3rd Progress Report

My attendance for this class has been slightly rough.. As I transitioned from the end of first to the beginning of second quarter, I missed a few days because of a trip I took to Hawaii. After that, I probably missed a few other days because of getting sick from my friends. From my absences, I was able to still learn what I had missed and catch up to the pace of the class. Aside from my absences, I have never been late to any of my classes.
Writing in my planner and keeping my time log up to date has been an improvement. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I have made a lot of changes as to how I organize my life. Lately I have been using both efficiently and will continue to do so. I have improved from barely using either to utilizing them as much as I can to this day.

My quiz grades have not been very good ever since I entered this class. I see this as a result from not putting in enough hours to study the required content of each unit and chapter before the quizzes are given. There will be an improvement in quizzes and knowledge of content that they require.
Lately our class has not done a lab report. From what I remember, I might have used personal pronouns in conclusions when I only now realize that I was not supposed to. If I have continuously used them in all of my reports, I will make sure to correct my mistakes in the future to prevent writing lab reports that fall into the category of “sucking.”
In keeping up with the online assignments and tasks, I can say I at least did all of the practice questions and signed in almost every day. Last week was the first week I did a set of practice problems. I will continue to improve my progress throughout the year by attempting all of my assignments online, being that this is also a large part of my grade.
My homework abilities have improved slightly but need more working on. I continue to read the textbook and outlines but had not done that enough until this week. During class, I take note on lectures that Mr. T gives us, along with typing notes after taking them, whether they are from videos or from other groups presenting
In communication with Mr. T during lectures, I have yet to master Socratic Dialogue. I have recently been trying to achieve a higher Socratic Dialogue in determination to understand what is being taught or reviewed due to my recent change in study habits.
My study group continues to divide up the work and help each other in understanding concepts when assigned problems. Working with my group members is important because of the teamwork and communication skills it promotes, along with collaborating. I contribute to my group through working as one unit.

Based off of this progress report, I think I deserve a grade around a C+, where as what I’d like would be a B. I will continue throughout the year to strive for an A, now that I have taken control of my life.

Change... Yes I Can

About a month ago, Mr. T gave us another lecture on life. The main point of giving it to us was to help us understand what we needed to be and if it were to ever occur, when and how it would happen. Due to our study habits at the time, and for some still today, the need for a drastic change was required for us to be able to be successful both within AP Physics and life. He instructed and explained how we would know when we changed, describing it as if it was some sort of Holy Grail. The only way we would know we changed was if we woke up one day, at any point in our lives, and realized it at that moment that from thereon our life would be “different. I am glad to say that I experienced this event earlier this week. I discovered an indescribable feeling in which I knew there was something different about how I looked at life and wanted to change my own. From earlier comparisons of academic work this year, I have been what you can consider “slackin to the max.” Within the past few days, I have been improving in all of my AP classes, wanting to achieve better understandings of content and improving in my performances. I have also changed the way I am outside of school, creating better time management skills that are allowing me to accomplish many things that I would have never been able to do before. Although it is just the beginning of my “comeback,” greater evidence of improvement will become noticeable in the near future. I’d like to personally thank you, Mr. T, for helping me change my way of life to create a better and more appreciable one. I can finally achieve my goals that never seemed possible.

- Nicholas Tomas