Students are more able to talk in class and offer up ideas That is a great middle-ground between the two extremes. While Freire may not agree, this is much closer to the ideal than either end of the spectrum.

I like the idea of everyone learning from one another. I also like the idea of choosing what I want to learn when I want to learn it. But let's face it. I'm the type who needs deadlines. I need authority. And maybe I was just conditioned into believing this is the best way for me, but it's working.

If we went to class, and conditions were as they were the Friday before last, we might learn a lot, and we might gain insight and inspiration. However, if I want to learn the details of special relativity, I doubt it will be found in an English class where a bunch of people are sitting in a circle talking.

Say, my science classes were structured this way too. Instead of being among English majors, I am among science majors. The more advanced science majors, or shall I say, the science majors who have sat around in more circles than I, will be able to teach me a great deal, I'm sure. But through the years, the knowledge will become less and less. That is, if we made the drastic turn from the way it is now to the way we conducted class that Friday, we'd no longer be relying on authority to teach us but on people like me who have only learned what I know from other people who have learned from other people who are all not authorities on the subject.

This sounds like a slippery slope, but all I am saying is there needs to be some structure and some authority.