Update Season IX - "CAD, Kenya, CAD, Kenya, CAD, Kenya, CAD"

[Joe Biden 2020]

So, how long until his next call center job? Quite a few variables at play, but that's obviously the road we're taking. Same as it ever was.

That's not the road we're headed down.

[Joe Biden 2020]

My goal when I get back in the classroom tomorrow is to get myself in a position to take the LAP 3 test Tuesday morning and the Performance Test for LAPs 1-3 Tuesday afternoon. I got to looking and LAPs 4 and 5 are only 9 hours each so at most a day and a half, probably no more than a day in reality.  My goal is to start LAP 4 on Wednesday, which would put LAP 5 Thursday and start LAP 6 Friday.  Of course, I'm going to take my time going through it, so as long I'm to LAP 5 by the end of the week, I'll be happy.  I still need to keep pace even though I need to take my time.  Thankfully, I'm projected to be finished with the program on the evening on May 12 present speed, and the school year is not until May 30, so I've got nearly a 3 week cushion to get it done before the school year ends.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I'm not trying to dog you over your grades, but we aren't your parents so we are not obligated to tell you how great you're doing when you've started off pretty damn poorly. It's only going to get harder from here, so instead of counting down how many days until you graduate and move to Missouri, focus on the here and now. If you barely pass or fail to get CAD certified, you won't be looking for a job in CAD. It's not as easy as you seem to think it will be.

Part of the reason I don't think you will finish is because whenever someone becomes difficult, you give up on it. But as I always say, I hope you prove me wrong!

[Joe Biden 2020]

It's still real early, the second week hasn't even started, yet.  Before you give up on me (which ultimately has no bearing on what I do), lets give it some time.  I haven't done poorly (or any poorer than my classmates).  All of us failed the second exam of the three that have taken it.  There are still three more all day students to take it, so we'll have to see how they do, then there are all the high school students who have to take it.  I was the guinea pig and I didn't do so hot, but neither did the two ladies after me.  So, I'm counting what we did as average.  Plus, the instructor really did not like the wording of the questions of that test.  There were questions that both of the true and false answers were counted incorrect.  He may end up giving a couple or three questions to us.  He really does not like the testing or grading system, but he has no choice but to use it, unfortunately.  I'm not using that as an excuse for my poor performance as like the instructor and all my classmates, I have to adapt to it or roll with the punches.  I'm also not going to worry over a failed exam, unless it becomes a serious trend. The LAP tests are only 25% of the grade, so none of them are make or break, so really I shouldn't worry too much if I can get everything else okay, such as the drawings.  The biggest part of the overall grade will be my portfolio and these exams will not be in the portfolio.  That is used for showing off my skills, not flaunting a test grade whether good or bad.  Like I said, though, I'm taking it slow and easy on the third LAP so hopefully I can pass the third exam the first time and move on to the Performance Test and LAP 4 by mid week.  I do have goals in mind of when I want to accomplish certain tasks, which is the best way to stay on pace, at least in my book.  They are  realistic and not rigid.  They can be moved in either direction depending on how things go and how well I'm absorbing the material presented.  With a 14 school day buffer in the school year, I'm sitting pretty right now.

[WalterMitty]

bushie are your drawings good?

[Lief 🗽]

Bushie, show us your drawings or put them on facebook pls.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

So what if he got an 84 on his first attempt and needed to get an 85 to pass? He ended up learning the stuff and doing well. Surely we can pull back from policing his truthfulness here Inks?

Passing one test doesn't mean he's learned it; it means he's remembered it when he took the test.  If he's learned it, good for him.  I wouldn't say I'm "policing his truthfulness"; I merely called him out for, yet again, leaving out important parts of his story.

I love how he conveniently forgot to mention that he failed his initial attempt at the first test when he brought it up last time. Classic Bushie!

Come on, man... you're being overly harsh on him.  I'm sure he just momentarily forgot that he failed the first test.  Everybody forgets things, right?  That's perfectly normal, right?

It was painful knowing that I failed it by 1 point!!! I got an 84 instead of an 85.  The second attempt made up for it with a 96 (which should have been a 100, if not for a brain blank on the very last question).  Technically, the first attempt was failing, but I did pass the test.

At the point that you take a test twice (and I'm assuming it tells you which ones you got wrong), there's basically no reason other than a poorly worded question that you shouldn't get a 100%.

That's not true. You're assuming it's multiple choice and they're giving you the answers. I'm in school, and sometimes the exams require you to apply a formula and they change the values each time.

It's like you're happy he's not getting a 100 and cheering on failure. Don't you want him to do well at this, maybe? And perhaps we can stop harping on whether he has told his parents about his subscriptions, too, maybe?

Fair point, but as Bushie said, it was multiple choice.

And did you even read what I said, or are you just trolling?  Considering your posting history, I'll assume it's the latter... I'm not happy he hasn't gotten a 100%; I'm not cheering failure.  If you'd pay attention to what I said, I encouraged him to slow down so that he CAN and DOES do well.  I want him to succeed, and I've given him advice on how to do that.

[WalterMitty]

how is it reasonable to believe that bushies drawings are good if his testing has been so poor?

[Joe Biden 2020]

My drawings are pretty good.  Good Testing != Good Drawings.  They are not mutually inclusive.  One can lead to the other.  Plus there is the fact that I am a horrible test taker.  I always have been.  I know the material, I just don't do well on tests for whatever reason.  That's why I only got a 23 on my ACT way back when, and why I ultimately left Dell.  I knew the material, I just am horrible at test taking.  It's one thing that has plagued me my entire life.  At some point, I may put some of my drawings on here and on facebook if I am able to.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, show us your drawings or put them on facebook pls.

As soon as I get AutoCAD 2014 installed on my home computer and as soon as I'm given permission to copy the files onto a thumb drive from school and put them on my home computer, I will do that.  It may be a few weeks, possibly early September, but I will do that.  My instructor has even commented on how good my drawings are, especially for a beginner.  I grasp the concepts of the material now that I am slowing down, but I am just a horrible test taker, so the knowledge doesn't always transfer to the test grade.

[Joe Biden 2020]

It is approaching 2130 and I am about 30 minutes from going to bed.  I want to be in bed by 2200 so I can get up by 0455.  I'm ready to begin week 2 of CADD.  I've got goals in mind for this week, but I'm not going to rush myself.  The goals are to keep me on pace so I don't fall behind.  My goals are to complete the work of Lesson 3 tomorrow, then take and pass Lesson 3 test Tuesday morning and take the Lessons 1-3 Performance Test Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday, I want to do Lesson 4 which is a short one and then do Lesson 5 on Thursday which is also a short one.  By the end of the week, I want to have started on Lesson 6.  I have to at least start Lesson 5 by the end of the week to keep pace, but I want to start 6.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Just focus on each lesson at a time. You have a tendency to fly through things and look way ahead without focusing on the here and now, which has led to all the problems in your life. I don't want to see you do the same thing with CAD and fail out before you come close to finish, chalking it up to something that "isn't for you" and rationalizing it by saying "I'm done with it now so let's not talk about it."

[Eraserhead]

I can't wait to hear how he does on his next test. The heat is on.

I will be pleasantly surprised if he does well.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am going all in that it gets worse from here. I truly hope I am wrong this time. We'll see..

[Brittain33]

Inks, I went too far in saying it was like you were happy, but I stand by the fact that he's taking some initiatives and trying, so being harsh on him for not acing tests this early seems perverse and counterproductive. I don't know how he's going to do with this program--but from what I know of schooling, taking someone who has shown he gets easily discouraged and then making him feel worse about how he did is not helping.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Inks, I went too far in saying it was like you were happy, but I stand by the fact that he's taking some initiatives and trying, so being harsh on him for not acing tests this early seems perverse and counterproductive. I don't know how he's going to do with this program--but from what I know of schooling, taking someone who has shown he gets easily discouraged and then making him feel worse about how he did is not helping.

OK, you're closer, but you're still missing what I've said.  I'm not being harsh on him for not acing tests.  I'm being harsh on him for attempting (yet again) to mislead us, because he essentially told a white lie about the first test, and allegedly, he's done with the lying and deception.  I don't fault people for not acing tests if the reason is that they're bad test takers or they can't comprehend the material, but it's likely that the reason he failed the first test was that he was rushing through the material.  I'm not making him feel worse - at no point have I said that he can't do it; I did just the opposite in fact.  I told him that if he slowed down and took his time, he'd probably do better.  At the point that he's failing tests, don't you think he needs constructive criticism rather than someone blindly saying, "It's OK if you failed a couple tests... keep doing exactly what you're doing and I'm sure everything will work out."

[Joe Biden 2020]

Inks, I went too far in saying it was like you were happy, but I stand by the fact that he's taking some initiatives and trying, so being harsh on him for not acing tests this early seems perverse and counterproductive. I don't know how he's going to do with this program--but from what I know of schooling, taking someone who has shown he gets easily discouraged and then making him feel worse about how he did is not helping.

OK, you're closer, but you're still missing what I've said.  I'm not being harsh on him for not acing tests.  I'm being harsh on him for attempting (yet again) to mislead us, because he essentially told a white lie about the first test, and allegedly, he's done with the lying and deception.  I don't fault people for not acing tests if the reason is that they're bad test takers or they can't comprehend the material, but it's likely that the reason he failed the first test was that he was rushing through the material.  I'm not making him feel worse - at no point have I said that he can't do it; I did just the opposite in fact.  I told him that if he slowed down and took his time, he'd probably do better.  At the point that he's failing tests, don't you think he needs constructive criticism rather than someone blindly saying, "It's OK if you failed a couple tests... keep doing exactly what you're doing and I'm sure everything will work out."

Who is to say that being bad test takers and rushing through the test are mutually exclusive?  Since I am a bad test taker it is even more imperative to slow down.  Plus, its not as if I did horrible on the first test.  I got one point - one freaking point - below the passing score which is a high threshold.  No one can say 84 is horrible.  You and Duke, as much good is in your heart, are acting like I failed miserably on that first test.  Plus, does it matter now that I turned right around and got a 96?  You rarely mention the 96.  I would even argue that I did not do that terribly on the test for the second lesson.  Even though I got a 68 and a 72, that is not extremely pitiful.  It's below the passing score, yes, but it's not a huge failure.  You also never mention that I'm on par with what the rest of the class is doing or that the test was full of poorly worded questions.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

How is Jeff Junior?

[Joe Biden 2020]

She is doing just fine.  Still growing like a weed.  Still happy as ever.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Even though I got a 68 and a 72, that is not extremely pitiful. 

When the requirement is 85 how can it not be deemed pitiful?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Don't use the excuse "I did on par with the class" when the majority of your classmates are in high school.

My point is, you have loads of potential, and if I sit here and tell you you're doing just fine, you'll keep doing what you're doing and continue to fail and rationalize it with excuses above. When you go to a job interview, they are not going to ask if your tests were worded poorly or how you did relative to the rest of your class.

And yes, 68 is pitiful if the threshold is 85. You certainly did not understand what was going on on that test. I would just suggest you stop counting down towards your graduation date and focus on being the best student you can be. That is why you didn't get a job, remember?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

LMAO. 68 is downright awful if the threshold is 85.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Yeah, 68 is pretty dreadful, I'll concede that. However, I am coming to the end of LAP 3 and will be ready to take the test tomorrow morning. I'm going to take the book home tonight so I can study key terms and such. I've got to redeem myself in the morning.  Although, I continue to make progress on my drawings. I am no longer drawing things without scale.  I have learned a few things that are not taught in the book. They won't be on the test, but they're good drawing and real world knowledge.  I imagine most employers will look at my portfolio than a couple tests the first week of school.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

No. You can turn yourself around, but I'd rather you do it now instead of failing for half the year. Again, don't look at your class's overall scores. Focus on your own grades. You can do it!

[memphis]

Being a "bad test taker" is a bunch of bull. Either you know the material or you don't.