Hi abstract,
Others have great advises for you to heed. I'll give my thoughts on this and my college experiences.
abstract said:
My first semester I took three classes: history, math, and reading. In math I finished the semester with an A. In reading, a B, but in history I got an F. T'chyea...so how'd that happen? The only grades in that class were the tests. Every class (once a week) there were lectures and you basically just came to class and took notes. Every few classes, there'd be a test. I got an F on the first test. I was pretty upset. I knew that I took notes, I swore that i had read them over and over, I came to the classes, I listened to the lectures, I put the information into my brain the best I could!
I can tell you that taking History classes in college (and at an university) are the hardest for me, in terms of assignments/tests. I took about 20 History classes (along with other electives) to obtain my Bachelor of Arts in History and none of them was an A. Just low B's and high C's. When I knew from the beginning in one history class that I was going to get an D or F, I dropped it before being given a "withdrawal" status. Also, when I registered for each of the classes that I have taken, I spent a month before the start of the new semester in inquiring about the teachers and how they graded. Are they worst, easy, or reasonable? Basically, I have talked to a number of students who have taken their classes and weighed out the pro's and con's (especially what was being graded and how they are being graded). In other words, networking.
I've learned the hard way that if the teacher is "easy," meaning that the class was "fun" and "enjoyable" and the teacher was "nice," then the grade would be the hardest or would be the lowest and no curve. They are the strictest graders. For an example, one history class, I had an Asian professor who had a PowerPoint presentation. I really, really, really enjoyed the class but all the class had was four tests with only 25 questions with four points each (true/false and multiple questions) and those four tests totaled to a class grade. I had worked hardest for each tests, no matter what, but still ended up with a low C for the class. No extra credit. No do-over.
I still got my BA. While the core courses were low in grades, the other electives (such as English, Latin, Theatre, Psychology, Math, etc.) were highest in grades to compensate for the requirements met for graduation.
Believe you me. I was not exactly a "smart" student; I was a "retard." I graduated from high school, which was a small private school for those who have personality disorders (but I was only there for 4-1 ratio in students-teacher due to my hearing disability). When I went to a local community college due to my mother's push, I've entered for a certification in Graphic Design. When I graduated from high school, that was when I have found out, to my shock, that when I graduated, I actually graduated from 8-grade level,
not 12-grade level. They had no Algebra, Geometry, any foreign, or any classes that was taught in a regular high school. Plus, none of the teachers (except for one, who later became my mentor and quit that school after I graduated) and principals expected their students to go to college. None of the students did except for me at that time. After that, I became extremely motivated to learn more and to "catch up." In other words, I was very angry of being so far behind and wanted to "prove them wrong."
So, I spent three-plus years in community college and three years in an university to get two associate's and a bachelor's without any break (I was the first in my family to get a college degree, let alone three - another motivation). What got me into History was my curiosity due to my own research into family history. I didn't expect the strict grading, though. In my first year at the community college, I took all the "pre"-credit courses, which are basic Math, English, Reading (like yours). They had levels of these, like 060 up to 090, with the last as being an "advanced basic" before English 101, a credit course.
My mother wanted me to go to college and get like a few basic classes in English, Reading, Math and get a couple of classes in computer for Graphic Design while working at a grocery store. I would stay a year or two in college. She knew that I have an artistic skill and wanted me to put it in a good use. But, when I found out about the grade level at my high school and seeing how far behind I was, I took as many classes that I could in each semester and dropped the certification to obtain an associate's degree. It was my choice to keep going and keep learning, and I chose to expand myself. That was my turning point. I was 19.
Now, I am working on a certification in Library Cataloging and I'll be done in May (by my 31st birthday). My experiences in college has helped me with these current classes and the strict grading haven't changed, apparently.
abstract said:
So why the F? I was stunned. I LIKED coming to that class! Anyway, I decided I needed just to work harder. After all, my other classes were working out fine. So I worked harder, and on the next test I got a C. I felt motivated by that improvement, so I decided I would study extremely hard for the 3rd and final test, and failed it. I even turned in extra credit, and I still failed history class.
Had you talked to the teacher about the tests and what you can do for further improvement? If the first test you got was a fail, ask the teacher what was wrong or did you got the test back with notes on certain question? In some classes that I remembered, we had a "post-test" class day when we discussed the test after the fact where we go question by question in detail - that way, you'd know what you did wrong and what you can do more on it. That was helpful, for me at least. I don't know if your classes ever had a "post-test" class day.
Do you know what you can do to study more? Was there a "study" group that you could join to discuss the topics with the classmates from your classes?
I do know that, in US (are you in US?), if you got an "F" in one class, you can re-take that same class to make up for it. Of course, it's only one try.
abstract said:
My math and reading classes though, were actually remedial classes so their official titles would be basic math and reading 1. They make you take them if you've been out of highschool for a while, which i had been out for 3 years at the time. I've always had a lot of trouble with math anyway, so i really needed that just for mental refreshment. The reading class however, was a joke for me. It was like being in 9nth grade again. Read a book, quiz over it, do vocabulary worksheets, I could have done the whole semester's stuff in a couple of weeks if they'd let me...but they won't.
I took the same basic classes, as I've said above (but in my case, it was new to me), but if it's something you already learned (i.e., reading class), you should not have to be "hasty" about it. If they said that you should take it for requirement or whatever, take it and ace it. Take it for their consideration and they will know that you know the basics, even though it may not be added to your GPA. It can be more of your attitude toward the taking of this class than the class itself that you can improve yourself, I think.
abstract said:
So the result of getting an F was being put on academic probation, which is determined by your GPA, meaning that if you get more bad grades, they kick you out. Normally, an A and B with an F wouldn't have had this effect, but since the remedial classes didn't count for real, actual course credits, they were not included in the GPA equation.
Yes, that is true because basic classes are "pre"-credit courses (non-GPA count). Would you be able to re-take that failed class to improve the grade? If you do, that failed class will be replaced by the higher grade. That way, you can improve the GPA.
abstract said:
After all that, I couldn't just stop going to school, i had no time to rethink things. I had to fulfill the requirement set forth by my dad that if I live in his house I have to go to school. So I thought "OK...maybe i could try tech school...", and I went down to the tech school and signed up for the carpentry program. Long story short, first semester went OK...I didn't hate it but I wasn't super interested either.
It was difficult to go to school early in the morning and then turn around and work my night schedule. Second semester was when I didn't really wanna show up. The teacher wasn't even giving us stuff to do, and most of the class was composed of highschoolers. It's really hard to read and study when the person next to you is watching videos on their smartphone. I wouldn't have wanted to go back for the second year anyhow, the construction industry just doesn't seem like my thing at all.
So that is where i'm at right now.
I can see why you would be unmotivated to be in a tech school. I haven't been to one but it's just a place you can learn a new set of skills in a manual labor field.
Would you be able to talk to the people at the Registration office at CC or your academic faculty advisers about re-taking that failed class? If you're still on an academic probation, you can still talk to your adviser more on what you can do to improve your GPA. Maybe taking additional classes like Psychology (considering the fact that we all here about psychology), Sociology, or even PE?
Indeed, an academic probation is like a wall hindering your learning growth, but walls are meant to be broken.
shellycheval said:
A result of this is students are often shocked to find how difficult college level work is outside of the developmental, non-credit, remedial courses; and often fail the full credit courses until they learn how to learn. There are many paths to achieving improved study skills and acquiring the ability to learn: finding tutors for every subject, using the library resources, meeting with the instructor, asking questions and for help in class; but they all require self-motivation. Higher Ed. in the US is a gate-keeping system.
I agree with the above as it's my experience as well. I had to use every resources available as mentioned and used the disability service at the college (i.e., note-takers). What was interesting, in my first year of college, I have had classmates telling me that these resources mentioned are for "wuss" or "stupid." Something about these resources made some of the students to feel "uncool" - something might have been brought over from high school (social groups mentality).
Good thing that I was alienated from my peers in high school.
shellycheval said:
SeekinTruth
“But there's all sorts of stifling aspects to formal education too. There's still a strong pressure to conform to preconceived "templates." And it can negatively reinforce false personality if you don't notice the self-important "intellectual" attitude that can be injected into you.”
Indeed there is, and ironically, the very critical learning skills you can learn in college will help you sort through the indoctrinating propaganda also present in higher ed. if you are vigilant, keep an open mind, question everything (more or less), develop discernment, and seek out proof so you can “know” rather than simply “believe.”
No doubt.
shellycheval said:
College can be the one of biggest Petty Tyrants the majority of the 99% encounter.
Become a Warrior—learn how to learn and how to resist the traps of the Matrix.
That is a great way to see it - College as a Petty Tyrant.
