General FAQ

Below are some frequently asked questions I get every year from students:

I was absent for a day/week/whatever.  What should I do??

Well, you probably missed out on a decent amount of material.  

I'll just tell you right off the bat that it's not going to be possible for me to go back over an entire lesson just for you.  

HOWEVER, I do want to make sure you know what you're doing.

So, what you SHOULD do is make an effort on your own to learn the material that you missed (whether it be through the textbook, online, etc.), and then if there is some material you need a little clarification on, I would be more than happy to help you out with that.  

Bottom line:  I'm not going to do everything for you.  You have to put in some effort on your own first.  Help me help you.

I'm not understanding any of this stuff.  What can I do??

The first thing is DON'T WAIT.  The more you put off trying to understand the material, the worse it will be for you.  If you come to me the day before the exam with questions about fundamental material that we covered at the beginning of the chapter, well, I'll be frustrated that you didn't come see me sooner for help, and I doubt I'll be able to help you at that point, and then that'll just make you frustrated.  Don't put yourself in this spot.  Get help as soon as you don't think you're on top of things.

How am I supposed to study for tests/quizzes?

If you've been taking notes, you should have plenty of practice problems that we've done throughout the chapter.  Try redoing those and make sure you get the correct solutions.  Also, make sure you get your old homeworks back from me so you can see what you did.  A good idea is also to look online for any extra examples and problems to see if you can do a problem you've never seen before and get it right.

If you've had DeltaMath homework, this is even easier because DeltaMath will allow you to keep generating questions to your heart's desire.  Remember, you shouldn't do problems until you get 1 right.  You should be doing them until you can't get any wrong.

I've worked so hard this semester, please please please will you give me an A??  Please???

Effort is not the same as mastery.  How much time you put into something doesn't mean that you're good at it.  I can work 12 hours a day in the gym shooting baskets for a whole year, but I'm still probably not going to make it onto the Lakers.

Also, I don't give grades.  You earn them.  I don't look over my gradebook and go down student by student and say, "Hmm, I like this kid, I'll give him an A.  Oh, I don't like this kid, I'll give him an F."  

You get the grade that you deserve based on your homework and test scores.  My opinion of you as a student or your perceived effort over the semester has nothing to do with your grade.