![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Racer on July 11, 2006, at 23:16:23
I started my summer math class yesterday, and I'm already behind! I don't know if I'll be able to do this.
Today, I spent three hours in class, then two hours at the math lab, and I'm working on homework again now. (Well, OK, I'm typing on Babble now, but you know what I mean, right?) And I'm not going to finish the homework tonight, so tomorrow I'll still be behind. (We're going through two or three sections each day, and I'm about halfway through the third of the five sections we've covered so far. I'm not horrendously behind, and I will probably be able to catch up by Monday, and if I go to the math lab several days per week, I should probably be able to catch up every week. I'm just feeling stupid tonight.)
The instructor is very good, which is a relief after last semester's Not Good instructor. She's also very funny, although she has a fairly thick accent. Vietnamese, I think? But two to three sections per day, and a quiz EVERY day? Each quiz is worth 10 points, and I felt as though I surely got the first question wrong today. I don't know. I think I can do well in this class, but only if I can avoid getting overwhelmed by my fear of doing badly, you know?
ARGH! Why on earth did I sign up for this class??? Send me Smart Math thoughts, everyone, won't you?
Posted by Jost on July 13, 2006, at 1:42:39
In reply to I don't know if I can keep up!, posted by Racer on July 11, 2006, at 23:16:23
What kind of math are you studying?
And what's math lab? I don't remember having that.
Jost
Posted by Racer on July 13, 2006, at 17:47:39
In reply to Re: I don't know if I can keep up!, posted by Jost on July 13, 2006, at 1:42:39
> What kind of math are you studying?
Remedial...
This is intermediate algebra. It's the full semester in six weeks, and there are parts I just don't get, partly because my elementary algebra lecturer was so very bad. I barely held on in that class, and ended up feeling pretty pathetic. This class builds a lot on that stuff.
Mostly, my problem is with graphing. I think if I could get that part, I'd be on the road to doing OK.
Then again, we're talking about three hours per day, four days per week, for six weeks, with one comprehensive final, two midterms, and 20 (!) quizzes... That's pretty intense, at least for me.
>
> And what's math lab? I don't remember having that.The school has a math tutoring center, or math lab, where we can go and get help with our homework. I do a lot of homework there, although don't usually ask for help. (Yeah, I know...) It's a pretty OK place to sit for a couple of hours and work on math. And it helps me to work in there, because there are fewer distractions. And I don't have quite as much inclination to wander off...
Thanks for responding, Jost. It's kinda lonely here in the summer, ain't it?
Posted by Jost on July 15, 2006, at 20:00:41
In reply to Re: I don't know if I can keep up!, posted by Racer on July 13, 2006, at 17:47:39
Sure is lonely.
Algebra? Yikes, I hardly remember that.
Esp. graphing! I have this vague, vague, vague memory... about x and y... and... but gee.....
So tell me something about it. I used to love math, actually-- although now I can hardly do simple arithmetic. What book are you using?
And what did you get your awfully low and useless 98% on??? :)
Jost
Posted by Racer on July 16, 2006, at 0:43:03
In reply to Re: I don't know if I can keep up!, posted by Jost on July 15, 2006, at 20:00:41
> Sure is lonely.
>
> Algebra? Yikes, I hardly remember that.
>
> Esp. graphing! I have this vague, vague, vague memory... about x and y... and... but gee.....And the basic x and y is easy, because I used to use that a lot in working -- between teaching computer classes in HTML and Photoshop, and doing actual computer work, I used Cartesian coordinates all the time. But graphing is a whole 'nother animal.
>
> So tell me something about it. I used to love math, actually-- although now I can hardly do simple arithmetic. What book are you using?I'm not sure of the book, actually, and don't have it in me tonight to go get it and check. It's a combined elementary and intermediate algebra book, though, and is probably a pretty good one. Part of my problem -- and that of others in the class -- is that i just finished an elementary algebra class with a fellow who has to be one of the very worst instructors you can imagine. This lecturer we have now, though, is a hoot. Very funny, and a very good teacher.
>
> And what did you get your awfully low and useless 98% on??? :)Just for the record, I think I actually said I didn't do as well as I would have liked to do...
That was Human Development. BIG mistake to take it, actually. We're just about at the point of giving up on having children, it's looking as though it just ain't gonna be able to happen. Between that, the fertility drugs, and some stuff happening in other areas of my life, I couldn't read the book without crying. Reading about early childhood, and realizing that I'll never be a parent to a child, AND remembering my own childhood -- well, let's just say it kinda felt as though I should just give up on life, because I was set up to fail from the start. Made it kinda hard to do well, and I struggled a lot.
And all that feels like excuses to me. I should have done better, and I didn't.
(Sorry if that sounds short -- I'm just tired and weepy. I really do appreciate your encouragement.)
Posted by Jost on July 16, 2006, at 20:56:49
In reply to Short answers... » Jost, posted by Racer on July 16, 2006, at 0:43:03
I'm really really sorry about the loss of having a child. That must be a terribly hard thing to come to terms with, especially when you've been trying and working for it this long and hard.
I haven't had children myself, but it was a choice and so I haven't felt this particular loss. Yet I do know the feeling of loss and failure and not understanding what life all amounts to.
Wanting a child may be different from almost everything, so I don't know just what you're feeling. But in a way, I know parts of it. There aren't easy answers, except hope that you will find more of what you're looking for.
Please try to give yourself time to absorb this realization. And try to remember that you can feel better. You will find a big part of what you need, even if not in the shape you expected.
This is a hard moment, and you're doing so very well, even if it doesn't feel that way.
Jost
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Students | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.