Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

It’s Tuesday and only now I’m talking about Friday. At least it’s a change from the past two weeks. But I got to catch up soon.

In my first Trigonometry class four days ago I returned their most recent test papers to them already. This was as per my promise to Dudley that he’ll be able to find out his current standing and to stop Deiv from bugging me about their results already.

It’s funny: they’re both grade conscious but have completely different backgrounds, skills and study ethics.

Now, since they still have one long exam this coming Friday, I could not call their results so far the pre-final grade. And it is far beyond the midterm standing already. It was the end of the eleventh week of classes, in fact, in the fourteen week scheme the term.

So contrary to how we computed their midterm grades and how I usually let the students compute their pre-final grade, this time I just let them consider two scenarios: the worst case, where their last long exam, their finals and their 10% for the seat works, home works and recitations are all zero; and the best case, where these are all perfect.

Their first quiz, which is over 34 instead of over 50, had to be adjusted for the 50-point equivalent. Same with their first long exam, where the highest is 94 that had to be proportioned to 100 points. Their second quiz remained as is because there were people who got perfect (and beyond, thanks to the excess points I gave as well as the bonuses).

The totaled these with the theoretical marks of the their second long exam then took fiftty percent of this. Making up the rest of their grade is forty percent for the finals and the aforementioned ten percent for “class participation”.

And since this gave only gave them a range but not any realistic score to aim for, I gave them a formula I derived on the spot from which they could come up with one minimum percentage for both the last long exam and the finals that they should at least surpass to be able to get the lowest passing grade for the course.

I heard Dudley cursing that he had to strive for 78% for both the last long exam and the finals to pass. Unfortunately, basing it on past performance, he really has to apply himself to be able to achieve this, unlike Deiv, who has to severely under-perform to start being worried about that possibility. Not that that makes me like him more that the other. I just hope the projected high marks don’t justify his behavior in his eyes.

Anyway, after that we had some examples on the double angle and half angle identities, which are all included in their last exam, including the sum to product and product to sum identities discussed but will be sampled next session.

Is it time already? I still have to talk about the examples-to-assignment mentality that some students have in this class, as well as Deiv’s final request at the inappropriate time. There is also the different session for the afternoon Trigonometry class, the pinch-hit academic advising, and yesterday’s similar electricity and magnetism lecture session. But those are for next time. Right now, class dismissed.