The last grade is in!
The grade for my second final came in this afternoon! I got an A! Having gotten an A on that final paper, means I have a solid A in the course as well, since the paper is worth 200 points. I got 200/200 on it! She asked me if I would give my permission for my paper to be used as an example in her future classes to use as an example of what she's looking for in the final paper. Of course I told her she could. So, I finished this term very strongly, and it makes me more excited to go into next term. One thing I've learned over the past ten weeks, is that I really like going to school online! I get so much more out of it than I ever did on a physical campus. Don't get me wrong, I did about as well going to school in a conventional classroom, but this is much more my style as is independant study not only strongly encouraged, it's pretty mandatory if you want to do well...and I want to do well. :) When I started this, my admissions counselor tod me that you either do well learning online or you don't. There' s no kinda-sorta about it. I see how right she is, as a lot of my time was spent doing independant study on the concepts we were learning, as well as putting them to practice in daily circumstances. For me, seeing how something translates into my everyday life is a major brownie point for me, as that gets the juices flowing and I start to think about the concept and how it works within this framework or with those restrictions. I never had that happen quite like that in the conventional classroom, so I'm happy that I can have an educational experience that I'm passionate about and can pass those positive feelings onto my kids as they start into school.
I don't want them to think that school is all play and it's not challenging at times. I also don't want them to think that it's a horrible place where adults send them to get tortured all day. I guess that's also the way I feel about success, failure, acceptance and disappointment. I want them to learn avout all four of those things. I want them to learn that I am proud of them and love them no matter if they succeed at something or fail at it. That's in the same vein as, I always love them unconditionally, even if I don't love their actions I guess. Also though, I want to show them how to succeed gracefully and fail gracefully. To accept situations for what they are, as well as realizing that it's okay to be disappointed or to always ace something. I don't want to be one of those parents (we all know the type) who reads my child's report card, and be disappointed in them because they got a B+ instead of an A. I want to be able to recognize their work for what it is, them doing the absolute best they can do. They're going to have strengths and weaknesses, I know; and I also know that what one is good at, the others may not be. Darren may not be one of those kids that is a whiz in Language Arts, but he may be good in Art or Music, while the girls may not. I guess that's where sharing my educational experiences comes in there. I have things that I didn't do good at in school. I always struggled with math, for instance, but totally fucked up the curve in Language Arts because I always tested at a level that was WAY more advanced than my grade level and turned in work of the corresponding calibre. I'm better at math though now. Not great at it, but I know what I'm doing and can work an algebraic equation, figure out percentages, compare two items and costs to figure out which one is a better value for my money. I'm not gonna work for NASA anytime soon, but I can do the basics and that's just fine. I want my kids to know that doing the best they can, is all that can realistically be expected of them. They aren't clones of each other or their parents (thank god!) so they will have their own strengths and weaknesses; and that's just fine. This isn't to say that just saying they can't do it without even trying is acceptable, because it's not, but they won't all be exceptional at the same things and that is just fine.
I also want them to know that there is more than one way to do many things, and what works for one might not be the way that works for the other. Take Matt and I for example. I'm excelling at getting my degree online and couldn't imagine going back to a standard classroom. He, on the other hand, needed to be in a classroom when he was getting his degree. Different learning styles. That doesn't make one of us better than the other, but it does show our individuality and has given us both different experiences to share with our kids.
I guess all this is coming up for me now because in 20 days, Hannah turns 4. A month after that, she'll start pre-k. As exciting as that is, it's got me thinking about what kind of parent I am going to be when it comes to her schooling. How can I use my experiences to help her and relate to her? There's a lot to think about when your child is getting to school aged, especially when you're in school yourself. I just hope that as all three of them grow and start school, I can use my experiences to help them embrace theirs a bit more.