Review Sessions

I have always struggled with review sessions. I like to have them, if possible outside of class. It's one time when I know that I have the students' attention, and, if it is outside of class, I can take the time I need to work through the examples, and not have to move on to get more done before the end of the hour.

The problem is scheduling them. I basically gave up doing outside-of-class reviews in Elementary Stats, because I'd go to a lot of trouble to find out when people were available, and I'd take time out of my day -- sometimes out of my personal time -- and I'd get two out of 60 students showing up.

This semester, I've been doing review sessions for Modern Algebra in the evening, after the little Joggers are in bed. That works out well in one way, because I don't have to feel like I'm taking time away from my family. And I've had good attendance, although it was less last night than the first two. This may be a sign that some students didn't feel the first two were helpful. Nonetheless, we got half the class, and I am pretty sure that I helped some of them, and they will be better prepared for the exam than if I hadn't done it.

The big problem is that I am totally wiped out today. I didn't get home until about 10:45, way past my normal bedtime. And I didn't get to sleep right away, either, because I was still wound up. So I probably lost an hour and a half or two hours of sleep last night. It really affected my concentration. I did the things I absolutely had to do, but they took longer than usual, and I didn't have any patience for the stuff that I need to do eventually.

Oh, well, early bed tonight, and I'll be back on tomorrow.