Classes for the quarter

As of today, I've finally attended all of my classes for the quarter. I couldn't be happier with the outcome of my schedule.

First and foremost, I don't have to have physics with K. Johnston. To understand why I am so happy about this, I've decided to include a portrait of how I invision her.

Yes, my friends it was that bad. Any teacher who doesn't understand that you may, at some point in the 12 week period while you're in her class, have to use the restroom is an utter moron. Of course I may be slightly biased because I had to drop her course because she made me turn in an incomplete test to use the restroom when I was sick with some kind of stomach something or other. However, I was not smuggling a cheat sheet in my boxers. I wasn't going to consult a hidden physics major in the bathroom stall. I just wanted to do what my body told me I had to do. I tried to politely explain to my bowels "Excuse me, would you mind being a bit more patient. You see, this woman's class policy is that we may not leave the class at any time." However, they didn't seem to understand. I can understand a teacher's policy for not allowing people to use the restroom during tests, but there have to be exceptions. If it becomes a problem, then take care of it. However, I'd never interrupted a lecture to use the restroom before... that's enough of that rant...

In stark contrast to that, this semester I have Dr. Donald Haynie. So far, he seems to be a bit of a short tempered person, but he explains everything EXTREMELY well. He goes above and beyond what's necessary to have a grasp of the concepts we cover in phys202. The enthusiasm he has for teaching us the concepts translates into a desire for us to want to know what he's so excited about. He breaks everything down and uses real world examples of how this concept is applied. It's how teaching should be.

This same enthusiasm for teaching seems to be shared by my other professor Dr. Sumeet Dua. He is extremely excited about Data Mining, in particular data mining for bioinformatics (the course that I'm taking). You can tell when he talks that this is what he was meant to do.

I think it makes a profound impact on the students in a class when the professor is so excited about a subject. This class is a good example. The class is at 8 in the morning. He turned the lights off for 1.5 hours for a slideshow and I didn't see a single person asleep. You may not see the importance of this, but remember, we're dealing with Computer Scientists here. We are, by nature, night creatures who live off of large amounts of british humor and caffiene.

I've got another class, Discrete Math, which I'm not as excited about, but overall the schedule looks to be great. I just hope I can get the grades I need to get outta here this quarter. These classes may be taught well, but the subject matter is no joke.