If you read my last post, you know that I had a test scheduled for Thursday, and I am happy to say that we are on the other side of that now. I took off of work all week to teach myself everything I thought I might need to know for the test. The test included three different portions; reading, writing, and math. Reading and writing have always been strong for me. It can be a blessing and a curse. I can't read a Facebook status update without correcting the grammar and punctuation along the way in my mind. I even have trouble typing out texts in shorthand. It is easier for me to just do it the correct way than to think about what it would be shorthand. And most of the shorthand really isn't all that much shorter. The one I am most bothered by is the use of 'da' instead of 'the'. It's only one more letter, people. Please do not text me 'da' (unless you want me to completely miss the point of the text because of not being able to see any other word than 'da').
Sorry. I'm not sure where all of that came from.
Anyway, my biggest concern with the test was the math portion. I'm terrible at math. And I haven't had one day in my life when I had the thought, "how can I set this problem up like an algebra equation to solve for x". Not even once. If I have a recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of milk and 2/3 cup of water, I don't try to figure out what 1/2 plus 2/3 equals so that I can mix them all in one measuring container. I pour my 1/2 cup of milk into the measuring container, pour it out, and then measure of my 2/3 cup of water. I try to make life as simple as it can be. I feel math tries to complicate things. This is why we don't get along. But I had a goal and had to do what needed to be done to meet that goal...even if it required learning math.
I thought it was quite ironic that this was in my fortune cookie this week.
So over the course of the past week, I taught myself more math, geometry, and algebra than any teacher was ever able to teach me during my high school and college years combined. I used 2 different study guides that had practice tests, and I will also shamelessly admit to using Aaron's 6th grade math book to help me understand ratio's and percentages better. I even made myself do the challenge questions at the end of the lesson that you pray your teacher doesn't assign as part of your homework because they are SO HARD.
My friend Jen sent this to me last week. Summed up my thoughts exactly.
My test was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, and I spent my morning in the library at SAU Magnolia doing some last minute cramming and praying. My head is now full of useless information. Let's just say that if you ever find yourself with a large holding tank in your yard in the shape of a cylinder and are curious about how much liquid it would hold, I'm your girl. But I knew I may need it for the test, so I learned it. The first test I took was the reading portion. I hadn't studied much at all for this part, but I found it to be very easy, and even had time to go back check my work before my time ran out. I left this one feeling very confident. Up next, math. I had around 45 questions to answer in one hour. This would be an eternity for someone who actually knows what they're doing, but not for me. The testing center provided me with 3 sheets of scrap paper, and I used all 3 trying to get these problems worked out. I had about 8 questions left on the test when my timer started flashing, giving me a warning that there was only 5 minutes left of this test. Eight questions and only 5 minutes. I felt my blood pressure going up and I thought I could pass out at any given second. I went through and just marked an answer on all of the ones I didn't get to in hopes that I had a chance of getting a few of them correct. And then it was gone. The math portion had ended before I was ready for it to end. Luckily it was a scheduled break time, so I went into the bathroom and FELL APART. I just knew that there was no way I passed that math because I didn't even get to see all of the questions. But I had to pull it together because I still had the writing portion to do before I could find out my scores. I calmed down a bit and returned to my computer. Once I started the writing portion, I was able to forget the math and focus completely on finding grammatical errors in sentences. It was lovely. Like, I really enjoyed it. At the end of the writing multiple-choice, I was given a topic to write an essay over, and a 30 minute time limit, and breezed right through it with plenty of time to check for errors and make a few changes. When that was complete, the computer asked me if I wanted to keep these scores and report them, or delete everything as if I didn't even take the test. But it hadn't even told me my scores yet! Since you only have to re-take the portions that you fail, I chose to keep the scores and send them to Harding (in hopes that they wouldn't completely humiliate me). Then my scores came up. The reading score was passing, but it was my math score I was surprised at. I actually passed it! Not only had I passed it, but I could have missed several more questions and still received a passing score. My only response to that was "thank you Lord". Well, that and tears. Which can be embarrassing in a quite, controlled testing center. But whatever. I PASSED MATH. These people did not even realize that a miracle had just happened in their presence.
Now that I've cleared this hurdle, I can apply for Harding's graduate school, and will begin taking summer classes next month. I plan to take 12 hours this summer, and then will only be around 20 hours short of earning my master's degree in education.
But for this week, I'll be glad to be back with my 1st graders. I've missed them so much. And I'll be so glad to be back into a world where 10 + 10 = 20 with no x's or y's that need to be found before the problem can be solved.
Y'all have a great week!
My boys playing with an R/C boat in our pond last Sunday. Love this pic :)
No comments:
Post a Comment