Hey Kids, Conics!

See, if my teacher were cool, he would have started our last class with that line (Which I, too, have always wanted to use.).

Our last class as in the the last one we had but also as in the last one we'll ever attend. The time for boring lectures is past and only tomorrow's finale lays before us. I'm taking a little break from my review at the moment. I'm not really concerned about the test since it's multiple choice and that means it's going to be even easier than usual. I am concerned, however, because I'm just not getting the last topic we covered. Which was conic sections in case we're not on the same page. Which is more than likely since when it comes to conics, I'm so far off the page, I'm worried the teacher is going to come over and yell at me for coloring outside the lines. Just not comprehending conics at all and with a test tomorrow that's not a good thing. It's weird because I tend to have a very good spacial sense. But when it comes from going from an equation of, say, a hyperbola to a graph or vice versa, I'm just at a loss. Oh, well, it's the kind of thing that'll shake itself out once I get a few more sample problems under my belt. It's just there's precious little time to do so.

Anyhow, I thought I'd take the time to put down some thoughts about the class. Since tomorrow I'm going to be busy with last minute cramming and after that, busying myself with the little present I've set aside as a reward for successful completion of this course and, therefore, unlikely to do much of anything that requires thought. But, as it stands, I can sum up the class in one word: boring. There's been a lot of material covered and it's taken some serious effort on my part to stay current on it but it really doesn't feel like it. It's been eight weeks now and I can't really believe it because class itself seems to grind on so much. It's not so much that my professor is boring, he actually seems to be doing a decent job of teaching. It's just listening to his voice droning on as he's at the blackboard is like chugging a glass of warm milk laced with...something else that makes you sleep.

If you'll recall, when I first started I mentioned he had an accent that I was trying to place. I've got it as somewhere in the upper midwest now. But the thing is, I've spoken with him informally – after class or in the halls, that sort of thing – and it's much less pronounced. Verging on unremarkable (Unless you're interested in the whole accent thing the way I am.). But when he's publicly speaking, when he's addressing the whole class, say, his voice changes. It's not an uncommon phenomenon but what I find interesting is how his enunciation changes to something out of a 30s newreel. It's that clipped, nasally, tweedy sound of what passed for proper diction. The style of the time. Just without any inflection whatsoever. Puts me right to sleep. On the plus side, I have a notebook full of doodles to go along with my notes and I might just a have a little surprise in the works with regards to that.

But it's a minor complaint. He covers the material thoroughly and explains the mathematical concepts in ways that make sense to me which is all you can ask from a math teacher, anyway. He could have been livelier, more personal, more interesting but it's math. I'm not sure I want the teacher to try to be hip and cool and with the “lingo” on the “streets” because that way lies Poochy.

Still, all in all, it's been a harder class than I expected but, in a lot of ways, I'm glad I took it.