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

Just an addendum to the cancelled field trip of my Introduction to Electricity and Magnetism Lab students: by the end of the class some of the students had already persuaded their classmates to offer two of their vehicles for our off-campus activity. That only left a third of the class without transport. I gave until our next lecture meeting to arrange it, otherwise the assignment stays.

One of the topics I promised to expound on a few days ago was the proliferation of students adding and dropping subjects during the first two weeks of the term.

Some, like Deiv, had to drop some of their subjects that were dissolved to be able to process the refund they would get from those paid for but unused units. Deiv, for example, was supposed to enroll now in the INELMAL class that is held in the morning instead of in the afternoon, where he was the only student. He said this now conflicted with one of his minors, which was from 940-1110am on Wednesday and another day. I advised, and the secretary concurred, that he should then drop the minor because he would have to drop the lecture class as well if he did not take the lab for this term. Besides, what I’m teaching him is a major subject while he can take that minor anytime.

His protest, which was that he already participated in some requirements for that subject, was the lesser waste to give up rather than have him in school a year longer than necessary.

The same was true with some of the students who say they enlisted in the Graphics One 11am-2pm class (but went no further, no assessment, no payment – no wonder the class list only registered one enrollee). They had to move to either the 8-11am class or the 2-5pm class, both of which had sufficient students not to be dissolved.

Others had to drop and add subjects as well because the new schedules of some of their previously enrolled classes were in conflict with other subjects. At this point it was a matter of deciding which subject to retain to make them graduate earlier, and which minor had a chance of being offered more than once a year.

And although the Dean had vehemently refused to approve of changing sections (but still retaining the same subject) just because they don’t like the teacher, some of the juniors were able to get their way around it, such as when their new schedules left them no vacant from 8am to 4pm.

What I also discovered is that Engineering Computer Aided Design, which is held in the computer lab, had a second section that did not get dissolved. And apparently, the two schedules are Tuesday and Friday 240-550pm. Then again, the class size for this is based on the number of machines available in the lab at one time, which is a different number from the usual class size.

In my first subject on the fourth day of the second week of classes for the second of classes for the first trimester, this new school year, I decided that the coverage of the quiz the next day would be up to what he had discussed the meeting prior. The last two topics of the first chapter could be included in the next week’s quiz.

That means that we just used the class for board work recitation. It is a very good way for the students to have an idea about what will come out in the test. We were able to elicit about eighty percent of the students to the board, although it was already very telling who had difficulty with just the relatively simple questions. Good thing I didn’t give them the option of passing up the recitation, or I would have ended up with less participants.

There is a story about at least one student who was trying to manipulate the activity that I’ll discuss tomorrow. For now, session 614 ends here. Class dismissed.