Football helps you study... right?

So I have not posted since last Sunday. Sadly, this is because I have not done much homework since last Sunday.

I'm trying to make up for a lot of lost time today by plowing through a lot of reading. Rather than complete the "key questions" for each lesson right after I finish reading it, I've decided to read it all at once and then tackle the homework in one go. It was all smooth sailing until Lesson 4: Photosynthesis. I always knew it was a gross oversimplification to say that plants just take carbon dioxide and turn it into oxygen, but there are a lot more complex diagrams than I was expecting.

Further complicating matters is the fact that Sunday is Football Day. The NFL is one of the reasons I love September: when fall hits, I can look forward to hours of sitting on the couch with a drink while I watch grown men throw things and hit each other. On Sundays (and sometimes Mondays) from September to January, life is good.

I've watched the first couple of games (after going for a long run to assuage my guilt at sitting around) with my binder and Lesson 4 in my lap. This takes me right back to my first go-round in high school, when this was the Sunday ritual: I would sit in front of the TV with the homework I had left until that evening, and make half-hearted attempts at completing it while keeping one eye on the game. There were frequent interruptions when my dad - my football-watching companion since I was about six - yelled at the TV, or when I saw something out of the corner of my eye that made me yell at the TV. I knew that I wasn't giving nearly the attention to my homework I should have, but it got done in the end, so I didn't really mind.

Now, sitting in front of the TV with homework again, I can't help but feel that even though I'm not devoting my full attention to my work, it may not be all bad. Sure I'm taking a long time to read about electrochemical gradients and ATP, but I'm also not yet bored out of my skull. And I'm still taking things in. (A pigment is a group of molecules that absorbs light at a certain range of frequencies. See?)

So, barring a controlled study, I can only assume that watching football helps me study, Which means it's time to go back to Jets vs Pats and the Calvin cycle.

When Wikipedia Isn't Enough

Like many people, I am a huge fan of Wikipedia. It's always the first place I go to look something up, and the information I find there has very rarely led me astray. I know some people have reservations about its accuracy, given that almost anyone can edit it, but I'm always impressed by how thorough it is.

When it comes to my biology homework, however, Wikipedia unfortunately isn't an option. Most teachers won't accept it as a reliable source, meaning that when it came time to research five proteins, three lipids and three carbohydrates (and make a chart - yippee), I had to scroll past any Wikipedia links. Which, unfortunately, was most of the ones that seemed to contain the information I was looking for.

As I ran more and more Google searches, I came to realize that most of the websites available on this subject matter fell into three categories:

1. Websites for biology courses offered by other high schools and universities;
2. Scholarly articles so thick with science terms that I couldn't read more than a few sentences without hurting my brain, and
3. Wikipedia pages that, though exhaustively researched and footnoted, were still Wikipedia pages.

After a couple of hours, it dawned on me that I was going to have to face my nemesis: the library.

Don't get me wrong, I love the library. I probably take 10-15 books out of there a month - fiction and non-fiction, but generally books I'm reading because I want to. When it comes to researching at the library, though, I often feel like it's a colossal waste of time. I'm an impatient person, which is one reason why I find library research to be a pissoff; however, I also think I've let the internet spoil me.

I'm used to typing my question into a search engine and finding the answer in a minute, tops. When I can't locate the information I'm looking for in 10 minutes, I start to get annoyed. The thought of spending hours at the library, locating books that remotely apply to the subject at hand and then plowing through 500 extraneous pages to find the one or two facts I need is, at the very least, not very appealing.  

But, as I write this, I've started thinking of my gran, who used to be a librarian. (She and my grandfather actually met when they were working together at a library in England - a lovely story for another time). She began her career in Toronto, and eventually moved into Reader Services at the Toronto Public Library. In essence, it was her job to be the library's online catalogue. Students often came to her asking for information on specific subjects, and she had to know exactly where the books on the subjects they were looking for could be found. Most of the library's books came from Britain; during World War II, my gran told me recently, the shipment of books came to the halt. Gran and the researching students not only had to find the needle in the proverbial haystack, they also had to use old, dull needles, because new ones weren't making it across the Atlantic.

So, perhaps I can deal with going to the library once or twice. At least the information I need isn't stranded across an ocean for five years.

Blargh

First official day as a full-time employee/high-school student. I probably should not have been surprised to find I did not want to do homework when I got home today, but there it is.

Time to learn about biological reactions before bed - I can't wait.

Notable or Not?

One of the things I'm finding most difficult about high-school course work is re-mastering the art of note-taking. By the end of university, I had it down pat: I could identify exactly what would be relevant for the test, paper or exam, and once I had neatly highlighted it or jotted it down, I was on my way.

Now - partially because it's been so long, and partially because I'm so unfamiliar with the subject matter - I have no idea what will be relevant. I spent most of yesterday reading "Lesson 1" of the first unit of my biology course, and writing down pretty much everything I came across. I even added information I googled to fill in my knowledge gaps (thank, Wikipedia). And yet, when I got to the "support questions" at the end of the first section, I had no clue how to answer it. It seemed that the single, solitary thing I had neglected to leave out of my copious note-taking was the one thing the writers of the section had felt to be important. I know because, after I sat there looking for confused for a few minutes, I consulted the Suggested Answers for the support questions to see what the hell they were talking about.

I found that the answer was actually a pretty obvious one, and one I could have come up with by flipping back a few pages and regurgitating facts from the text. I've always had a tendency to over-think things, which has sometimes been my downfall when it comes to taking tests. After working at a school and sitting through many faculty meetings, I've learned that teachers rarely try to trick you - if you look at a question and think it looks straightforward, it's probably because it is. Yet I still find myself returning to my tendency to either spit out every bit of knowledge that may be relevant to the subject at hand (at least I'll get some marks), or sitting frozen as the feeling of panic rises in my chest, not knowing what to do or what to say. The latter was the case yesterday, until I looked at the answer and felt silly. Not so promising a start.

Today, though, is a new day, and after watching the Hamilton Ticats soundly thump the Toronto Argonauts, I'm ready to do an hour of homework before I go to bed and rest up for my second first day of school - it's the day after Labour Day, and the kids are back. Once more, I know exactly what they're going through.

Step 1: Pass Grade 12 Biology

I work full time - at a school, ironically enough, though not as a teacher - so I thought the chances of me actually making it to night classes were pretty slim. When I mentioned that I might want to do some science courses, one of my co-workers mentioned the Independent Learning Centre (ILC), Ontario's "designated provider of distance education" (a catchy slogan if I've ever heard one). For $40, I could register for a course without even providing my transcripts, and get all of my coursework delivered to my e-mail in-box.

Initially, I thought this may not be a such a good idea. Those who know me know I am liable to procrastinate, especially when there are no deadlines looming. The ILC gives students (oh good lord I'm a student) something like 10 months to complete their courses, so it's not like the pressure is on for me to get 'er done. However, I don't want to still be working on these things when I'm 30 (I'm 25 right now), so I have resolved not to slack off too much. Plus, my boyfriend has oh-so-selflessly promised to crack the whip and keep me motivated.

I sent in my registration info last week, and yesterday I got word that I was registered and could start any old time. Because I woke up this morning after my first run in my Vibram Five Fingers yesterday and am now basically immobile, I thought now would be a good time to start.

After reading the introduction, I was somewhat deflated. In addition to the "key questions" I have to answer and send in for marking, I also have to write "reflections" about my learning. Back in high school, I was of the opinion that reflections were pointless busywork, done grudgingly because I needed them to pass. I thought maybe, because I'm not in the classroom full-time, I might get out of them this time. Alas, even correspondence courses have some pointless busywork elements.

So, on to Unit 1: Metabolic Processes. And if I ever get discouraged, I always have this to cheer me up:

A Student Again in 2010

Let me start by saying: I really, really thought I was done with school forever.

Seriously. I graduated from university with by BA in 2007, finished a post-graduate certificate in Communications and Public Relations in 2008, and quite gladly washed my hands of the world of academia. I delighted in remembering I would never have to do homework, write essays, or cram for tests ever again.

And then there's the money thing. I just - as in mailed the check last Tuesday - paid off the very last of my student debt. I was getting used to the idea of having all of my paycheque for my very own, and not being beholden to anyone for money until I decided to do something crazy like buy a house. The fact that medical school, if I get in, could run me close to $100,000 makes me physically ill.

But still, I think I want to be a doctor. So.

Please come commiserate with me, help me with your science knowledge, or just laugh at me (my boyfriend is snickering at me as I write this), and I will let you know how this back-to-high-school thing goes. If it goes.