Mathematics

My fellow students and I had a proper mathematics class this afternoon. While mathematics is amongst my worst school subjects, I actually enjoyed this lesson because the teacher had a clear teaching style and because he started us off with mathematical basics (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

The teacher also focused on rounding and negative numbers. The latter is always something that I've had trouble with but after today I feel as though I have a much better understand of it than ever before. If all our mathematics lessons will be like this one, I think we'll be okay.

Sheffield (2)

Here are four pictures from yesterday's visit to Sheffield. The primary reason for travelling to Sheffield was to view the student accommodation for one of my cousins; most pictures I took were of the accommodation.

This is Sheffield Hallam University, as viewed from the entrance to Sheffield's train station. The other university in the city is the University of Sheffield.

This is a Tesco Extra; Tesco is the largest retailer in the United Kingdom. Prior to visiting Sheffield, I had never been inside a Tesco Extra before; Tesco Extras are massive - way larger than the regular superstores. The above store also had a built-in parking garage and the shopping area was above it.

This is a bricked back street near the centre of Sheffield. I took this in the evening when we were walking to a pub for our dinner.

This is a street that is located in the centre of the city. Like the centres of other British cities, there is an abundance of commerce in the middle of Sheffield.

I think my cousin is going to have a great time in Sheffield during their stay at university. They have decent accommodation, are attending a respected educational institution and have easy access to local amenities.

Sheffield

I spent the day in the city of Sheffield, which is located in the county of South Yorkshire, with my East of England relatives. I have a few pictures of Sheffield for tomorrow's blog post.

Speaking up

Today's English class was a proper lesson; there were no assessments or mini-inductions. We began to learn about the techniques that speakers use to convey their messages, such as hyperbole, metaphors and personalisation. We analysed Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" and a speech made by King George VI at the outbreak of World War II for metaphors and similes; we worked in pairs while analysing.

Until this afternoon, I hadn't contributed much to classes and had only answered my teachers once or twice each. In today's class, I spoke up on multiple occasions and had valid points to make (I was the person who brought up the aforementioned hyperbole, although I think I might have gone on about it a million times); one term I named was onomatopoeia.

I definitely enjoyed the lesson. I look forward to having many more similar to it.

Full house

The class had a full house this afternoon: anyone who had been in at least one of the previous classes was present today. We had a minor recap of last week's work but nothing too deep and we didn't have any sort of mini-induction. I expect a minor recap tomorrow but I think that we are properly getting down to business now!

Of course, this means that the workload will increase and that we'll receive additional homework. I have nearly completed the work I was given yesterday; all I need to do is clean up the wording a little and then send it to my Employability teacher. Best to tackle homework as soon as possible; if it were to build up I would start falling behind, which I do not want to happen.

I hope that we'll have a full house in every class (or at least in the vast majority of them) from now on; I still don't know the names of all of my fellow students. There is a small group of them with whom I get along extremely well, but it would be beneficial to know as many people in the class as possible.

Also, during my bus ride back home, the vents on the vehicle were open, which allowed in the breeze. What was even better was that my seat was located in a place that caught much of the breeze; I had a comfortable and cooling journey back, which was ideal for this hot day.

Homework

During today's Employability lesson, the class was given its first piece of homework: a short essay (500 words) about the various methods one can use to find a job, such as looking online or through newspapers. We're not just writing a simple list: we have to go into some detail about each method. It's a harder task than I thought it would be but I'll get it completed before the deadline, which is next Wednesday. It's the first homework - outside of homeschooling - that I've had in over seventeen years!

Part of the lesson was dedicated towards induction - although nowhere near as extensive as what we had last week - as we had five new students appear in the class this morning. I'm hoping that we now have everyone who was accepted onto the course; we don't need any more mini-inductions! One of my fellow students and I were talking this morning about the inductions we've had.

The distant power plant

Remember the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station? Here it is from a distance:

I've been wanting to photograph the power plant from this vantage point for several days but I didn't have a good enough chance to do so until early this evening. I'll see if I can photograph it at an earlier time on a day when the sky is clear.

Fourth class

Today's Mathematics class was surprisingly short. The math teacher wasn't present; instead, another teacher was there, who gave us all a math(s) assessment. Unlike the assessments that we all did last Friday, which we completed on computers, this was done entirely on paper. We all finished this new assessment in either just under or just over an hour. After that, we all left.

None of us could work out why we had another math(s) assessment or why that was the only task we had to do this afternoon. While no one had any complaints about the day's low workload, one student was concerned about what would happen if someone scored low on the assessment, such as if they would be removed from the course. I think I did okay; I think I had a better performance on the written test than I did on the computer-based math(s) test.

With any luck, next Monday should include a proper mathematics lesson, to be taught by the proper teacher.

Ducks in white water

My grandfather and I visited Holme Pierrepont this afternoon. We watched these two ducks - likely a mating pair - peck food from the bottom of the white water course area:

I didn't photograph the couple together; they were both too busy eating to move closer to each other.

Holme Pierrepont was busy today; there was a boating event taking place. The event was over before we finished our walk around the main water area.

Two bus events

Two notable events happened yesterday on the bus:

The first was that I witnessed a driver change-over, which I hadn't seen before. When the bus pulled in at the Nottingham main bus depot, the driver collected his items, said goodbye to his former passengers and then exited. The new driver then boarded the bus.

As for the second, remember the bus driver who remembered me? He boarded just as the new driver took over; the difference is, the driver who remembered me was riding as a passenger, not as a driver. I suppose even bus drivers sometimes need to use the bus as well, huh? He said hello to me as he walked past, so I'm guessing that he remembered me for a second time; if not, at least he was being friendly.

I've now been riding the buses in Nottingham for long enough now to start recognising some of the drivers, besides the one with the good memory.

Third class

My English class was today. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this lesson as much as the previous two; this was because two thirds of it were towards an assessment while the remaining third was the actual lesson. Our teacher had to put us through an assessment for English and Mathematics; the entire class was taken aback by this because we already completed the assessment prior to applying for our college course.

I was disappointed that my results in English this time around were lower than what they were when I underwent the assessment back in April. While I acknowledge that I didn't read some of the questions properly and answered in haste, there were some mitigating factors for me reduced score: the questions were different, so at least I didn't secure a lower score with the same set of questions. Some of the questions were poorly worded and would have been more open to interpretation in non-assessment situations. There were also a couple of software bugs that were preventing students from correctly answering a couple of the questions. As for my performance in the Mathematics assessment, it was only slightly worse from April. On the bright side, the assessments will give the teachers insight into where we all need improvements, so the two hours spent on this new assessment will benefit us all in the long run.

Our teacher was, once again, great. She was more strict than the previous two but in an entirely pleasant manner. She had a mini-rant about the use of mobile phones both in and outside the class; there was a funny moment, however, when a phone rang and it was hers! She apologised and is determined to not let that happen again. It also wasn't her fault that everyone underwent a second assessment.

I don't have any further classes for this week, given that tomorrow is Saturday. I return to college on Monday, which is when I have my Mathematics lesson.

Second class

My second class at college occurred this afternoon; the lesson was Sociology, which I will have every Thursday. The first half of the lesson was another induction, which my teacher was trying to avoid because the Sociology exam will be in May rather than June; it was also about the two field trips that students on my course will be able to take.

The first trip will be to London and will be in mid-October; the trip involves visiting some of the museums there, such as the Imperial War Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The second trip is a visit to Auschwitz in Poland. There are some fees involved for both trips: I will be able to pay the fare for London but it is not financially possible for me to visit Poland, so I have to rule the latter trip out.

The second part of the lesson involved the class being split into groups and debating how to build a new society on an island if the rest of humanity were to be destroyed. There were no right or wrong answers; however, our teacher did present arguments against anything that we thought would help build and maintain this fictional new society (she did say that she would play devil's advocate), and she pointed out aspects that me missed, such as the construction of toilet facilities. The entire class enjoyed the debate.

As for the teacher herself, I liked her. She was effective at getting her points across and she knew how to appropriately add humour. I had an idea of what to expect from her because she helped me with one of my forms on enrolment day.

Tomorrow's subject is English! I've been good at that subject in the past and I'm hoping that'll hold true for tomorrow and every English class I have afterwards.

First class

My first class at college was this morning. My lessons on Wednesdays will focus on employability, such as practising CV writing and teamwork; however, as this was my group's first day, the time allocated for the lesson was an induction/introduction to provide students with information. We had a brief tour of the college, followed by a short lesson about the library and its resources. When we returned to the classroom, we then got to know a little bit about our fellow classmates, and discuss our hopes and concerns about our course.

I liked who will be my teacher for the employability classes; she was patient, calm and helpful, and was effective at using humour to deal with problems. I also like how students are encouraged to ask questions; as I am new to the British education system, I will find this useful.

My only criticism of the day is that I don't feel like I really met any of my fellow students and thus, didn't make any friends. That being said, this was the first day and I'm hopeful that I will make friends as the school year progresses and people become more comfortable.

We are expected to have a heavy workload, which I was anticipating. It is possible that this will cut into my time to blog; if so, I will end up missing days, which will be a first for me. I didn't expect to maintain a post per day for this long, so if I'm reduced to writing only two or three posts a week, it's something that is far overdue.

Overall, I had a good time at the college this morning. I'm curious to see what tomorrow and Friday will bring.

"Self Control" - Laura Branigan

In the mid-2000s, I was introduced to this song from the 1980s, which was in my parents' record collection:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8-pP4VboBk

It's "Self Control" by Laura Branigan, which comes from her third studio album, also called Self Control. The song was a major hit in Australia, Canada, across Europe and in the United States in 1984. "Self Control" was co-written by Raf, an Italian singer; he co-wrote it with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. Raf's and Branigan's versions of "Self Control" were hits simultaneously.

"Self Control" and "Gloria" are Branigan's best-known songs. In 1993, Branigan released Over My Heart, her final studio album. Sadly, Branigan died over a decade ago on August 26th, 2004, at the age of 47. The cause of her death was a cerebral aneurysm.

Interestingly, an instrumental version of "Self Control" was used in a modded version of an ancient (by computer standards) DOS game. I heard Branigan's original before I heard the game instrumental.

Bloggers Blog Party - August 2014

August 2014's Secret Life of Bloggers Blog Party post features five images:

Saturday, 2nd August: This is the smoke from the fireworks at the Nottingham Riverside Festival. It was on this night that I learnt how effective the low light picture setting on my phone's camera is.

Saturday, 9th August: My brother had some chocolates left over from his birthday, which occurred several weeks earlier; he shared these these two Mint Aeros with me.

Friday, 15th August: My old pair of earbuds, which, as I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, died. It can't be seen in this picture, but there is damage to the plug. The only part of the earbuds that I kept are the muffs, which I transferred onto my new pair.

Thursday, 21st August: These two food items are gifts that my mother bought me for my move to Nottingham. Hot chocolate and soy sauce are an interesting combination, don't you think? (Don't worry, I like both, but not together.)

Wednesday, 27th August: When Dad, my brother and I were out on our walk, we encountered this trailer-mounted diesel engine water pump by the bank of the Trent. It is unknown if the machinery still works.