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| United States Army Basic Training (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Another semester has come and gone, and as the late great
TS Eliot would say, "...not with a bang but a whimper." I know he was referring to the end of the world, but it seems that it's every semester is just that. It reminds me of the time that I spent in basic training. Outside Lawton, Oklahoma, there's an Army base called Fort Sill. The day I went into my captivity, I thought how exciting it would be. I thought I would be allowed to shoot random things. Little did I know that the Army had a more rigorous training plan in mind. I was in what they called OSUT (one stopped unit training). In other words, I was in basic and AIT (advanced individual training) with the same drill sergeants. It had been three months when I was finally released. My liberties had been so curtailed that I almost didn't recognize freedom when I felt it. The same is true, to a certain extent, about the end of the semester.
I know that I've been rambling on here for a while, but what you're really wondering is what kind of grades I pulled. I was both happy and a little disappointed with the results the semester. It was nothing unexpected. Although, my disappointment was sweetened by some hard work at the end of the se
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| Mathematics (Photo credit: Terriko) |
mester. Let me explain. From the beginning of the term, I had sold myself the notion that I was going to get a C in my math class(my kryptonite). I had done mediocre work with the expectation of getting a mediocre grade. Within the last two weeks, I noticed that my online grade was showing that I was hovering around 75%. While this isn't outside of what I was thinking, I wondered just how much I would have to do to actually make that 80%. As a starving college student, hiring the privates tutor is simply out of the question, but I had certain skills that I could broker to obtain the assistance of a student in calculus. This student and I shared and environmental geology class. At the end of this class, we were expected to give a final presentation. I noticed that the professor was being very flexible about the media that we were allowed to use. So, with this in mind, I produced a 6 min. video and did all of the voice-over work for my presentation(everyone else was using power point). When I showed my classmate my video, she was so impressed that she offered to help me boost my math grade if I would help her produce a video (I am so thankful that I own a Mac). My classmate and I had worked at length polishing my math skills to the point that I was only a half a point away from a B. I contacted my instructor in hopes that he would open the first half of the semester quizzes (I only attempted each of these once and to attempts are allowed). My professors reaction was that of surprise. He wondered why I was attempting to get an A in the class as I was so far back. I stammered for a moment before asking him what he was talking about. He explained that I had already gotten over 80%, once he removed are two lowest quiz grades.
While normally I wouldn't fret one low grade in a preparatory class, as most do not transfer to the University level, it is important that I maintain good grades in all of my classes. When you are looking at law school as an option, it's important to remember that these schools don't just take transcripts. They employ a credit pooling service and scrutinize every class that you've taken over the last five years. So my C in math last semester is still going to hurt even though it wouldn't be looked at if I were going into any other Masters level program.
So to answer the big question, my grades were as follows:*Math…...............................................................................B (4 Credit Hours)
*Public Speaking….............................................................A (3 Credit Hours)
*Environmental Geology….................................................A (4 Credit Hours)
*Environmental Science…...................................................A (4 Credit Hours)
*Intro to and the Internet…..................................................A (2 Credit Hours)
*Sociology…........................................................................A (3 Credit Hours)
*Leadership Development (required for my scholarship)…A (3 Credit Hours)
This is a total of 23 credit hours. Twelve is considered full time at the college level. Not bad for a guy that hasn't broken the C barrier since elementary school. I have to hand it to my family this term. My wife and the kids have heard a lot of grumbling out of me this semester. Thanks so much for hearing me roar all semester!
Remember that if you are considering going back to school, let nothing stop you. Even evil exes and their meddling ways can't keep you dumb! I encourage you to keep up the fight! Tell your opposing forces that you said and mean NO! Good luck!
I have an intensive writing course (likely Criminology, American Literature or Ethics) that I have to get done. I have to take a computer class (to show the skills that I already have in a classroom setting). I also have one more math class that needs taken. Other than that, I'm thinking of taking a real estate class that is going to be a grueling three weeks for six credit hours. That's a total of fifteen hours (twelve if I decide to put off the computer class until I get to ASU). I know that the license class will be a great asset to my law school path if I decide to chose real estate law. I figure it would be good experience. If nothing else, I can look up houses for friends. Plus, this class counts toward my elective credits (maybe program credits in interdisciplinary study major).
