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

I was talking about academic advising, and the proposed courses offered for next term, the first of the new school year.

My cousin - whose computer programming courses in his two-year degree before were not credited - will only now start taking those courses, making him a full two years behind his batch mates in those subjects. In terms of math subjects, he is one subject (Differential Equations) behind them.

There is no Integral Calculus offered for next term, although I told most of the students who went for advising that they could check again during adjustment/enlistment if there were enough failures this term to warrant opening another section along with their number.

Now, on to my Electromagnetic Theory exam: the questions I gave them were made last week. There were only four, one for each of the topics we had: electric field, flux, potential (all three of which used integrals) and getting the electric field from the potential, which uses partial derivatives.

The only things new were that, first, the equation for the electric field in computing for the flux was of the second degree and unlike the first-degree equation we had as an example before.

Second, the electric field would not have any components cancelled out because it was only a half circle of charge, with each fourth having a different polarity.

Other than that, the problems were the same as they have encountered before.

I already allowed them to come up with a reference sheet (which they called the “reference cheat”) with all the equations needed.

But within the first ten minutes of the exam, when they were all staring blankly at their papers and I had to remind them about how some of the questions looked like the ones we solved in class before, that I allowed them to open their notes.

Looking back, maybe I should have provided them with a list of derivatives and integrals as well.

And they all passed their papers within the first two hours, not spending the whole three hours like I had anticipated. So much for showing me that they needed from 4 to 8pm to complete my exams like in their other major subjects.

In another front, we were able to measure the new faculty room we are going to be moving to on the third floor next school year. Cubicles are less than ten inches smaller, but there will be more of us. And I have already marked down my territory (not THAT way) right beside the stand up air conditioner and facing two windows, and best of all, the farthest from the entrance that the students may potentially use.

The guidance councilor’s office will have a separate entrance, and the reception area would have a narrower passage for preventing the students from just rushing into the cubicle area. We will also have our own self-locking exit door.

Next time I’ll talk about my latest Advanced Mathematics and mechanics lecture classes, and the Second Annual Talent Night. For now, class dismissed.