Woozle/school/1980/11/30/Goodwillie
Transcript
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Summary
class description (purple mimeograph)
Topics & Concepts covered this term: review of the metric system and scientific notation; unit analysis / factor cancellation; estimation of results / a feeling for the "correctness" of answers, ability to visualize the scope of a given problem; mixtures and separation techniques; elements and their organization in the periodic table; conservation laws leading to the mole concept and its extensive use; writing formulas, naming compounds, writing and balancing equations;, formation of ions in solution; concentration calculations; kinetic-molecular theory of gases, and pressure/volume/temperature relationships.
student specifics (handwritten)
Nick has made steady progress this term. He started the term much like last year: little effort or participation – just will to move ahead in his innate ability. He does not take notes in class, reads the book occasionally, and usually cannot answer direct questions in class.
The material this year is considerably more difficult than last year, and his approach met with limited success. After mediocre performances on the first two tests, he seemed much more open to a serious, honest discussion. I told him that ability was useless without serious effort/investment in learning – that there were many other talented students in the class that were leaving him in the dust. Some of this seemed to sink home, particularly the talent vs. effort angle.
His last test showed considerable change in attitude & technique (improvement). Nick has just started this process of serious learning. He must continue to strive for clear understanding & depth of thought. I don't believe he has scratched his potential & is beginning to see how to utilize it. I think he needs a bit more firm outside direction & frank comments.
Tests: 58/86, 48/60, 45/50
Commentary
This was, of course, long before I discovered my gender dysphoria, so people are still referring to me with male pronouns.
“...he seemed much more open to a serious, honest discussion. I told him that ability was useless without serious effort/investment in learning – that there were many other talented students in the class that were leaving him in the dust. Some of this seemed to sink home, particularly the talent vs. effort angle.”
I do have a vague memory of this conversation. Some points:
- I think I remember feeling kind of shocked that Mark would believe I thought brains made effort unnecessary. I was always interested in science, especially then, and wanted to learn more about it.
- I was also depressed and didn't know it, which made it difficult to be motivated.
- I was almost certainly feeling "more open" to discussion at this point because I finally had some friends who made me feel like I deserved to exist (most notably Jenny). I finally had a bit of motivation to spare; the depression began to lift substantially.
- I had been trained at DA that demonstrating any kind of apparent superiority was good. I didn't like that attitude, but I thought it was what I was supposed to do. This is probably part of what Mark interpreted as me standing on my "innate ability" without making any effort.
“I think he needs a bit more firm outside direction & frank comments.”
"Frank"? Well, honest and direct, yes... but also listening. "Firm" would just send me into spirals of feeling inadequate. What I really needed was regular, frequent talk-therapy. Anti-ADD or anti-depression medication might have been a good idea too, though I'm not sure what existed back then.
Scans
