I had something happen that I'd not experienced before. I was always told by my parents that if I had a question in class I would put my hand up because there would be at least one other person in the class who was having issues understanding something that I might have missed as well. But I've never had a [Stats] class where I put up my hand and told the professor/teacher to please stop, slow down and backtrack to the basic steps of something. I felt so embarassed but I couldn't help it --I didn't understand it at all (and I was on the verge of pulling my hair out). And apparently, I wasn't the only one. 90% of the kids looked at me in shock, then at the professor waiting for him to explain it and were scribbling intently. I even had several students approach me as we were packing up and thank me for stopping the prof and getting him to explain it. ...At the end of class I understood it and couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. So I guess it is true. Put up your hand if you don't understand something because in some cases there are a helluva lot more people who don't understand something too. :lol:
It took some guts, but it was worth it. People will never ask the teacher. I don't know what's the deal about it, but they just won't. The high school students would rather spend their money on private lessons from a college student. The cycle is really confusing :eusa_doh: However, when you have a bad teacher, nothing can help you. When s/he talks for 45 minutes and doesn't even try to motivate you, and then asks if there are any questions... It'd be great to ask, but you just don't know where to start. When the textbook makes more sense, it's the teacher's fault.
Oh, Lord - statistics. That was the first math class I took that I simply couldn't get. At all. Nothing took hold. I'd sort of understand it during class, but by the time I got back to my dorm room, it had evaporated. I ended up in the prof's office every single morning, trying to get back on track. I managed to escape with a C+ in the class, but within a week of finishing, I literally remembered nothing. (I could mumble 'f-distribution', but had no idea what it meant.) A friend of mine took the class, and fumbled along with me. One day, he raised his hand and the professor called on him. He thought about asking what he was really thinking, but finally lamely pointed to the black board and said "I'm sorry - is that a two?" The next day, he raised his hand again, and this time, went through with it. "I'm sorry - could you start over?" "Start what over?" "The course. From the beginning. Slower." Lex
:lol: Yea Lex, that's how I feel somedays... I understand it somewhat in class, then get home to do the homework and it's practically gone... And he only has office hours (haha, that's an overstatement)-once a week and it's for half an hour right before class. So how does that help I ask? Ah *le sigh*
I made the mistake of doing computer science as a degree. Mind you, in a lesson, I'm fine always. It's just when I have to do independent work that I fall down. =(
I give up when it comes to Math classes. The intricate stuff after Geometry isn't used by a non-Mathematics majors in everyday life anyway. Seriously, when have you ever had to use the Quadratic formula or the 30-60-90 rule outside the classroom?