Thornock.Org

Well, life is kind of slowing down as we get into the rythym of full time school again. Of course, it’s like going from 80 mph to 65 mph, so we’re still busy but at a steady pace.

We used to watch a ton of movies, but we just haven’t had time for them. We watched a few good ones from Cleanflicks this summer, but they obviously didn’t stick, cuz I can’t remember any glaring examples. So unfortunately, the movie reviews are few and far between. But, I am reading a great book called Freakonomics for one of my classes. I recommend it to the curious minded, as it offers to interesting explanations for life’s little phenomena.

Right now I am taking a Calculus class, which I am finding a lot less difficult the second time around. I took a Business Calculus class a couple years ago, and so this is a good class to build on that. It is taking a bit to sharpen the ol’ saw again, but I am slowly remembering how to do all the Calc stuff.

Funny thing is, as much as knowledge is crammed down your throat during college, I don’t think that much of it sticks. The problem is the incentive the many professors give you to study and the format of their testing. Professors tend to reward the students who remember the terms and their definitions—as shown by how they test. If I can regurgitate how many years were in the Triassic period, I can get an A. But do I remember that two years or even two months later? I think this causes many of us to finish college and say “What have I really learned in the past few years other than the ability to retain and regurgitate short-term info?”

I’ve found that since professors don’t reward learning, it’s up to the student to figure out how to LEARN the material. As Dr. Crawford says, “Focus on learning the main points of the class, and the grade will follow in its shadow.” I fully believe that. I just wish I had learned it five years ago…