JC
Writing 'JC' is so much easier than using 'community college' or 'CC', even though there are differences. (This is Yoss's strategy against wise-cracking or particularly picky people: be as literal and as legal as possible so they can't ever, every get a point in.)
Differential Equations & Linear Algebra - yes, we combine those two - is the one class where I haven't found truly incompetent people or ones who are just annoying rude-mouthed jerks.
The introductory seminar is harder than I thought, because we have more thought-provoking papers, or simply, just more papers to write than other iterations of the class. But keep in mind that it's a one-unit seminar with no prereqs, so provided that it's easy to BS on papers... well yeah, there are students who are just taking the class for units (there was one such person at the first class... then she dropped, of all things), and there are some who have yet to know how hard the academic program will be, because they're still catching up on their pre-calculus and their Englishes, and well, they just don't know the brutal stuff I went through. (Maybe I'm starting to get arrogant with the college pedigree.)
But at least it's been nice to hear these seminars again. I skipped almost all of my chemistry seminars in second year, only staying to hear the professors whose research touched into topics I liked. It's something new now, and even though the transfers processes don't apply to me, and the local schools mean nothing to me, at least there's something to be learned from each presenter. Even if I'm going to disagree with their practices or approaches or dissing the theoretical engineers. (But theoretical engineers do not exist. Theoretical engineering professors, of course, do.)
The design class is still a joke. I sweated blood for my first two homework assignments, and then did the minimal for the third, and... they were all the same. And the midterm grade - now dang, that's my highest score ever, and there's no way anybody can top that. But I doubt anyone can learn anything from this class, and in my opinion, if you get a low B, there is something wrong with your competency or work ethic. And there are two people whom I dislike on sight, but I'm hoping that I'm disliking them on sight for the sake of it. Now I don't want another post-project meltdown, because my math exam is the first thing coming up after that...
The physics class is uh. It's a hard class, and it's taught by a harsh professor, and I'm still trying to make it over the halfway mark. But I have to stick to it, because there's no turning back, and I really like the top students in my class, anyway.
The physics lab is... hm. It's hard. It's hard as in I'm still not sure what my professor wants (he also teaches the lecture, too), and now I can understand why people dislike lab classes: the writeup and the conclusion and the damned uncertainty calculations will drive me nuts.
More importantly though, I'm stuck with competent but foul-mouthed windbags. And this is sad, very sad - because one of them is like me: a post-grad switching fields (from Kansas, though: and they're... not that great), and the other is on break(?) from Cal Poly. Cal Poly. THE other engineering school. I'm not sure whether my professor takes pity on me for having to deal with their... pretty durned dirty comments, or thinks I'm an idiot for not reacting, or wonders if I have anything intelligent to say. So I've been trying to butter up (slightly), because I definitely need to improve my grades for his lecture class.
Yeah, it kinda sucks when you're working with lazy people (who futilely argue for not doing homework, who don't show up to class), or people stuck in their ways (I still think the engineers and engineers-to-be think too little of social justice theory, or think little of theory), but there are little sparks of hope to be found. And some are just people whom I really wish I could be. ::yep::
Differential Equations & Linear Algebra - yes, we combine those two - is the one class where I haven't found truly incompetent people or ones who are just annoying rude-mouthed jerks.
The introductory seminar is harder than I thought, because we have more thought-provoking papers, or simply, just more papers to write than other iterations of the class. But keep in mind that it's a one-unit seminar with no prereqs, so provided that it's easy to BS on papers... well yeah, there are students who are just taking the class for units (there was one such person at the first class... then she dropped, of all things), and there are some who have yet to know how hard the academic program will be, because they're still catching up on their pre-calculus and their Englishes, and well, they just don't know the brutal stuff I went through. (Maybe I'm starting to get arrogant with the college pedigree.)
But at least it's been nice to hear these seminars again. I skipped almost all of my chemistry seminars in second year, only staying to hear the professors whose research touched into topics I liked. It's something new now, and even though the transfers processes don't apply to me, and the local schools mean nothing to me, at least there's something to be learned from each presenter. Even if I'm going to disagree with their practices or approaches or dissing the theoretical engineers. (But theoretical engineers do not exist. Theoretical engineering professors, of course, do.)
The design class is still a joke. I sweated blood for my first two homework assignments, and then did the minimal for the third, and... they were all the same. And the midterm grade - now dang, that's my highest score ever, and there's no way anybody can top that. But I doubt anyone can learn anything from this class, and in my opinion, if you get a low B, there is something wrong with your competency or work ethic. And there are two people whom I dislike on sight, but I'm hoping that I'm disliking them on sight for the sake of it. Now I don't want another post-project meltdown, because my math exam is the first thing coming up after that...
The physics class is uh. It's a hard class, and it's taught by a harsh professor, and I'm still trying to make it over the halfway mark. But I have to stick to it, because there's no turning back, and I really like the top students in my class, anyway.
The physics lab is... hm. It's hard. It's hard as in I'm still not sure what my professor wants (he also teaches the lecture, too), and now I can understand why people dislike lab classes: the writeup and the conclusion and the damned uncertainty calculations will drive me nuts.
More importantly though, I'm stuck with competent but foul-mouthed windbags. And this is sad, very sad - because one of them is like me: a post-grad switching fields (from Kansas, though: and they're... not that great), and the other is on break(?) from Cal Poly. Cal Poly. THE other engineering school. I'm not sure whether my professor takes pity on me for having to deal with their... pretty durned dirty comments, or thinks I'm an idiot for not reacting, or wonders if I have anything intelligent to say. So I've been trying to butter up (slightly), because I definitely need to improve my grades for his lecture class.
Yeah, it kinda sucks when you're working with lazy people (who futilely argue for not doing homework, who don't show up to class), or people stuck in their ways (I still think the engineers and engineers-to-be think too little of social justice theory, or think little of theory), but there are little sparks of hope to be found. And some are just people whom I really wish I could be. ::yep::