BOB

My muddiest ponit this week was with inverse functions. Being able to solve those was very hard for me at some points I did not understand them. Being able to tell if it was an inverse function just blew my brains to the wall. I hope i can get better at this as the tri goes on.

Bob

We took the test on Friday, I now understand what you meant by it truly evaluates what you know, I hope this coming unit I can fully keep up with since I missed so much.

BOB 2

BOB Reflection 

        Well i cant say I've completely achieved what i wanted but i was relieved to see that Mr. Jackson's statement regarding the homework being more rigorous than the test, was true. Overall the test wasn't as hard as i thought, however it would still be wise to make sure I completely understand and can use all content from this past week. In the past homework was an issue for me as i saw it for a useless time pit, but it has proven useful in studying for the test.

B.O.B. Week 2

When I was working on the review for this test, I thought I was going to fail. Like, completely, horribly fail it. The review was incredibly hard for some reason. When I started, I thought it was good. Then I looked at the answer key, and my answers totally did not match up. I went into the test thinking it was going to be awful, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. For some reason I got there and things sort of made sense. On the review, I'd had problems with domain. I could get the right numbers, but was unsure of when there were 2 or 3 "parts" to the domain. On the test, it just sorta clicked. I don't know why, but something happened after I started. I actually remembered things we'd talked about in class--the opposite of what normally happens to me during a test.

The one big problem for me, however, was (I think) number 14, where we had to find the function that would create the domain (-infinity, 5)U(5, 7)U(7, infinity). I was doing all these things, and nothing worked. I'd have an idea, try it, have it fail. Over and over. I knew I needed -5 and -7 on the bottom of a rational, but for some odd reason I couldn't actually get the right function. For over half an hour. Eventually, I decided I'd give myself one more try. If I still couldn't get it, then I'd just be done and give up. And then it worked. It was so weird--why did my brain finally decide to come up with the right answer at that moment?!? And why couldn't it have done it earlier??? I have no idea why it took so long to get the right answer for that problem, but at least I finally managed to get it. 

And I now have one piece of advice for the tests. Don't stress. If you don't know it, just try. Over and over. If you still can't get it, it's ok to give up on one problem. Just try your hardest, and keep working at it. If you still can't get it, that's ok. Just try harder next time. That one problem may seem really important at the time, but in the grand scheme of things it's gonna be ok to miss that one problem. What is important is not giving yourself a heart attack by stressing out over it too much. As I have now learned.

B.O.B #2

If I were to summarize everything that has happened so far in precalc in one word it would be progress. I still am not fully aware on how to do everything we have worked on so far, but it's getting better. Studying as the class moves along go helps me a lot because that way I don't forget what we are working on. I am still really trying to grasp domain as a whole. I am also still trying to grasp inverse functions. I am a visual learner so I really like reading through the packets that are handed out to get a better understanding of not only how to do something, but why it is done. This class is not easy, but I am willing to work hard. I have motivation to do well in this class and leave understanding the material instead of questioning it.

B.O.B #2. Reflection

So far I have made alot of progress in this class especially when it comes to the domain and range.  I found it slightly confusing at first when we had to do the domain as a value range instead of an inequality.  Thankfully though my group helped me figure it out and I now find it alot easier.  The hardest part of the class so far was when we had to compose functions.  Mr. Jackson told us to use the sheets he gave us and our group to try to come up with the right domain for the composition.  It was confusing because not only did you have to take in account the inner function you also need to include the large function as a whole.  This confused us also because we kept trying to add the outers function domain to the problem which ended up creating a large domain that was too exclusive.  So my group and I looked back at the packet and realized our mistake.  After that no one in my group had any problem with that and we were doing very well on our homework.  The most confusing part of the entire unit was when the packet said we needed the domain of the function to find the domain of the function.  It confused us because it required us to have the functions domain to find the fun Final domain.  Then we realized that there was a first and a second domain for the function.  The normal solving for the domain and also the domain restricted by the inner function.  Thanks to my group we were able to help eachother understand why we did things the way we did, and we were also able to keep eachother from making any huge mistakes.
-Dakota C.

Bob #2

This first unit was kind of confusing I got some of it in the beginning but closer to the end it got really confusing I got a lot of help by you which helped a lot but I think I will do a lot better in the next units the test made my grade to a b which I want to improve because of the test but a c wasn't that bad on the first test.

Bob #2

I feel pretty good about this last week in math. The first few days, I was still kind of fuzzy on some of the concepts in class, and I was thinking I was not ready for this test what so ever. On Wednesday I decided to complete all of the homework and really push myself to work on my understanding of how to do all of the different types of functions, especially the inverse functions, since it was really confused at first. Thursday I flew through the review and when I took the test, I felt very satisfied with what I did. Right now my grade is at the spot I wanted to maintain. So overall, I would call this week in math a success. 

-Alex H-

BOB #2

The "muddiest points" last week in school was when we were learning about the inverse of a function. I didn't get the idea of why we had to change the"x" and "y". Secondly,  on the test #11 was really hard for me to understand I mean I tried but I feel when we take the exam those are the problems I would need to study more frequently.  Overall, last week was a struggle and most deffently took sacrifice just like Jackson said. In addition,  last week also took time and patience. I was up every night working on sections of the packets and most times I wanted to quite and be done but I pushed myself to finish and understand what I was doing wrong. 

Bob

I think that my grade in this class is a wake up call. I need to stop letting my other classes take up time I should dedicate for PC Functions. Even though I love going to the career center and drawing stuff on auto cad and inventor, I need to make time for pc functions. 

BOB #2

I don't know about anyone else but I thought the test last week was very easy! I think it's kinda cool how I have no idea what I'm doing the day before and with a lot of questions and studying I feel I did fairly well. I also find it kind of cool how Mr. Jackson can tell what people are struggling with and how he explains it all to the class. I also thought it was cool when I finally figured out inverse functions, immediately I looked at it and thought I was screwed and pretty much stated " I'm going to fail" but again after hard work and questions I pulled through.

BOB

This past week I was feeling very confident about the upcoming tests. As I went through my homework I understood everything and could fly through problems without any issues. The only thing I really struggled with was finding the inverse of functions. I think this was a problem for me because we worked on this for the least amount of time. I've talked to many people about it who did not understand them either and I think we should go over them a little more in class if possible. I think a little extra work with inverse functions will help everyone to understand them more clearly.

B.O.B. Progress

I am improving a lot in this class from my confusion during the first week.  Last week, I was caught up on my homework, and everything started to click in my head.  Going into class on Friday I was pretty nervous for the test because everyone had told me how hard it would be.  However, I guess hard work and preparation does pay off!  I think I was able to figure out all of the problems (I think!), and I am excited to go forward in this class.

B.O.B 2

A lot has been pouring into my brain this past few weeks in Pre calc. Just when i think i have got it, then something new comes up. I thought i was preparred for the test but when i actually took it i didnt feel that way at all. Iv been keeping up with my homework and i generally do it every night which has helped since i havnt fallen behind. The answer key really helps me a lot to actually be able to see how to do certain problems and to look back if i get the answer wrong and see where i messed up. I know stuff will sink in the more i do them so i know as the trimester goes on i will understand stuff better.

Reflection

This past week was pretty difficult in math for me because I was focused on other classes over precalc.  The test was probably a wake up call for me that there are many aspects in this class that I struggle with.  I am going to work hard to better understand the problems that we do and pay more attention to this class and it's workload. In the future I will spend just as much time on precalc homework as I do on other classes.

B.O.B #2

this first unit was just so confusing and kind of stressful. I tried doing as much as I could and doing what you said by looking at stuff on YouTube. It helped somewhat but not really. Then I tried asking for help with my family because they're really good at math like you but it still didn't seem to sink in but hopefully this next unit will 

B.O.B. 2

This week I was pretty happy with how I was progressing in class. Over the previous weekend I really tried to catch up on all of the homework. Although it was stressful working on math in the car for two hours it really helped come Thursday night. Reviewing for the test, I at first was very overwhelmed and had no idea of how I was going to remember everything. But when I sat down and looked over all of my notes I really felt prepared. The inverse functions started to come back and everything made sense. After the test I felt fairly confident that I did well. But those extra credit problems sure confused me!! I can't wait to learn how to solve them!

Bob2

Well. the test killed my grade and kicked my butt and I really thought I was beginning to understand. I'm glad we had a few days to review that helped a lot. Unfortunately my grade is not up to par and this class will only get harder. Maybe if we just had a little more practice but I know ther was some fresh material on that test but I'm glad we are given a challenge. Learning inverse of a function was not bad at all.  I somewhat enjoyed it actually. Yet domain still is managing to be my downfall. I hope this coming week will help me understand more but I fear I will go through this entire twelve weeks and remain confused and lost the entire time. I pray my brain can keep up and my grade will get better.

B.O.B #2 - Vance W.

         Unit 1 was very stressful for me, but it wasn't due to the content. I found that the math, while definitely difficult, was manageable. My problem was that I slacked quite a bit on the homework and got behind in all my classes. I've recently had a burst of motivation in school, and going forward I plan to stay on top of things. I'm excited to continue to learn in this class.

B.O.B-Reflection

This week was very interesting in math class. I had some great realization moments where concepts became very clear to me.  I pretty much mastered domain and range, while I also became very good at combining functions. I was able to understand why the answers were what they were. Still, I was very nervous for the test. I did the review and tried to perfect as many concepts as I could. I thought that the test on Friday went very well and I remembered a lot of the concepts. This week really boosted my confidence in my math skills.

B.O,B, Reflection on a day and the Test

Pre Calc has been a journey so far and the day you were gone when Maggie was sick i wanted to learn which some people think is outrageous. I'm happy Maggie is healthy and getting better #PrayforMaggie. It was crazy how i wanted to learn about something new and had a ton of questions. Also on the test Friday i felt comfortable with most of the stuff before the test day but i still had some problems on the inverse functions but for a first test i wasn't freaked out about doing bad but i didn't get the grade i wanted i felt like i did better with the homework then on my test. I like tests where theirs few questions and they are all explaining and showing work because you have a better chance of getting some points if you have partial of the question right.

BOB-Muddy Point

What I've had the most trouble with in the unit so far is finding the domain of combined functions. Finding the domain of a combined function of two rationals has especially challenged me. I think I now have a better understanding of how to find the domain of combined functions. Looking at the graph of the combined functions has really helped because I am a predominantly visual learner.

BOB reflection

Throughout this class so far its been getting easier after now that i'm finally getting back into "school mode" and that the mornings aren't seeming as early now and basically since i'm being able to be more awake during class i'm getting along in class easyer.

BOB. Moment of clarity.

Okay, the "aha" moment is this class this week was quite literal, as I actually said aha. Or "ohhhhh", which I feel qualifies. Anywho, this moment was on Thursday I believe, when Mr. Jackson went through the "steps to proving inverse functions" I have studies these steps extensively so far and, as I have not taken the test yet due to a brutal face injury, will continue to do so. This was an example of great teaching and learning and I love it. Thank you. 

A muddy point for me B.O.B..

This week was vey stressful for me in pre calc. I was nervous for the test and anxious about getting all of the homework done. A very muddy point for me was the inverse of functions. I thought I understood it until the test. I was pretty confident on the homework, but still nervous. After the test my brain was fried, from spending so much time on the one inverse problem that I didn't understand. I hope I can learn this concept and try to improve for the future.

B.O.B. reflection

I am still struggling with some of the concepts in class. Especially domain and range. I actually understand inverses pretty well but I still struggle with the domains.

B.O.B - Reflection

This week has been very stressful in this class but it is completely my fault. Thursday night before the test I was swamped with studying and catching up due to the fact that I procrastinated the last couple weeks. I spent almost four hours on just math and didn't go to bed until I got it done. Although I had many headaches I am proud of the grade I got on the test and for not giving up on Thursday night. If I learned anything from this week it is not to save everything for the last minute, but if I do,  don't get frustrated and give up because the reward is great.

B.O.B #2 test reflection

The test we took on Friday was a little easier than expected..at least I'm hoping. Some of the sections on the test were easy but some were still pretty difficult. After this test I have more hope for the rest of the trimester.

B.O.B. 2

This week in pre calc, we had our first test. Was I nervous about it? Yes, since I stress out over just about everything. I understand the material, but for some reason, sometimes I just draw a blank on the stuff I found simple to understand the day before. Which drives me crazy. It doesn't help that I have missed quite a few days of class due to an awful stomach virus (take vitamin C!), and I hope that during this next unit, I won't be so far behind and will understand plus remember everything completely. It's going to be a long week this week due to so many activities going on, but I'm ready to take on the week with a positive attitude in and out of the classroom.

B.O.B.-so far, so good!

I wasn't super concerned about the test because I understand everything the test was over pretty well. It took a little while to figure out how things work in Mr. Jackson's class, (not to mention my other 4 classes) but now I think I have the process down, and I'm ready to go for new stuff tomorrow.
-Kristin R

B.o.b. Test reflection

I was really really nervous before the test. Plus, I had so much trouble getting all the past homework done before class. However being forced to go over all those past lessons, it helped me master the skills about basic function problems. I feel pretty confident about how I did on the test except for one question. It was # 11 ,I worked on it for at least half an hour, and it was about inverse functions. Everything other than that on the test went fine. I hope I did good!

B.O.B.

This year math has challenged me to ask more questions. Usually I'm not one to hold in my questions, you can ask my friends. But when it comes to math class i feel that at first i held a lot of my questions in. As class kept going everyday i would raise my hand more and more and i realized that it was starting to help me a lot. Even by asking stupid little questions it cleared up every part of my confusion. Going into the test i was a lot more confident than i thought i would be and although my scores may reflect some of my confusion, i know that i did the best i could do to find the answers.

B.O.B. reflection

Probably one of the best moments in Jackson's class was when we were watching the announcements with the captions on. When they announced that Rachel Kinch was going to announce the volleyball game, the captions read "rectal cancer". Probably one of the best fails ever on earth.

B.O.B. Test Reflection

To be completely honest I was nervous going into the test, because I had more than just the test on mind.  So when I saw the test in front of me I became a little more on edge.  I went through about 85 percent pretty quickly and confidently, but there were a few problems that I wasn't quite sure how to do.  I got a little worried because nothing was coming to me, then a light bulb went off in my head and I put independent ideas together on those problems and was able to come up some decent answers.  Overall I thought I did pretty well, hopefully I get a good grade too.

BOB

reflective comments on my progress in this class

Well, I think I've done ok in this class so far. But definitely not to my full potential. Honestly, I did get kind of lazy on the home work but during the next unit I'm for sure going to buckle down and work on it 10x harder. However, I do feel pretty confident about the unit test *knock on wood* I think I did just fine and I'm excited to see my score!

BOB-muddiest point

So far my muddiest point in this class has been understanding domain and range. I sometimes confuse the different methods for finding them, such as when to set them equal to zero. I especially get confused when there is a radical over a radical and the other hard ones similar to that. It helped a lot though when I realized for this unit  we only had to worry about having a domain are radical and rational functions. This helped to clear up my confusion a little. It is also confusing to me when we are finding the inverse when there are two "X"s or two "Y"s. I am still working on understanding that. 

BOB: the test

I feel as though I did especially well on the latest test.  It felt as though everything came together, and that the problems weren't as hard as some of the ones on the homework.  I even answered the extra credit questions confidently.  Most likely I got a good grade on it, although I could have entirely failed it.  However, I would have done so confidently, which would make me feel better.

B.O.B.

This week in class I felt much more comfortable with the problems. We learned about inverses and that was probably the easiest part of the unit for me. On Thursday we were given the entire hour to work on the review and to finish any unfinished work before the test on Friday. The review period was very helpful for me in both helping me to review and giving me confidence for the test on Friday. Doing all the homework problems and asking questions when I was stuck really helped me in this unit. The test Friday was much easier than I thought it would be at the beginning of the unit.

B.O.B.

This week went by a little smoother. This class is still very challenging, but I understand how to find the domain of a wider range of problems now. I did all of the packets and finished every problem. I also went through the packets and did some of the extra questions that we skipped over, and the extra work definitely helped!

B.O.B. Reflection on My Progress

At the beginning of this course I was really scared because I was not understanding anything. After taking the test on Friday I realized that I really do know what I'm learning and it isn't as hard as I expected. Originally, domain and range where really screwing me up. I didn't understand how it worked or why it worked. Working through it with Taylor and Caleb helped me to learn it in a new way. They explained it in really dumbed down terms and helped me practice it until I fully understood it. I feel confident in this course now and I am excited for the next unit!

My B.O.B. (not forgotten)

Okay. So I didn't forget this week so I'm already off to a better start! But my BOB is about Thursday in class.
On Thursday in class I felt much better because I had everything done except the review. Yet as someone asked me a question about half way through class about Wednesday's homework (17, 19, and 21) I realized I had done that part completely wrong and that it was the same thing we had just done for the warm up. so I had to redo that section but how to properly use property of inverse functions and that it wasn't super hard. The part that got me confused was factoring the x and once we went over it in class it helped with other problems on the review.

Reflection Of My Work So Far

So far in Pre-Calc functions I have been having a hard time keeping up with the work in class. Coming up to the test on Friday I was doing a lot of math homework that I didn't keep up with. Even though I eventually did it all I feel like my understanding of this unit would have increase if I would have kept up with the work because instead of cramming all the practice the night before and if I would have kept up with the practice I feel like I would have had a better understanding where I was during the class and be able to study more throughout the course and increase my understanding and would have done better during the course. Looking to the future I'm going to have to stay on top of homework more and study more to be more successful in class.

Moment of Clarity

At first when Mr. Jackson was talking about factoring out x for finding the inverse of functions I was really confused. I finally understood it when he used numbers, instead of letters, to explain how to do it. Then I started how to remember how to do it from way back whenever we learned it. Understanding that gives me hope that I'll be able to understand other things too.

Hannah-R

B.O.B. Inverse Functions

When we started this week I knew we would be working on inverse functions. Most of it I remembered from algebra 2, but I learned some new things. I didn't know that if you take a function and its inverse and plug one into the other the answer is always what you put in, if nothing then x. I also didn't know how to solve for an inverse function, which is going to be very helpful from now on.

B.O.B. - Progress in the course

School started about one month ago and so did Precalc Functions. We started with the basics of functions, such as finding the domain and range of linear functions. Then it got more difficult to find the domain and range of radical functions. After this something completely new started, to make composing functions and finding their inequalities. First I didn't understand anything with composing functions, but then I reread the theory paper and could ask Olivia for help and after I have solved some problems I understood what the theory paper was talking about and now I understand how to compose functions and how to find their inequalities.

B.O.B. Muddy Memory

All the things we do in Pre Calc. remind me of puzzles, you have to know where to put the pieces together to get a finished product. Being me, Miss Forgetful, I can understand how to do a lot of the things in the class but I forget small details that you need to make all the pieces fit together. Like when I'm looking for a inverse I'll forget to multiply by a number on both sides. So, maybe its not Pre Calc. that's muddy for me, it just might be me being forgetful. For example, for the test we had this week I looked at the review packet and my notes the minutes before Pre Calc. but when I got the test I didn't know what to do on the questions even though I just looked at them. Oh well, I bet I'll get better at remembering and such. But I will have to admit, this was a tough unit due to how much was in it. Not only do I hope to remember stuff from the next unit I hope there is less in it so its easier to remember and unclog this muddy memory of mine.

Sincerely,

Miss Forgetful



B.O.B.

As Emma shared in her post, she made a chart to help her remember how to solve the domains.  She shared this chart with me.  I knew how to find the domain, but I had trouble remembering what formula to use and what kind of equations were all real numbers.  I used Emma's chart and it helped me to understand domains better, and to do better on the test

BOB: Muddiest Point

Okay, so my "muddiest point" this week has been trying to remember all of the exceptions to the rules of finding the domain of different functions. In an effort to better remember all of these details, I made a chart of how to find domains of different functions. In addition to the chart helping my own understanding, I was able to share it with others in class so that they could too understand it better. In making the chart, I realized all functions domains are all real numbers except for rational and radical functions; that's when it all gets complicated. I also made a smaller chart for finding the range of functions, and have been pairing similarities of functions together to better understand overall how to find the domain and range of any function. Another thing I have been troubling myself with is the difference between parenthesis and brackets when writing the domain and ranges of functions. I can never remember which one to use or which one includes/excludes the number listed in the domain/range. It's been taking me some time, and sometimes it makes me feel like I am behind, but slowly and surely I am getting there. I really do appreciate Mr. Jackson helping me with understanding all of this madness. I can tell he really wants everyone to succeed in his classes, and that motivates me to try my hardest as well. So in comparison to my last BOB, I feel like I'm starting to understand the information a small percentage better.

Muddiest point

Right now my muddiest point has to be keeping up with all the work that we have gotten. I have missed quite a fee days for work and it gets hard to catch up back on those days. I've had to come in early and get help with others in the class have helped me get caught up.

Muddiest Point

Through this unit we have received a lot of papers, starting with the basic review and finishing off with the function inverses. The hardest part for me has been retaining knowledge and finishing every paper in order to receive full credit in the homework section. Sometimes we would get many things to do, and with all the things I have to deal with outside of school it sometimes became a lot to deal with. I would not finish packets and now in this last week I have been scrambling to finish the problems that I left. I guess that isn't a bad thing though because it has been a bit of review. The muddy point has been catching up on all the things I should have already done. So yeah

Bob week one.

One of the hardest concepts for me to grasp in this class was combing functions. Both combining and composition were just confusing me at first. I did not know how to combine or compose the functions, which you obviously need to know to find the domain, making the nights those problems were assigned very difficult. But, like most of the time in this class, my confusion gets fixed the next day in class when you go over it. The in-class time spent going over the homework usually helps me out a great deal. when we went over it again after struggling the hardest I had ever struggled in this class, my brain clicked right into what was going on and it made perfect sense from then on. 

-Alex-

P.s. I apologize for this being two days late. 

Jackson please read this -Colin.

Mr. Jackson, I apologize for the inconvience, but I do not have a very good grade in this class because of the BOB that was due this past Sunday that was marked as not done. However, I did do the post quite some time ago, but the publishing failed because of the app on my phone. I found proof that I had it done before the due date, a screenshot of my phone, that I hope you will accept and offer my credit. Thank you.  (Mine is the muddy point in class one.) 

-Colin. 

Bob- muddiest point in class

So far in class, the hardest thing for me to comprehend had been how to find the range of any given function. I understand that we have learned this like two years ago, but I still have a hard time with it. I find domain much easier to solve for. I can say I'm very glad that we no longer need to solve for range because I essentially always guess [0,Infinity)

B.O.B

In this coarse I have found it difficult, but as we get farther the easier it becomes. With the help of Mr.Jackson, and my classmates I feel  I will do well. when I came into the class room that first day and took a look at this "domain and range" gig, I was astonished on how much I didn't know, I'm sure a lot of people felt pretty stupid that day. But I've really been coming along though I have finally figured it all out and now I'm cruising through the homework that is assigned, completing the challenge questions in under 5 minutes! My improvement in this class to me is exponential!

BOB Something i learned this week

Something i learned this week in Pre calc functions was how to combine functions together and find their domains. At first it was a little hard but the more practice I have done, the easier it seemed to be. All it really is is just substituting one function in for the other function's X. Such as: find f(g(x)) f(x)=1x-8 g(x)=1/(x-2). All you have to do is put g(x) into the x value in f(x). So the final equation would be 1(1/(x-2))-8. Then you simplify it, creating 1/(x-2)-8.

B.O.B Muddiest Point

My "muddiest point" so far in this trimester has been returning from school after being sick. I was gone for two days  last week. I returned to school and the first thing my friends told me was "you missed a ton in functions". Then I arrived to Mr. Jackson's room for fourth hour and said hello and asked what I had missed and he said "a lot." and I just thought holy crap this is going to be a looooooong week. Then in class I had no idea what any one was talking about for the first 20-25 minutes of class but Mr. Jackson was pretty patient as opposed to other teachers as far as getting me caught up. Now I am doing OK, I just have a lot of packet work to do and I completely forgot about this B.O.B. it just went straight over my head. I also still have to make up that Quiz still but that shouldn't be too bad. All in all, I am pretty much back to normal and up to speed in class and if I stop procrastinating with these hour long YouTube binges then I should do just fine.

B.O.B Week 1

I started off this week thinking I was doing ok. Sure, it was a bit hard but I was understanding stuff. Then things started to get overwhelming. I can grasp the basic stuff pretty well, but when I get to the harder, more complex problems I'm completely lost. Combining functions, for example, I thought was pretty good. I sorta understood what to do, and after the first homework assignment thought I had it figured out. However, when I get to the harder problems towards the end, I get confused. I understand how to substitute the functions in for x, but then finding the domains of the combined function just does not make sense to me. I don't really know why, but for some reason finding that, particularly in the functions with multiple division problems just doesn't work out for me.

Overall, it's sort of overwhelming. Between freaking out about not understanding things and freaking out over the amount of work (in addition to the loads of homework in other classes), I'm definitely stressing some. It's frustrating that things I know I should know how to do don't make sense, and then coupled with sleep deprivation something bad is just waiting to happen. Hopefully I can figure out how to slow down and take a breath. Until then, let's all freak out about stuff together.

Sorry it looks like this was up late-- it said published it last night, but I checked when I got home from school today and for some reason it was only a draft. Oops. Sorry.

Bob

Throughout this week the thing I've had the most problem with is finding the domain of radicals. For the longest I just couldn't remember how to do it. I still sometimmes struggle with it but I am getting better. As long as I remember to the the quantiy greater than or equal to zero I can do it. Then I have to remember that the domain is the h value in a sqaure bracket with either negative infinity if the a value is negative or a positive infinity if the a value is positive.

bob reflective comment

For the most part math in general comes pretty easy to me, but that's only if I'm actively using and applying  what is tought in class. And i can't say I've been completely up to date with my homework so ill start improving from there.

Bob

The thing I have trouble the most in is finding the domain of the equations we were doing before the weekend I kind of got it but I was still pretty confused.  The hardest was when I was trying to find the domain of a double square root that was pretty hard. I just need to go over it a little more to figure it out but that is the only thing so far that I had trouble in class with.

B.O.B. - Progress

I have progressed pretty far since day one of this class. On the first day I sat down in a group with my friends expecting another "I'm going to syllabus you to death" class period. Instead I was given a review sheet which seemed like it could have easily been a final exam for AP Calculus. I didn't even remember what domain or range meant! But now that review stuff has come back to me and it all comes pretty easily now. But for the other problems we're working on in class it doesn't come so easily at times. When we first start learning and working on a new type of problem it takes a few problems for me to catch on but after working on a few by myself and checking the answers I gain confidence in what I'm doing and then the problems become much easier. The answer keys online help when I'm trying to catch on because they show you step by step how to do it and not just the answer. If I still don't understand something my classmates can help me or Mr. Jackson can if they can't. I don't feel like I've progressed very much but when I look back at the problems we did the first couple of weeks of class I realize that they are so much easier than they used to be and easier than the problems we're doing now. So not only have I progressed, the problems have too.

B.O.B Week 1

When I first started this class, I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't heard people complain that it was extremely hard but I still went in with an open mind. When I started this class and realized that everything we did had to do with range and domains I knew that I was in trouble because I missed the days when we learned how to do that in Algebra 2. Still I'm trying my hardest to understand and comprehend it as best I can. I'm looking forward to this class and what it has to offer.

BOB

When we learned the composition of functions I wss so lost in what to do but after I asked how to set it up and seeing Mr.Jackson's excellent diagram it all clicked and when I was doing 15-26 on the homework it was so much easier to set up and find out the answer. All thanks to the conveyor belt of functions

BOB

During this week since the way I learn is through figuring it out for myself I tended to be lost even after listening to how to do it. Until Friday I was lost at how to combine the functions till I actually sat back and looked at the problem and saw that it was simple substitution.

BOB

When i started this class i felt like i remembered very little from the previous year. As the class has progressed however, iv have gradually started to recall stuff. Iv found out that i seem to learn the best by doing examples so i am very glad when mr jackson lets us do the problems in class so that if I have questions i can ask for help. It is a big help to look at the answer key and see how to do the problems so that i get more than just the answers, I actually learn how to do the problems.Homework sucks sometimes but the more repetition i do of problems, the better i remember how to do them.

B.O.B.- progress

On the first day of class when we were given the review paper, I stared at and thought, "Why do I not remember this? It should be easy!".  I was pretty frustrated.  But slowly, it all came back to me.  I remember working with domain and range last year, and I started to apply my past knowledge, along with what we learned in class, to figure the problems out.  However, even when I felt like I got it, little exceptions to the rule kept appearing.  It wasn't until this weekend, when I finally did all of the homework that I had blown off until this point, that everything clicked.  Now, instead of just going through the motions of solving, I understand why the domains are what they are.  I'm super happy with my epiphany, and from now on, I will keep up with my work (or, at least try to).

B.O.B.

This class to me is a lot of different things. It is not only a challenge but I also see much good in this. This last week I feel we covered a lot of material. I realized looking at the whole picture is way too much you HAVE to look at one little piece of the puzzle at a time. I find the challenge something to look forward to, although the further we go in I tend to have some trouble finding the domain especially as the functions become more elaborate. The way I learn I need things to be explained in detail at first but once I finally understand I can "plug and chug". The homework load wasn't as bad as I had a originally envisioned. Many of the problems given to us are very important to helping us understand the whole picture of what this class is really trying to get us to do. Combining and composing are very new for me. I can put the functions together or substitute them out but truly finding the domain is a struggle. I know I will understand soon enough and the class will continue to be something for me to look forward to. And thanks to Mr. Jackson for all the help and understanding, but not only that for teaching us in a way that allows us to open our eyes and think for our selves for a while! Love this class so far!

B.O.B.

I love math and sciences, and so they have always come very easy to me. In past math classes though, I found the pace much too slow, and the curriculum much too easy. This year, in starting precalc functions, I feel much more challenged  and ready to learn in class, instead of just finishing the work and ignoring the teacher when they start to repeat things. Although I still have many questions concerning the combining functions, and problems like f(g(h(x))), I find myself learning much more and at a much faster pace this year. I feel like this class really is preparing me for calc next year, and for most of my life. I am thinking more critically,  looking for more than one answer, and slowing down to really think about what's going on and why it works the way it does, instead of doing it just to get it done. That's how classes are supposed to be aren't they? I wish more classes would be like that instead of easy busy work. If you have questions, ask them! Don't be that person who's afraid of asking to sound stupid. Who cares. It's more important to ask and understand it then fail. Plus, Mr. Jackson's ghost story Fridays are always fun. :)

BOB

If Mr. Jackson wouldn't have showed us this photo I don't know where I would be right now. It really helped me and I think it helped a lot of other people too. That fact that you can just solve these problems like a belt is crazy!!!MIND BLOWING

B.O.B. #1

Reflecting on this class as whole, I am making progress. I knew that this class wouldn't be easy, math is never an easy thing for me. The beginning of this class was definitely the most overwhelming because it felt like I was being handed so much at one time. I've realized that it is going to be important to stay on top of things in this class for the simple fact of me not having as much to do at one time. At this point, I am still not completely clear on combining functions and finding the domain. I'll keep working and paying attention!

B.O.B. #1

Coming into this class I was pretty sure this math class was going to be easy just like every other math class I've had so far. But I am slowly realizing that is not going to be that way with this class. This class is going to be difficult and I am going to have to apply myself more to this class then any other class I've taken before.  But if I do actually apply myself I strongly believe that I will be able to do well in this class.

B.O.B:My reflection of my progress

PreCalcus Functions. Where do i begin....?

The first day i walked into the room of a teacher we call Mr. Jackson, i thought i was headed straight for doom. Not because of Jackson, but because when i sat down at the little four desks in the top corner, i realized i was alone. Yeup..me. All alone by myself. I mean comeon im a nice girl, shy but nice. Anyways, my memory can recall when Jackson said to me in front of the class, "Why are you up here by yourself? Do you like it up here all alone?..Thats when i knew i was going to be doomed.

Safe to say, i love math. Honestly. And the truth is i dont care if i seem uncool or like a nerd. I love the fact that its challenges me and makes my brain explode when trying to figure out crazy looking problems. It is my favorite subject in school. Now talking about PreCalcus i thought i wasnt going to remember things when my class got handed the several packets that we did. Caught by my suprise sure enough i didnt. I took me a day or two to really understand the domain and range of the fucntions. It seems to me that the more i practice problems and ask questions and look at examples, the easier it becomes.

Overall, i know..not think i am doing pretty decent in this class. I like Mr. Jackson and his off topic stories, the people in my class, and the way i am starting to learn more and more about PreCalcus Functions. And well heyy, i even have a friend at my little four desks. Looks like my word doom has changed into evolving, evolving into the class im in.

Blog #2

I knew that when i walked into class on the first day of school, math was not gonna be easy. Being handed a packet full of review questions we were suppose to  know and all of the problems looked crazy to me. But something I've learned is to never doubt myself. I immediately gave up when i saw that packet. But looking back now if i would have had confidence in myself everything would have come back to me so much easier and my brain wouldn't have shut off right away. I'm not an expert in the class and i still haven't figured everything out yet but I'm learning to give myself a chance. I know that light bulb will go off soon if i keep on trying and practicing.

B.O.B. #1 - Vance W.

This unit has been very up and down for me. Some things, such as finding the domain of pure, singular functions, came easy or was simply review. Others, such as finding the domain of composite functions, didn't make sense at first. The idea of what it meant to combine or compose functions made total sense to me. In execution, however, it wasn't quite clicking. This is usually pretty easily remedied by practice, asking questions, and utilizing the resources available to you(seriously, any students reading this, if you ever are having trouble in any class, look on youtube. There are literally thousands of channels dedicated to helping students succeed in literally any subject. There is bound to be one that will get you to understand). But I digress, over all I didn't find this unit too difficult to manage.

Progress Reflection

         When I first walked into this class I was really intimidated by what was to come. The first week of school I had no clue about anything we talked about. I soon realized that this class would require a bit more effort compared to my other classes if I wanted to succeed. I began to study more and by the first quiz I had a pretty good understanding of the material. Once we started talking about composition and combining of functions I got a little confused again.  The homework was hard and I had to use my notes a lot. To help me understand it better I studied a lot this weekend and actually took my time to understand the class notes and homework problems. I get these concepts a lot better now. I have made good progress already in this coarse,  this  class will most likely improve my study habits and help me become a better student. 

B.O.B.- Reflection

These last couple of weeks in Mr. Jackson's class I have learned that procrastinating is going to hurt me. Most classes I can get away with it, but this one is different. At first, I was very confused with everything that we were learning but now I am starting to get the hang of it. Combining functions is still kind of difficult for me but I know with practice I will get it soon. Although I have never had a math class that was difficult for me, I know with a little bit of help, this class will not be impossible.

B.O.B reflction

This week in class I started to struggle with the F(g(x)) concept. Mr. Jackson assigned the first homework practice of the week. I tried to do the homework, right when I got home. I worked on it for  hours and decided to check the answer key. I still couldn't understand, so I decided to wait until the next day in class. At first I was thinking the idea of me understanding it was impossible. I closed my eyes and tuned everyone out, hoping that after words I could concentrate. It worked. My light bulb came on with just one simple sentence from Mr. Jackson. The rest of the day I felt good about it and I completed the homework that night, with difficulty but also, confidence.

B.O.B- progress

I believe that in PreCalc- functions I am currently doing pretty well.  Now we have only been through the first three weeks, but so far I am confident that, while this class may be challenging, it will not be impossible.  I do not know what we will learn later or how difficult it will be for me personally, but I hope that I will be able to learn and excel.  Overall this week was easy enough, with a few more challenging parts.

Reflection

It was that time of the day. I had to go to the bathroom again. Maybe because I drink about a gallon of water every day to stay hydrated. But Mr. Jackson didn't know that. He found out by me just leaving the room. Little did I know I wasn't allowed to do that. Mr. Jackson then would not let me back in after I was done doing my business. Oh well. 

B.O.B. Reflection on Progress

Usually I do pretty well in school.  I generally know the concepts and how to execute them without much effort, but this class is different.  After week one I could tell I wasn't going to just breeze through this class like my others.  I was just going through the motions, not paying too close attention in class, then doing the homework.  Then when I went to check the answer key, I learned that I didn't do much right, and was going to have to change my study habits related to school.  So I have now cleaned up my study habits, which is making this class easier and helping in my other classes too.  So overall I think I have already progressed quite a bit in this class.  Not just in math but as student.

learning new functions

                      As some of you may know, I like to make pictures on the graph of my calculator with functions. I really enjoy challenging my mind, and have found this to be an interesting way of exercising the logical and critical thinking areas of my brain. The different functions that we are learning in class have added a lot of different things to my list of functions to manipulate ad experiment with. This class has definitely increased my love for math and logic, I hope we learn more cool functions in the future. 

B.O.B.

Twords the beginning of this class I did not even remember what the word "domain" meant, better yet how to find it. But after doing all of the packets and assigned problems, and going over some in class, my memories sparked up and now it only takes me a few seconds to find the domain. I also had trouble remembering how to factor certain parts of problems, but after a few answered questions it became a piece of cake.

B.O.B. #3

So far in this class I'm slowly starting to understand everything. By Friday I was really starting to get it because we were talking about the problems in class and coming up with strategies and I got outside help from my dad. Overall I believe I'm starting to improve but I'm still a little iffy on the Range. I'll get it though.
-Hannah-R

B.O.B

The start of this class i was worried i would fall behind and it would be a hard class for me. I have been doing all my work at a pace i want and now i don't feel that way at all. I get what we are learning and its still hard but the more you studying i do and correct what i do wrong  i feel successful. The progression has been steady and im enjoying the class and the work we have been getting is a large amount but it helps that we have a lot of practice and practice helps me. This class i have learned more then any other math class and this is a class where theirs many challenges but their challenges that i can overcome and same with everybody else in the class can to.

B.O.B.

So earlier this week, we started to learn about the combining and composition of functions, and to be honest, I was more that a little freaked out.  I mean, just the phrase "combining and composition of functions" sounds pretty scary.  But when we actually started to get into the whole learning about it thing, I realized it's not as freaky as it sounds.  When we learned that the composition of functions is really just a bunch of substitution, it made the whole process so much easier.  When I was looking at the notes page, it just wasn't "clicking".  Then it all just clicked.  This whole process that I was super intimidated by was all just substitution, a process which we've been learning about for a long time.  So that was pretty nifty.  And now I get it, so that's always a good thing.
--Haley

B.O.B.

The first day we walked into this class I had no idea what I was in for. I knew that it was a harder class, but up to this point in all of my math classes I have skated by. I haven't been pushed to be better. I haven't had to struggle or even think.
Then we started the inequalities and interval notation and it seemed like everyone knew what they were and how to do them. I hadn't even heard of what these were. Let alone know how to write them. So I took that packet home and tried a few out. I was starting to get the hang of it. Then when I saw how the timeline worked it clicked! The next few days I was writing them down without having to look at notes and now it seems like I don't even have to think twice.
Moving onto combining and composition of functions it all is starting to make sense. I am getting the hang of it and it's getting easier the more and more I do.

B.O.B-lightbulb moment

I was having issues with function composition when f(x) and g(x) are both fractions with polynomials in their denominators. I kept winding up with a big confusing fraction over another fraction and getting the domains for those was driving me crazy. Then on Friday I remembered how to simplify those fractions-a little something I learned in Algebra 2 last year, and boom, I got it. Now I'm not having issues with it. And that's a pretty good feeling.
Kristin R

BOB

At first when we started this unit I thought  I was going to end up way behind because I didn't understand what I was doing. As we went along all the "muddy" spots became clear and everything started to make sense. I tried to ask multiple people how to do certain problems because everyone explains things slightly different. By asking all these people, all the pieces started to come together. The differences in the explanations came together to help me see the big picture. By the end of this week my group and I were zooming through problems. Things we once thought we're impossible now came easily to us. Such as finding the combined domains. I struggled a lot with this but by the end of the week I felt confident to move onto harder problems.

B.O.B. Progress

So far I have been on a roller coaster for this course. I understood domain and range just find up until we started combing and composing functions. I have been working really hard to try and figure out this subject but I am still having difficulty. I am slowly beginning to understand though!

B.O.B.

On Thursday Mr. Jackson threw the class into the pool with the sharks and I can say I had a blast. When he had the class solve for the domain f(g(x)) and had us test our skills and also have it figure it out ourselves I found it more fun then being spoon fed the answer. For me that day it wasn't so much knowing how to solve for the answer it was the journey to that point. That day challenge our understanding of math and I saw my own understanding of math increase. For me a challenge is always much more fun because you are testing your skills in whatever you have and see if you can complete or beat the challenge. With this I can say to Mr. Jackson that swimming with the sharks were hard and I am looking forward to swimming with the sharks again.

B.O.B. -A Reflection

One day in Mr. Jackson's class he decided to challenge the class by making us have to create a composition function and find the final domain of it.  Originally I was really confused and I accidentally made it the wrong way around by trying to simplify something that I couldn't get any simpler.  But my group noticed and pointed it out to me explaining why I couldn't do it that way.  Then I had to find the domain, so I took all three domains from the f(x) the g(x) and the f(g(x)) creating one very large union.  I noticed how large it was and thought that it couldn't be true and so I checked the problems on my calculator.  I found out that I was right about the domain being wrong so I went back to the paper explaining how to find the domain of a composition function.  It said that you had to add the domain of the combined function to the domain of the inner function to get the domain of the combined function.  This confused my group for a few minutes because we were thinking that you needed the answer to find the answer.  Thus I realized we had been thinking of it in the wrong way, there are actually two domains for the final combined function, a first domain and a final domain being the answer.  I explained this to my group and it helped us a lot and we were able to shrink down our original domain considerably, and finding the correct answer to the problem.  After that the next few problems Mr. Jackson have us were quite easy.  But every now and then a person in the group would get confused (even me), and we would all look at what they had done and we would help them with their mistake.  Thanks to being in the group we all were able to check and compare our answers thus allowing us to figure out how to do those problems on our own witch will allow us to remember it better because we came up with it instead of just being told how to do it that way.  Working in groups that day was a lot of fun and it definitely helped us all remember the information from that day.

To whom sparks my inspiration!

Have you ever looked at a word or even a sentence and never really understood the meaning? Like you read the text over over trying to comprehend the message? Well i have, multiple times specifically when it comes to unknown words out of my knowledge.

The word inspiration baffles me. I know that it comes from the roots of inspire, but my issue is i do not really have the slightest clue on what sparks my inspiration. Alot of people would say their parents, siblings, or a celebrity would be inspiring to them. And me, well to be honest everyday i am inspired by little things all around me.

My mom, the most important and closest one to me has the biggest heart filled with love known to womankind. She has done so much for my family it would take me literally a book to write down how much of an amazing person she is. My brothers and sisters have my back just like i have theirs. They make me laugh and enjoy the simplest things in life, like watching an episode of sponge-bob all together on the couch. Laughing, and joking. My friends, who teach me that life's to short not to enjoy it. My teachers, who rack my brain with hard equations and different situation that occur in life and school. 

If i had to say whom sparks my inspiration it would be those certain special people listed above. My amazing mother, my loving sisters and brothers, my crazy besties, and my intelligent teachers. 

B.O.B. class reflection

At the beginning of the year I was really confused on domain but now I am starting to get the hang of it. The f(f(x)) functions are kind of challenging for me, but the more time I spend on them the better I get. I am definitely being challenged in the class and that it something I have never had to deal with before so its kind of hard to get used to all the work.

B.O.B. - comment on something that I've learned

The last couple weeks we learned a lot more about functions. We learned how to describe the domain and range of a function, how to write inequalities and interval notation or what does the letter "U" between brackets means. The most exciting thing we learned the last weeks, I personally think is to graph a function. It isn't really the fact that we know how to graph it, no, it is the fact, that when we look at a graph in a coordinate system, we can write down the function. Otherwise when we see a function, what for some people just looks like random letters and numbers, we can make a picture of it!

B. O. B.

I was having trouble on how to find the domain when to use the parentheses when you combined the  functions. Today in class we went through a problem and when graphing the singular domains I finally understood when to use parentheses and when to use square brackets for the final domain. It felt good to be able to understand what is going on since I have missed a lot of school for golf.

B.O.B Functions inside functions

This week we learned about composing functions. When we wrote out f of g of h of x, they was one complex yet fun problems I've ever done. I hope we get to do more, but I hope they get to be a bit more challenging, it only took me 3 or 5 minutes to complete.

BOB: Class Reflection

So the first week of school has long passed, yet I have still been trying to get into the groove of school and convince my mind to actually absorb information I'm taught in my classes. In my precalc functions class, to tell you the truth, I have been so lost until this past week. I had been struggling and trying to get a grasp on anything that could possibly make sense in my head. We kept going super fast through new information, and as a result I kept getting confused since I was still stuck on the first lecture we had gotten. I understand we use what we learn and just keep adding onto it, so I got frustrated when I couldn't understand a key piece of information, finding the domain of certain functions.

On Thursday last week, something finally clicked in my head and I understood a small portion of what we were doing. I learned that the domain is always all real numbers unless it is a radical or rational function. Radical and rational functions include either x in the denominator of a fraction or a root radical symbol. I believe if you have a radical function, you set what's under the radical equal to or greater than 0. In comparison, I believe if you have a rational function, you set the equation equal to 0. I'm still learning and trying to figure out which method I should use for each function to find the domain.

I know we just started learning about combining functions and finding the domains of those functions. I know how to do the whole combining of functions, and I am just a bit iffy on identifying how to find the domains of those functions. What I really need is a sheet that tells me what each bracket/parenthesis means, how to find the domain of each function, and which method I should use for writing my domains.

I am planning on coming in early and staying after as much as I can until I fully understand what I am doing in this class because I am determined to understand this fully. I feel like I just have a few details in this class that I am not too sure about. Plus, a lot of my friends usually ask me for help on math, and I feel bad if I don't know what I am doing either. I would love to help them out and really just want to understand this so bad!

B.O.B

I always come into class with a mind set that I know what I'm doing, but then when we start working on problems and you say to find the domain I totally forget everything I've learned about it. Its very confusing on how to write it down from wether I'm supposed to put a bracket or a the other one..? I just don't understand what to put down. I can easily solve an problem you give me it's just figuring out how to put down the domain and range. 

B.O.B

Many people have those days when they walk into class and understand what's going on in Pre-calc. but when they get home, they can't remember all of it or any of it. So they struggle with the homework. Maybe your one of those people who never has those days. I for one am one of those people who forget right when they enter the door of the house. So when we received the homework, 1.4 Function Notation questions 2 through 48, I understood it in the class and thought "I got this in the bag!". As soon as my foot hit the inside of my house everything I learned disappeared. I looked at the work and became confused, so I looked up "how to's" online and checked the answer sheet on Mr. Jackson's website to see if I was on the right track. Even though the internet and the answer sheet helped I was still a little confused on some questions. The next day in class some kids asked some questions and we went over them in class, some of the questions applied to my own where other didn't, at that point in time. Either way I wrote the proses down and applied them to my situations. That was helpful. After doing the homework I still had 3 questions left unsolved, questions 28, 30, and 32. So today after school I stayed after and found out that I done half of those problems right, where you had to find f(0). Mr. Jackson then showed me how to do f(x)=0. All I had to do was have 0 as the f. So instead of f(x)=3-(2/5)x you put 0=3-(2/5)x and solved the problem from there. Finally the homework was complete and I had a better understanding of function notation. Sure it took time, effort, few fatty snacks to help calm my frustration. But I'm glad I understand it now. Thank you Mr. Jackson and Vint Cerf (the man who created the internet) for all your help.
  

B.O.B.

Today when I stepped into class, I thought that learning how Composition of Functions would be extremely hard for me.  However, I really enjoy doing the f(x) problems, so I enjoyed the composition functions.  I have to think about it for a second, but I understand the complex problems about substitution.  Even though I understand this, finding the domain of things is still difficult for me.  I understand how to find the domain, but I get confused on what method to use to solve it.  I really liked the practice problems we did today in class and I hope to understand domains better.

B.O.B

Today, I felt like I had been thrown into a vast sea of sharks.  And, I was drowning.  I was grasping at anything that would keep me from being completely immersed into chaos.  It felt like every concept just flew right over my head.  Most of my answers were wrong and I could not understand why the answer was what it was.  Eventually though, I began to understand.  I am pretty confident on my abilities to find domain and I know the steps for combining functions.  I found an object to grab on too and I will hold on for my dear life.  I know, or at least hope, that eventually I will escape from this sea onto solid ground.

B.o.b.

Last night our homework was combining functions. I had the steps and everything.. I knew to subtract, add, multiply, and divide. But I didn't understand how to find individual domains. I knew I had to, but which equations did I have to find the domain of.. And do I put them into the same domain? Today in class when Jackson went over it, he cleared up to me that you put them with the "U" between and then you proceed to multiply add subtract and divide. I couldn't get passed the first step at home, now that I have a better understanding, I can do a whole problem on my own. I feel a lot more confident with combining functions. My first step of progress in this class!! SCORE!!

The person who inspires me

The person who inspires me is my father. He works really hard for my family. After we lost our house and my parents got divorced we were really poor and now he works two jobs as well as fixing up our house. He works so hard to support us its so great! I hope someday I can be as great of a man as he is.

What keeps me up at night, or, thoughts while exhausted

      I often find myself out in public, looking at the strangers surrounding me, and suddenly realizing that they exist. No, I mean they really exist. Each one of those strangers you see in passing and never see nor think of again, every single face that has ever been perceived by your brain, all of the billions of people on Earth. They all have their own life. They each have their own story. They have a family that they go home to everyday. They face the same problems you do. They face worse problems than you do. They are the most important thing in the world to someone. They have their own, unique story that you will never know or understand. To you, this person is just the background, an extra to your own life. Some people may read this and feel special, or feel superior, but this is a two-way street. You, the complex consciousness that you believe has depth and meaning, are nothing more than an extra in millions of strangers' stories. These people will never take a second to think about you, or what you think, or what you want. Perhaps you'll appear in their dreams one day, but as far as they are concerned, you don't exist. A person might have 1000 people maximum that they can honestly say they know and care about. That leaves 7 billion people who never so much as cross our minds. Perhaps if humans collectively recognized that everyone is the hero of their own story, and that that hero is a beloved supporting role in yet another person's story... well, the world might just be a better place.

My 40 year old self

So, The big 4-0! Well you're kinda old now but how is everything going? How was that senior year of High School? Or COLLEGE?!? I still can't wait but I guess you already know how it went. Did you ever become an Anesthesiologist? I guess I'm Too excited for the future but also it feels weird growing up I'm finally a junior and it doesn't really seem like I'm growing up but it is crazy seeing people I've know when they were 8 years old on the playground. Now we are all in AP classes and NHS members and drum majors. What are they like Now? How's Janae and did she have all the kids she wanted? Well Anyway I hope you're happy and that some of the stuff I am doing now helps you later. Stay healthy and have fun while you can. Good Luck with everything.

For the first blog I will blog about something I learned in math class.  I learned about an island with the official name Big Major Cay.  Most people that come to this Island, though, call it Pig Beach.  Pig Beach is one of the 360 islands that make up the district of Exuma in the Bahamas.  Pig Beach is famous for the wild pigs that live on the islands and swim out to passing boats for handouts of free food.  There are many rumors as to how the pigs came to be on the island, but none of them have been confirmed.  Big Major Cay is uninhabited and is a very small island.  The island is home to around 20 pigs, a few stray cats, and a herd of goats.

Today I learned..

Today I learned that there is a species of lizard that is native to only New Zealand called the tuatara. This lizard is the topic of many New Zealand scientists study because it has a "third eye". The exact purpose of the eye is unknown, but is speculated to be used as some sort of sensory receptor to establish a seasonal calendar. I even have a picture for you. 

How To: Make Chocolate Chip Cookies Just to start off, I pride myself in knowing how to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. Now many people could say “It’s just chocolate chip cookies, anybody can do that”. It’s taken me 16 years to perfect the recipe and now I don’t even use one. Step 1: Pull out two sticks of butter to get them at room temp. If you decide to make these last minute and they can’t get to room temperature, put them in a bowl and in the microwave until soft but not melted! Step 2: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Step 3: Take butter and put into a large mixing bowl. Add ¾ cup of white granulated sugar followed by ¾ cup of brown sugar. In the bowl, mix the ingredients together until smooth. Step 4: Next add 1 tsp. of vanilla and two large eggs. *Note* I usually crack the eggs in a separate bowl and then pour them in to make sure no shell gets mixed in. Mix together until fully incorporated. Step 5: Time to start adding dry ingredients. Add 1 tsp. of salt. *Note* I don’t usually measure the salt to 1 tsp. exactly; I just usually eye ball it and decide how much I want. Then add 1 tsp. of baking soda. Mix completely. Step 6: This part can be hard or tiring on your arm so I do it in sections. You’ll need 2 ½ cups of flour but add one cup first, then the next, and then the ½. After you mix this all together it should be a carmel-ish color and be doughy. Step 7: Now it say’s to add a cup or over of chocolate chips, and that is way too much for the recipe. I also eye ball this and add the amount of chocolate chips that I like. After mixing these in, you can grab your cookie sheets and start to put them on. Step 8: I have a melon baller that I use to make the perfect size cookie, but if you don’t have one a spoon works too. Just make them into about 1 inch balls or so and place them in 3’s on the sheet. Step 9: The recipe also says anywhere from 9-13 minutes of bake time. I give it 11 and check to see if they need any additional time. If your oven is prone to burning cookies I would suggest taking them out early. It really just depends on if you like gooey cookies or crispy ones. Step 10: Take them out and allow them some cooling time and then they are ready to eat!

My Inspiration

My inspiration comes from my family. They have always been there for me, especially through some really tough times for me. They have always loved me no matter what mean or crazy things I've done and I cannot thank them enough for that. We are such a strong family. During my 17 years in my family, we have been thrown our fair share of curve balls but we always remain cohesive and battle back against the enemy. This is why my family is my inspiration.

5 Easy Steps to Look like a Good Golfer

If you want to look like a good golfer without being a good golfer follow these easy 5 steps to look like a good golfer.

1. Never go to the driving range, if you are not a good golfer then your swing will be bad and people will automatically assume you are a bad golfer. I suggest you go to the putting green to putt because with a small swing with the putter people are less likely to notice your putting stroke is bad and hopefully they won't notice you are a bad golfer.
2. You should listen to music as you are practicing putting. As a golfer is listening to music it sends a message "don't talk to me I'm practicing." The larger the headphones the more the people will notice too. Serious practice like this will make others think you are a good golfer
3. You must look the part of a good golfer. When you practice good golfers don't grab the nearest T-shirt and cargo shorts. If you are to look at professional golfers they wear nice polo's and dress pants or dress shorts and you should to.  Probably best you don't where a flat cap but if you must it must be made from a golf related company like Nike or Ping who make flat caps that can be worn on the golf course. With guys you must also tuck in your shirt with a belt, girls don't have to. Lastly you must want to wear actually golf shoes, not sandals, not be barefooted but golf shoes.Sunglasses will also help the cause because some good golfers will wear sunglasses too. If you look like a good golfer people will believe you are a good golfer
4. You must get good golf clubs with big brand companies like Titliest, Taylormade, and Callaway. showing that you are willing to invest money into golf clubs will show others you are an invested good golfer.
5. Never, ever play without your friend that knows that you are not a good golfer and never play in front of other people. Once people see you play they will automatically see that you are a bad golfer which is something you don't want. So never play golf without your friend or in front of other people.  

If you follow these steps people will start thinking you are a good golfer without actually being a good golfer. 

Hope you enjoy looking like a good golfer from an actually good golfer.

B.O.B. - Progress

Over this unit so far I feel that I am doing well. I understand all the things that we have been learning over the previous weeks. I have been able to help others because of my understanding of what our class has been doing. It's been fun to work together to figure out 'challenge' problems. So yeah that's my B.O.B.

Something I Believe In

Something I believe in is marriage equality. I believe that marriage should not be based on the sexual orientation of those who are about to wed. I feel when people say that its against the church to allow that kind of marriage, that they dont understamd what they are talking about. Just think to yourself; how would I feel if a group of people told me that I could not marry the one I love? Wouldn't you feel upset? Angry? Many people feel this way because they cant marry the one they love. So, before you tell someome they cant be married because they are gay or lesbian, just ask yourself that question.

Biggest satalite?

Q: what is the biggest satalite orbiting earth

A: the moon, a satalite is an object orbiting another object so the moon by definition the moon is a satalite

<to be or not to be>

My inspiration

My dad is my inspiration even though he lives in California I talk to him everyday. He was out of my life for 6 years but he finally talked to me when I was 10 I have been going out there every summer and it has been a blast.  He helps me with anything I need help with and he has been there for me in times of need.
Austin

My inspiration

My mother is my inspiration. She inspires me to make the best of everyday. She is the strongest woman I know. After recently being divorced, moving away from her home, and having our house broken into, she still has such a positive out look on life, and she always makes sure me and my sisters do too. I'm very grateful to have her as a mother.

how to make a (cheap) battery

Ok so there are many ways to do this but here's the basics. A battery as we all know facilitates electrical current. The battery does this usually using an acid, which allows the copper to steal electrons from zinc or lead. This happens because of the metals' difference in electronegativity, and the movement of the electrons is what we call and use as electric current. so to make a battery all you need to do is submerge plates of metal with contrasting electronegetivities in an acid, and complete the circuit so the electrons can move from plate to plate (according to their electronegativities), then place what you want the current going through in between.

We're All Losers

I believe we're all losers! Because we are. Every single one of us has lost at least one thing in our life whether it be a sporting event, a class election, you got a test question wrong, you failed to reach a goal, or you lost a friendly bet. Not one person has been a winner 100% of their life and there never will be which makes us all losers. 100% of the world's population are losers. I also believe that admitting our failures helps us get one step closer to winning. If you find one way that doesn't work, it's a loss but now we know that way isn't the correct way and we can move on to another way which might be the right way, making us a winner. We're all losers, meaning everyone makes mistakes and if everyone realizes that then we shouldn't be embarrassed when we make a mistake. Admitting our losses and failures helps the world to be more awesome! We're all losers but we're all awesome losers. So keep being awesome but at the same time accept the fact that you're a loser...because you are.

From one loser to another, be awesome today!

Does reality exist?

When you read this question, you think "why of course it does, because reality is reality". It's very difficult to think that reality is not there, that it doesn't exist. The questioning of reality comes from the studying of quantum physics. An atom only appears in a certain place if you observe it, so technically, an atom is spread out in multiple places at one time until a conscience mind observes. For example, a beam of light could be a wave or a particle at the same time; the only thing that decides what it is, is how we observe it. As soon as we stop observing the light, the light is now, in theory, everywhere. This causes quantum physicists to question whether or not reality exists. Since things change when we observe them, this leads people to think that without us observing them, there is nothing to determine what is what, and everything we know as humans could be wrong. Our senses tell us what is there and that is what have come to know as reality, but is that actually what it is?

This is a poorly done description on this topic, and if you want a better understanding of what I'm talking about, watch this video and many more related to this video to get a better picture.

I hope you enjoyed your philosophy lesson for the day.

Victor Oladipo..... My Inspiration

A few years ago if you would have asked who's Victor Oladipo very people would have been able to tell you he was a 6"4 180 pound guard from Indiana. Now if you ask someone will be like oh yeah he is that really good basketball player that went to Indiana. Victor Oladipo played basketball for Indiana University and a few years ago he wasnt that good and Neither was Indiana's basketball program. Victor was able to break through all of that and his junior year he was able to help rebuild Indiana's program and become one of the best college basketball players in the nation. Victor Worked hard and was able to help take Indiana to the Sweet Sixteen something they have not done in 10 years. After having a great Junior year he was able to be drafted Second in the NBA draft to the Orlando Magic. Some of the great things Victor Oladipo has done have really inspired me and that is why he is my inspiration.

40 year old man

Well I'm not sure how to start this letter out to you but uh I guess it will be like this: Hey bud! Still rocking your morning comb-over? well lets just pray you're not going bald! Well now that you are looking back into the past you're probably gonna feel like the years have flown by, but don't quit embrace your memories! If your having trouble being happy remember high school, try to remember the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip, that always cheers me up! Just don't live your life regretful kid, and remember "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."

How To

How do you play softball? There are a million different answers to this question and I am going to answer with three: 1. Stay positive 2. Practice and 3. Love the game.
Staying positive is going to help you succeed in this game no matter what difficulties you are going through, just like with anything else in life. You make a bad play, stay mad for a minute, kick some dirt, and move on. It's a new play and there is no time for negativity. Practice. Until you can look at yourself as an athlete and say, "I'm perfect", (which is never), practice. Love the game, after all, you're playing it for a reason aren't you? Playing the game you love should answer this question alone. Because when you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, you will be successful.

40 year young man

hey champ hope you're still doing what you're doing. Keep it up. Life is too short to not smile and laugh. I hope you are out of high school by now. If not we need to talk. But if you are then you probably have done at least one ironman by now. Props to that. Well that's all, stay golden.

5 ways to be confident

1). don't let anyone bring you down 

2). smile you're beautiful 

3). stand up for what you believe in

4). stay true to who you are 

5). just be YOU

Gotta keep it real people  

-Marisol

I believe in...

I strongly believe that family and friends are the most important in life. I couldn't be where I'm at today without my mom and close friends. I went through a rough childhood growing up without my dad when I was eight; they were the ones who pushed me into who I am today and my goals I have for my future. They always ask me what I want to do in my life and no matter what I say they always say they will support and back me up all the way. Everyone might think differently about family and friends but in my eye they are the ones who might one day say their proud of the life you made of yourself. That's why I believe family and friends are most important in my life. 

I believe...

In my short time on this earth, my family and I have gone through many tough patches. And I believe that family is a blessing, never take it for granted. When my sister passed away, my father sat us all down at the kitchen table and we all swore to one another that we would stick together that we could get through this with each others help and support and with Jesus. Losing my sister opened my eyes to many things. I see so many young people take their siblings and parents for granted. All they do is fight, curse, and yell at them. but why? Why do we pick fights? I understand at times spats happen but you never know when they can be gone. I recall a week before my sister was in her car accident, I was praying, telling God how much I loved Sarah and how much I hated when we fought. We fought almost constantly and it got old, at times she even Thought that I hated her. This absolutely broke my heart. I continued to tell God that I couldn't lose her I loved her too much. And then she was gone. taken right away from me. I thank God everyday for at least letting me hold her as she left this earth. This was a wake up call. I realized life is short. I looked at my parents and saw that even though they may drive me insane at times they do what they do because they love me more than I could ever comprehend. Fortunately, i had been blessed with such loving sisters and parents that I knew i would be okay that we could make it through everything. My sisters are now my best friends. we never go to bed angry with one another we get along so much better because we now know how easy someone can be taken from you. Love your parents love your siblings. its not worth going through life fighting with them. 

Following in his footsteps

To me the most inspirational person in my life is my dad. Throughout my life i have always looked up to him and wanted to be just like him. My father grew up on a dairy farm and learned hard work at a very young age. He got up before school and did three hours of work before walking to school and returning home to finish his night chores. He has always stressed to us the importance of working for everything we have and i will never forget everything he does for me and my family. His dedication and love for everything he does is tremendous and he has one of the biggest hearts out there. I am so grateful for my dad and will continue to follow in his footsteps forever. He is truly the most inspirational person in my life.

40 year old woman

Well if you made it this far you're clearly doing something right! Since you've made it this far there isn't too much that I have to tell you. But enjoy every minute like it's you're last! Smile, it makes everyone happier. Don't waste anytime being upset life is just way too short for that. I know you're making millions by now so keep up the good work. Hopefully you've completed lots of stuff on our bucket list and if you haven't you better get your lazy self to work! Don't waste anymore time reading this letter and go enjoy life. Peace out old lady. Ill see you later. 

HOW YA DOIN OLD MAN?

Dear 40 year old self,

 
    What's up loser. Well you've procrastinated for about four-six hours trying to write this letter to your self. I hope that characteristic has changed. Right now you're just a little confused about what to do with your life. You're not even sure if anything is worth doing, but something keeps you going. Maybe its just the fact that reading this letter 24 years later when you're either ruling the world or sitting on the couch eating Kraft Mac N' Cheese would be a good laugh. Right now you're pretty interested in Music and you're considering a career in it. You also enjoy Science but you're too lazy to do the actual work that comes with your science homework or any homework for that matter. Maybe being a teacher would be fun. But somehow I can't see any of your students learning anything from you, just laughing at your thick sarcastic accent. You have plenty of friends right now and I don't think I would change those for the world. Right now you pretty dead set on Marching in a Drum Corps and if you didn't do that I don't know what else would could've done with your life. You're relatively popular in high-school and when I say popular I mean everyone just knows who you are for the most part. Not the kind of popular that makes everyone want to be you. Naw, you ain't 'bout that life. You just enjoy the company of others and find pleasure in simple things right now. How is your life right now anyways? do you actually live in Colorado like you wanted to? or did you stay in Michigan? did you actually go to college? or did you make your way someway else? Don't forget who you real friends are and stick to what you believe in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyyu4TbsxAk If youtube is still a thing, watch this video because thats the video that got you into DrumCorps and I will be very very very very very very very very disappointed in you.

You're not creative enough to think of any original quotes so you're going to steal one from the Whole Earth Catalog made famous by Steve Jobs.

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish."

Dear 40 Year Old Stone

40 Year Old Stone,

          I just want to a sneak peek of whats to come.  First off, where did you go to college and what kind of degree did you get?  Next are you coaching football like you said you were going to do?  If so, remember to make the game fun, and make sure kids enjoy it, after all losses aren't the end of the world.  Lastly make sure you change the world for the better, and be the rising tide that lifts all boats.  So 40 year old Stone, get back to work since you are probably working on something big.

Regards,
17 Year Old Stone

Inspiration

Even with all the people in my life, one group that always inspires me is my team. We're a family, always there to laugh with each other and always there for support if necessary. I know that they'll always have my back, both on and off the field. They've become some of my best friends, and there are so many ways that they help make me both a better soccer player and a better person. Stepping onto the field with my team is such an honor; everyone out there is an amazing player, and I want to do the best that I can to help us win. We all look to the others to push ourselves further and know that our teammates will help us as well. 

Peanut Butter Pancake Banaza

Step 1: Add 1 cup of Jiffy pancake mix(its the only thing I have tried it with)

Step 2: Add approximately 3/4 cups of water(this may change depending the consistency later)

Step 3:Mix together normally

Step 4: Add approximately 1/3 of a 1/3 cup measuring scoop(change depending on peanut butter needs)

Step 5:Mix new mixture together until the peanut butter is thoroughly mixed into the batter (may need to add more water depending on thickness of batter)

Step 6: Set griddle to approx. 350 degrees F (Be careful the air bubbles don't come through like they usually do without the pancakes it's easy to burn them)

 Step 7:Pour yourself a nice tall glass of milk and get out the syrup

Step 8:Go nuts


You can thank me later..this is absolutely delicious.

Something I learned

Something new this weekend that I learned is that I can ride an adult tricycle with two people on it. My friend and I wanted to go on a bike ride to go get ice cream. It had been a long day of golfing for like seven hours and we just wanted ice cream. So I pulled out my Grandfather's adult tricycle bike because the other ones were trapped under the jet ski and we discovered a way to ride the bike with both of us on it. I had to pedal up the hills and most of the ride and we didn't even get ice cream because we were so tired. It was a total disappointment but I did learn how to ride a tricycle with two people on it.

Getting Dressed 101

        Greetings fellow people.  Today I will teach you how to get dressed.  Note:  This differs depending on your choice of attire.  I will be going over the step for my usual clothing, a shirt and pants.  First, make sure you have said clothing available to you.  It will be considerably difficult to get dressed without anything to wear.  After you have taken inventory, you may start clothing yourself.  Pro tip:  If you are wearing undergarments, which I highly recommend, make sure they are already fastened to your person.  You may start with the shirt or the pants in either order, I will be covering the shirt first.  To enter a shirt, you must move your head vertically through the two largest holes parallel to each other.  If you have done this correctly you should notice to identical smaller holes on either side.  You will want to put your arms through the holes closest to them.  Pro tip:  You should notice a tag near the hole closest to your head after putting on the shirt.  This tag should rest at the base of your neck.  Doing so ensures that the shirt will fit your form more optimally.  Now, on to the pants.  First insert either your left or right leg into your pants.  The order does not matter, just so long as you take it one at a time.  After clothing both legs you will want to pull up your pants to just below your belly, then button and zip up your pants.  Pro tip:  Pants should have their zippers in the front.  This makes them more convenient to wear, remove, and move around in.  
        Congratulations!  You are now dressed!  You may now go about your day.  However, you may wish to put on shoes.  As of your current progress, I recommend shoes that slip on your feet.  They are easy to put on and remove, and they still have the benefit of protecting the bottoms of your feet.  There are other forms of shoes that involve complex lacing skills and a new form of clothing titled socks.  However, that is a subject for a different tutorial for a different time.  Safe travels young ones.