College Moment: The Journey of a Mom and a Student

Math 010

Well...there's no way around it! You read correctly...Math 010. At first I thought perhaps I am torturing myself by taking a lower-level math course, but after last night's class, I don't feel nearly as self-conscious. Professor Phillips explained that for some people, like myself, who have been removed from Math for 3 years or more (and in my case...try 16 years!!!), it is not uncommon to feel "intimidated". She also said that most of the professors in the math division don't always see eye-to-eye with the counselors in that most counselors will push for students to enter at Math 015, pre-Algebra. Often times and certainly evident in her 4:00 class, she feels that about 1/3 of her students should be at the Math 010 level and will often do poorly because they do not have the basic fundamentals down. That's EXACTLY why I decided to start at the entry-level. I need this refresher course to sharpen my skills before entering into something even more intimidating: pre-Algebra and Algebra. Believe me, it wasn't pretty viewing my scores after the Math assessment test. Professor Phillips is a little "all-over-the-board" in her lectures, but quite frankly it's a matter of paying close attention and following along in the book. I agree with her 100% when she said ..."college is about following directions..." Very very true. I also enjoy the fact that she welcomes questions because believe me, if I am unclear about something, I will certainly ask away! Our first homework assignment is extensive - Chapter one which consists of sections 1.1 - 1.10, about 103 or so pages. YIKES!!!! The good news is that during the exercises, we are to select random ODD numbered problems or as many as we feel we need to do. She lectures on Mondays and there are tests on Wednesdays. Am I feeling the pressure???? Somewhat...but I believe I can time-manage to allow for the appropriate amount of hours per week to complete the homework, not just for this class, but for all my classes. The other good news is Professor Phillips will be absent on Monday, Jan 23rd so we have a "bye" for that class which will allow us a few more extra days to complete the first chapter. Good, because I want to gauge to see how much time I will need to dedicate to the homework assignments and this will be a great measuring tool.