Joseph Natividad

College TA’s: A Game of Russian Roulette

You’re either lucky or screwed. That’s how I see it when I show up to my discussion sections for whatever class I’m supposed to be in. Teaching assistants (TA’s) are a mixed bag of grad students and advanced undergrads who show the credentials of being more than capable of handling most questions presented to them by students and the lesson at hand. They’ve got the brains and the know how, but when it comes to explaining concepts to googly or sleepy-eyed students, that’s where the talent pool begins to falter. So far this school year, I’ve been in the category of getting screwed…pretty badly.

When I mean screwed, I mean that the TA’s for my Statistics and Calculus classes are complete bozos. I’m trying hard to learn everything but my brain’s just not soaking stuff up. I know that I should probably be asking questions on anything I don’t understand but I’m having a problem mustering up the courage to do so for fear of being humiliated. That’s exactly what happened to a (once) confident student sitting in the row in front of me last week when he attempted to voice his knowledge on the term “falsifiability” in relation to constructing good hypotheses. The ignorant fool that calls himself a TA simply refuted everything he said and the student’s ears were glowing red for the remainder of the discussion.

Excellent TA’s I’ve had in the past have the talent to make things interesting no matter how bland the topic might be. They engage students into the discussion and are open to various opinions. They never put people down.

Tags: calculus, poli30, statistics, TA, teaching assistants

Surviving Through Finals

Finals are over and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. It’s been a stressful week for me — probably one of the most demanding I’ve had so far this schoolyear. I tried so hard to review and prepare myself for each exam and it worked out for me just half the time.

I breezed throught my Music&Film and CAT1B finals but I knew I definitely bombed Calculus when I couldn’t figure out four out of the eight total problems I was staring at on paper. I’ve never failed a class in my life but I think I’ve finally ended that streak. Worst case scenario: I’ll have to retake the class over again next quarter and finish off the last third of the Math10 series over the summer at Cal. That would definitely spoil my plans to apply for seasonal employment after my freshman year is completed in June.

Yesterday, my Economics final didn’t go too well either, though probably not as badly as I did with Calculus. The thought crossed my mind about whether this major isn’t a perfect fit for what I’m capable of. I have doubts and am feeling unsure about my future, but I’m deciding to go through with things for now. I’ll have to wait for my grades after Christmas and then I’ll get a clearer perspective on things. But I’m not feeling completely bothered by this situation. At this rate, I’m still on pace to graduate in four years, which doesn’t sound bad at all.

For now, however, I’m hoping for a miracle that comes in the form of a passing math grade.

Tags: calculus, CAT, Economics, failure, finals, math-10, music-and-film, sixth-college, ucsd

Finals Are Underway for Fall Quarter

I just got out of my Music&Film final less than 10 minutes ago and my self esteem has shot way up as a result of feeling confident that I did pretty well on it. So now the easy part is over and done with and it’s time to come back to earth. I’ve got Calculus and Economics finals within 10 hours of each other starting tomorrow evening and those are keeping me in a mild state of panic.

I’ve been hitting the books, reviewing my notes and slaving through old finals from previous years since last Saturday. I don’t think I’ll ever be completely ready for what lies ahead of me these next few days. My sleeping patterns have been adjusted dramatically but I feel like i have enough energy to last me through the night as long as I end up waking sometime before noon.

Tags: calculus, CAT, Economics, finals, music-and-film, panic, ucsd

A Tradition Worth Clapping For

I’ve completed all my lectures for the Fall 2007 Quarter and have come across a new kind of tradition here at the university: applauding the professors and TA’s for all the work they’ve done.

The effect is startling especially when a giant lecture hall is filled with over 300 students. It’s nothing raucous or spectacular but you feel the sense of respect and gratitude that students have for their professors. The applause generally lasts for almost ten seconds, ceases, and students begin to file out like they usually do.

I don’t have any more regular classes to attend until January but a grueling obstacle lies a few days ahead when I have to take my first batch of finals. The classes that I’m most worried about are Economics and Calculus. I already began reviewing last night and will continue to do so for the rest of the weekend.

Tags: applause, calculus, Economics, finals, lecture, professor

Classes Resume after “Fire Week”

I feel as if I?ve already gotten used to and waking up in the afternoon, walking through a near empty campus and breathing in flakes of ash.

I woke up today and found a lot more people walking around to and from classrooms and cafeterias. I was a little groggy, not being used to waking up before 10AM and copying entire lectures into my notebook. Basically, I have turned into a lazy bum in the course of a week.

The air quality has been getting much better lately. It?s a bit overcast today but at least I can breathe effortlessly now.

I still have Calculus to get over with at 4PM and I think I?ll get some reviewing done for my rescheduled midterms taking place a couple days from now. It didn?t take that long for me to switch back into this sort of mode or attitude about getting my work done and being fully prepared for whatever test I have coming up.

Halloween is this Wednesday. I went out over the weekend to Toys R Us and got an Optimus Prime mask from the film ?Transformers.? It changes my voice when I wear it and has a few other sound effects that came along with it. I guess I?ll be a robot for Halloween, but it?s sad that I may miss out on whatever?s going on that night because my Calc. midterm is scheduled to take place from 7-9PM.

Tags: calculus, fire, halloween, Midterm, optimus-prime, transformers, ucsd

No Classes on Tuesday Either

People were beginning to talk about it happening. I checked the school website a few minutes ago and guess what?

“Due to the continuing concern of the fires, the UCSD campus will be canceling classes Tuesday, October 23. The air quality continues to threaten the health of all in this general area. The fires are still uncontained and other nearby entities, such as SD Unified School District, are closing for tomorrow.” - Chancellor Marye Anne Fox

I’m basically going on a four day weekend, with the latter half being spent mostly in the confines of my residence hall. Everyone’s been jumping around and making loud noises for quite awhile now but at the back of my mind I still think of the fact that I have midterms for Calculus and Music & Film along with a two-page essay for my writing class. All of this will be taking place on Wednesday and Thursday. I’m missing out on possible reviewing sessions in class or during the professors’ office hours…but oh well.

Tags: calculus, cancelled-classes, fire, Midterm, music-and-film, san-diego, uc-irvine, UC-Santa-Barbara, wildfire

Thursdays are a Nightmare

My schedule is pretty spread out during the week, but I just get screwed over on Thursdays: four lectures, two lasting an hour and a half each, one lasting 50 minutes and one lasting three hours from 6-9PM. That long Music and Film class to finish out my day ends too late that I end up eating alone at the cafeteria nearby, with a copy of the New York Times and USA Today keeping me company during my meal.

Out of all the long and nightmarish Thursdays I?ve had since school started, yesterday has been the worst so far.

My first midterm for Econ1 kept me busy reviewing all my notes and homework during the entire night before. It just so happens that I had to type up a two-page commentary for my college?s writing class by the following morning too. Already lacking sleep, how inconvenient was it for the school to arrange for a fire drill at 7 in the morning?

I think I did well enough on my midterm. I seem to be doing just fine in all my classes so far, including Calculus, which is a bit surprising. I did better than I expected on last week?s quiz and I am absolutely certain I aced the one I just had this afternoon.

It?s Friday and I?m glad this week is over. I don?t have any Economics homework until Tuesday but I still have a ton of reading to catch up on for my writing class.

It never stops coming does it?

Tags: Antonovics, calculus, CAT1, econ1, Midterm, music-and-film, sixth-college, ucsd

I’m Back!!!

It?s been quite a while since I?ve regularly updated this thing. I apologize and want to let you know that I am determined not to alienate you or leave you reading that entry about doing my own laundry over and over again.

What have I been doing these past few weeks instead of blogging my brains out? Adjusting to college life, of course. I?ve got a bunch of midterms coming up next week so I would consider this the calm before the storm. I had a few quizzes and essays to get over with last week and I?ve been exploring campus, meeting new people and relying on cafeteria food to keep me from starving. When I?m not doing homework, you might find me out of my dorm eating a turkey burger or a BBQ chicken pizza.

College is definitely a new experience to me and I?m loving every moment of it so far. Not a day goes by when I don?t randomly meet someone new. Whenever someone asks me where I?m from, I just tell them I?m from Berkeley because I doubt they?ll know too many other cities in the East Bay.

I?m enjoying most of the classes I?m taking this quarter, with Calculus being the only one I constantly struggle with. My Economics class is pretty straightforward so I?m not having too much trouble grasping concepts about marginal costs and benefits, the production possibility frontier, and stuff of that nature.

If I don?t keep up with the goal I set for myself to say whatever was ?on my mind?, then shame on me.

What?s on my mind right now? Catching up on lost sleep and eating a slice of that BBQ chicken pizza for lunch tomorrow.

Tags: bbq-chicken-pizza, calculus, econ1, foodworx, la-jolla, music-and-film, OVT, sixth-college, ucsd