I may have mentioned once or twelve times that Astronomy wasn't quite what I had in mind.
If you missed it, let me catch you up:
Heather + Astronomy = nervousness, hair loss, loss of appetite, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, extreme thirst, and muscle weakness.
Good times. There should be a disclaimer in the course catalog.
Actually, I find the material extremely fascinating. The instructor is great; he is willing to answer questions as necessary. It's not even the concepts. It's applying said concepts:
Here's a quiz:
1. An observer on Earth sees a total lunar eclipse If someone else is standing on the side of the Moon facing the Earth at the same time, they would see the
a. Earth's night side, not eclipsing the Sun.
b Earth's day side, not eclipsing the Sun.
c. Earth partially eclipsing the Sun.
d. Earth completely eclipsing the Sun.
2. A full moon
a. Can never rise at midnight.
b. Can never transit at midnight.
c. Always rises due East.
d. Always sets due West.
We had our first test today. This morning I was a nervous wreck. I had studied like my life depended on it, but the facts just didn't seem like they were going to stick. I ALSO had a test in History which I hadn't studied near long enough for because of Astronomy, and did I mention that I was supposed to read "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne that I DID start reading last night, but put down after the first "hither" or "thee" I came across. (Which ever it was.)
Only.
The History test was a snap. (Thanks Fiona and Iain!) I wasn't supposed to read "Young Goodman Brown" but rather "Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison.
Because today when I thought my mind couldn't take anymore, Mr. English Lit instructor introduced symbolism.
Yay. [I am sorry. I still don't understand the woman's tattoo on her nether regions as being symbolic to anything. ]
I don't *heart* symbolism. In my mind, it is what it is. Like most literature, anything can be interpreted to meet one's personal ideals.
Anyway....
Perhaps that is my problem. I can't stay focused on any one thing long enough.
After much sweating and nervousness, the test was ok. Not easy, but not what he had set it up to be either. I was the last one done, and it only took me 25 minutes. Thirty-three questions in all.
I was reminded this afternoon why I think it is ridiculous for an Elementary Education major to have to take this course while Nicholas was doing is Science homework. Ironically, he is doing the space unit. Two more lessons, and the unit is over. Nothing on Kepler, what time the moon rises and sets, thermal radiation, magnitudes of planets..nothing.
It's a good thing I will be so prepared. To teach fourth grade [insert sarcasm here] Who knows? Maybe I'll get lucky and get asked one of those things during an interview. It will guarantee me a job, right?
Thank-you, T.ennessee B.oard of R.egents. It would be a shame for me to have classes geared to what I would actually be teaching elementary students. You know, with the No Child Left Behind Act and all.
Clearly grammar isn't essential.
:::End whiny scene:::
7 comments:
Okay, is it sad I didn't know the answers to EITHER of those questions? Truly. I didn't.
No. Friggin'. Clue.
Astronomy would give me a headache too.
XOXO
Don't feel bad Bridgett...
I can't remember the answer to the first question.
::bows head in shame::
Of course you have to know a bunch of useless things. That's what makes it so much fun!
I love stuff we're never going to teach, but MUST know, for otherwise we are idiots.
I skipped the questions when I read your post. Good thing I'm not the one in school.
I hate symbolism. I had so many German Lit courses it was pathetic, and I never understood that the bug crawling across the frozen earth represented the loneliness the East German author was feeling at the time.
Symbolism is for schmucks. I say, lay it all out there for me. I'm not one for passiveness.
The main motive for Kepler's discoveries was to adjust the recorded observations to take account of Copernicus's discovery that the Earth as the observation point was not stationary but orbited round the Sun.
Thank you for your comment. It would be nice if the text I was using for the class had spelled it out as simply as you did. Although, I did earn an A in that class, it would have saved me (and my fellow classmates) a lot of headache and confusion.
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