School update

School has been going alright, but I am already tired of all the writing. I think I do more writing in my humanities class than I do for my writing class.

Humanities 100 - This class is kind of strange. The subject matter is certainly 100-level , but the work required seems like a much higher level. The instructor is knowledgeable but she really seems full of herself. She keeps letting us know how busy she is with her kids, animals, coaching her kids softball team (with her husband), etc. Most of our work is from questions in the textbook. It's usually 3 to 4 pages (not double-spaced) of answers each week that require a lot of research. The text seems to assume that you have full knowledge of what they ask you and has some obvious biases. Classes are almost a joke. The teacher usually starts a few minutes late and then spends 15-20 minutes telling some stupid story about what she did over the weekend, or about one of her many pets, or some other things that has nothing to do with anything. Then we usually get out of class 30-40 minutes early. We only have one written exam during the term. It will be next Wed. and will be all essay-type questions. Our final is a capstone project that I still haven't decided on yet. We need to do a bunch of research, have at least 3 sources, and present a written and oral presentation with visual aids in front of the class. I'm not looking forward to that. We were told that PowerPoint presentations are to be avoided. Maybe because she makes such crappy ones (they really are horrible) that she thinks no one else can do a decent job with them. It feels like the instructor has found a way to do as little as possible while getting the students to do as much as possible. I have learned some new things, and I suppose that is the real test, but I still feel somewhat short-changed with this class.

Math 112 - I keep going back and forth with this class. Sometimes I get it, but other times I feel lost. It can take a while to fully understand and remember all the information presented. Our second exam is on Monday. I think I will probably do alright, but need to study more over the weekend. I got a 96% on the first test. I have three more weeks until the writing assignment is due. I have the equations pretty much figured out, but that's about it.

Writing 122 - We have been looking at censorship and free speech. The topic for our second speech is due today. I have decided to write about "free speech zones" but still need to narrow this a little. We will examine and write 3 to 4 pages about two opposing articles on our topic, using peer-reviewed sources. I wasn't all that happy with my first essay, but still don't know what kind of grade I got on it. We will get those back this afternoon.

Registration for summer classes starts in about 1-1/2 weeks. I think I will take a couple of online classes, HE250 - Personal Health and EC203 which is the class I wanted to take this term but got canceled. I will also be taking MTH251 - Calculus I (!!!) on campus. PCC has been changing some things and the summer term is now basically as long as the other terms. I will probably register for some other classes in case one of these gets canceled. There is another online economics class, digital photography, and a native American history class that all look interesting. I may also try to get a part time job soon so I can qualify for the IDA through NAYA again.