"...due before 9:00 p.m.? Are you serious?"

Note: You may click the above picture to enlarge it :)

21. If you noticed, I circled both 4 and 5 in #20. I believe John deserves a 4, but Johann deserves a 5. Therefore, as Jsquared, a 4+/5- should suffice. When it comes to doing my homework, I'm USUALLY on point. However, when it comes to STUDYING and MASTERY, it's obvious that I'm not at my best. I believe I do much better on my Lab Write-Ups than I do on my Quizzes. I do much better with the Giancoli Questions than I do with the Problems. I do the work and exert effort, that I know for sure. However, considering that this is an AP course, I know I'm not up to par.

Don't get me wrong, I still strive for excellence. But right now, I guess you could say I'm strategizing until I can get both my feet into the Fiziks water. I know that Labs and Quizzes are weighed the same, and since I know I don't do as well with the Quizzes, I spend time on my Labs. In addition, as minor as this factor may seem to others, I believe I truly excel when it comes to organization. I take pride in my USB and Notebook, more on my USB though (hehe).

As I mentioned in my last evaluation, the person I described in my summer autobiography assignment has been dormant. My full potential is yet to be unleashed. "So, what are you waiting for Jsquared?", you may ask. Well, you see, you're gonna have to switch to my F.O.R. to understand the delay. And for that, you must read on...

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22. STRENGTH #1- Organization. I realized how good I am at this when I caught your T.A., Raymond Sapida, muttering, "Damn, that's hella organized," as he clicked through the AP Fiziks Folder on my USB. If anything, it's one thing I can be proud of. Other people actually struggle with this, and I'm glad I'm not one of them. It may be such a small thing to say is a strength, but nonetheless, I know it will be beneficial to me in the long-run. I can find anything I want or need at any time. I don't need to waste precious hours searching for handouts when I could've been starting on my work already. There are already not enough hours in the day, why make it worst by using up a good hour just looking for something?

STRENGTH #2- Labs. I may not be the best lab-writer YET, but I actually think I do well with my lab write-ups. I'm still improving on "working smarter" with my lab group, but when it comes to individual effort, I can honestly say I put 110% into the labs. I also do this in hopes that it would buffer my not-so-good Quiz scores. Also, the feeling of accomplishment after completing a lab is rewarding to me. I'm happy after a lab well done. A shoutout to Earnest Salgado for those late nights and early mornings of lab works: "Thanks!"

STRENGTH #3- Determination. As low as my self-esteem sometimes gets, I never consider quitting. My parents would always offer me the option of switching to a regular class, but what they don't understand is that I get more out of this class than just mere Physics. I am educated in a whole different way because of this very class. I'd rather get a B staying in this AP course than an A in a regular class- although, an A in Physics is waaaaay better (teehee). My determination prevails in times of stress. I owe a lot to it for getting me where I am today.

I.NEED.TO.IMPROVE #1- Problem-Solving Skills. Urgh, I need a lot of improvement here. I know I need to work on them daily, but that really isn't going very well for me. So, this is what I'm going to do about it: I'm going to take advantage of Tuesday afternoons, after school. I'll be in your classroom problem-solving my ass off until you get sick of my face (that is, if you're not already). Haha, just kidding. But you get my point right? Practice makes perfect, but I guess I'm the type who needs a bit of guidance while practicing.

I.NEED.TO.IMPROVE #2- Becoming an "Above-and-Beyonder". I have goals and I surely don't want to settle for a 5 by the time the end of the year approaches. Right now, a 6 is too much to ask for considering what I've put in to attain it. However, in the future, that 6 will be within my reach. I just need to improve on going above and beyond by (a) using the supplementary books more, (b) taking advantage of the section links on Fusion, (c) doing extra studying with material outside of what Mr. Tillay provides to the class.

I.NEED.TO.IMPROVE #3- Socratic Dialogue. I think I'm doing okay in this. I communicate, but I feel like sometimes you have to push the class before they start communicating. I want to get to the point where it's second-nature. When you sent the email to me about extending the Lab deadline, I realized that I wasn't communicating very well. Hopefully, those upcoming after-school Tuesdays will affect this.

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23. Right now, I define/interpret Physics as what it is NOT. I realize now that it is NOT memorization and regurgitation. Rather than memorizing the formulas, it's better if I understand it. For example, Newton's Second Law: force may equal mass times acceleration, but what does that really mean?

Physics is NOT cramming and it is NOT multiple-choice. Unlike Biology (which I had last year), I cannot do a crash course on the subject the day before the Quiz. I also cannot rely on chance to favor my logical thinking when it comes to those Quizzes. Multiple-choice is only a baby fish, while the Essay and Problem-Solving are the bigger fish to fry.

Physics is NOT based on scientific facts, it is based on application. Physics allows us to understand how but more importantly, why things work. We learn Physics by DOING it.

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24. First and foremost, I want to say "Thanks Mr. Tillay!" for all that you've already done in attempts of getting the class to become better students. In my case, a buttload of problem-solving help would be greatly appreciated. As you already know, I will be coming in every Tuesday after school. Problem-solving with Tillay- I'm expecting the frustration but I'll always remember that "It's only the first hundred years that are hard."

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25. Honestly, the Tillay Problem-Solving Handout isn't the best way for me to learn. Perhaps "Problem Solving On Demand" would work better for me. By that I mean: doing a problem on the board, but through dialogue. Instead of you just showing us how to do the problem, get us involved in the problem-solving steps. If that means calling us out, then so be it. I'd rather feel the pressure to answer/contribute something to the problem than just watch how it should be done, or see corrections being done on problems other people had solved during Boardwork. I'm the type to learn from my mistakes, so the more mistakes I make.. the more I learn.

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26. EARNEST SALGADO aka Big E. Overall, he has helped me with all aspects of the class. We argue about the concepts sometimes, but it always ends up in both of us gaining knowledge. He's helped me through problem-solving and stuck with me through the labs. He pushes me to not slack off and motivates me to "beast", as he calls it.

MAUREEN TIGNO. I've only experienced working on two labs with her, but she was a great lab partner to work with. Our collaborations through chatrooms and the Share feature on Gmail were instrumental in my 'studying'.

RAYMOND SAPIDA. Although he's not a student, he WAS one. He's been through the class and survived. He gives me tips on what to do, but just enough to get me thinking. I appreciate that he doesn't take the easy way to just give me the answers, but rather, he provides me with hints. He takes time to help me through things I don't understand, especially when Tillay has his hands full with other matters. Recently, he helped me get through Lab#4 (18)- Atwood's Machine. He's done so much...

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27. My Time Log currently has 54 entries (including this evaluation assignment). Assuming that I finish this no later than 8:45 p.m., my total hours add up to 68 hours and 25 minutes.

Seeing as that I will be working on extra assignments after this, I estimate the final sum to be around 75 hours.

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28. As you've probably already noticed, I blog in this post outside evaluations. The content of those blogs describe my concerns towards how I'm approaching this class. Recently, I've been going through a lot of emotional times, especially with my parents. The previous blog should be able to give you a general idea of what's happening. I haven't turned in recent assignments (i.e., Notebook check, Cornell Chp. 5, and Questions Chp. 5) because of those problems. I'll be getting those done tonight though, I hope. I also stayed home from school today as well because of the problems. I didn't want to go to school being all "emo" as we kids call it, so I thought it a better choice to stay home and work on the labs. Anyways, my skin is getting thicker with each passing day, but I'm still a bit unstable. If anything, do know that I'm always putting in effort in this class. It's the least I can do.