Been to class lately?

I spent the last two days of the work week in class.
I’m preparing to take the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam and a group of us from work are taking a five day prep course.
Let me just start by saying that while it has been some time since I’ve been in a classroom, NOTHING has changed.

Remember the kid in class who had the answers to everything?!
Yup - we had two of them. There were only 13 of us in the course and we had two “Know-it-all/I-have-all-the-answers” types.
You know the ones, you’re one minute away from break, and he or she puts up her hand to make some comment or as some question that will require a 10 minute answer.
If you stand between me and food, you are not my friend!

In high school I was plagued with constantly getting caught talking. (surprise, surprise right?) I will never forget my favourite French teach, Monsieur Harkin. In every class I heard, “Mr. George and Miss Cherrie” followed by “please share what is so funny/interesting/etc. with the class.” Again, nothing has changed. I was asked a number of times what was so funny or what was causing me to smile. It wasn’t my fault my seat mate made a funny comment!

We still got homework...and I still didn’t do it. I mean really - there were FAR more important things to do on Thursday night. Sushi dinner, hockey and hello, game 6 of the World Series! (Congratulations St. Louis Cardinals!)

Me at St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium this summer

And when I made efforts to get to class EARLY on Friday morning to read those two chapters I was supposed to read for homework? I drove almost all the way to class (Starbucks in hand), when I realized I forgotten one of my two textbooks at home! UGH! Yup, I drove all the way home again to get it, and was late 15 minutes for class...

I can tell you that some things do change.

After each chapter we studied in class, we did a quiz from the textbook.
I have not changed the fact that I am the fastest test taker in the world. (Seriously, if I was given 3 hours for an exam, I would be done in 1.5 hours.)

But what has changed is that I now know how I learn.
And I am well aware that without having read the text, I will not pass the quiz.
So when I consistently scored 60-70% on the in class quiz, I did not freak out. I can’t say I was a perfectionist in school but a score like that, would have killed me...

It’s a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.
I should be reading the two 500 page texts in prep for the next three days of class.
But truly, there are far more interesting things to be done :)