I hate being bored. I'm one of those people who likes to be doing something constructive. Plus, as a non-traditional student who is returning to school, I work, so I don't have time for epic adventures but I also know how to, and want to, make the best use of my time.

Summer excitement!

That being said, there are things I want to do this summer, most of it being prep for next semester and the June 5th start date of summer classes. Here's my plan for the Summer:

Take a summer class. 
I've already talked about why this is important to do, but I feel like I need to make sure I am utilizing my time to the best of my ability. Sitting around the house or just going to work isn't fulfilling that purpose for me. Since school has ended, I've watched all of Sherlock...all of Call the Midwife..all of Riverdale...all of Anne with an E...you get the point. I could easily waste my summer on Netflix, but that time can also be used to get me ahead for next semester. Sure, Math 25 isn't what I'd call the most exciting plan for summer (although I am excited), but the time is going to pass anyway. Why not pass it doing something useful?

Earl Nightingale has the right idea.

Check out and fill out as many scholarships as I can.
I am on the Board of Governor's Fee Waiver, but I still incur costs for school. I spend money on books, fees, parking passes, and I also lose money when I take days off from work to do school related stuff. Plus, when I transfer, I will not be under the BOG. I am going to fill out as many scholarships as I can, because anything can help with the cost of college.
 
Plan to start a Non-Traditional Students Club/Union at my school.
I've already emailed the Associated Students Union at my school about wanting to start this up at my college. There is currently no club or union for non-traditional students there, and most, if not all, clubs there meet during the day, so non-traditional students cannot participate if they work full time. 

I hope that if I do get this started, that we are able to meet after 5 PM on weekdays, and that it can be a place where non-traditional students can get involved in school, work on being well-rounded students, and can be supported in the unique challenges they face as non-traditional students in a system built for Fresh Ex-High Schoolers.
 
Get involved. 
I definitely want to get more involved in the community and start preparing to be a teacher. I've applied to be a tutor in quite a few places, but I also volunteer with Helping Hands Pantry. I want to do more, and visit more often. I did tutor my cousin during the semester (2nd grade) and enjoyed being able to work one-on-one with a kid. I was able to get her to focus, and she was able to do a really good job on her project. She got an A, and delivered a great Powerpoint on Queen Elizabeth II (with works cited, I'm so proud). She learned quite a bit about integrity in school, how to be a good person, and how respect works. She picked the Queen because she liked that, "everyone does what she says." At the end, she said she learned that being respected like the Queen comes with respecting others, and serving others tirelessly and selflessly. I'm sure there's more to being Queen, but for a 2nd grader, it was a good learning experience.

I know there are plenty of kids out there who don't get the chance to work one-on-one with a tutor. Many parents don't get tutors for their kids because they believe they are expensive, and that a teacher should be able to do everything themselves anyway. That couldn't be further from the truth! In today's crowded classrooms, every kid - even the "gifted" ones - can get overlooked and left behind. I also know there's more to a child's success than aptitude for test-taking and following directions alone. It can be an emotional experience...and a child who believes they can't do something won't do something. It's up to the people around them to tap into the power of "yet."

I can't do that...yet.
I don't know that...yet.
...etc. 

A growth mindset not only benefits children in the classroom but us as college students!

Have some fun
There are a lot of people I've met who probably think that I don't know "how to have fun." The truth is, I find school and learning very fun. I love writing papers, studying, research, and challenging my brain. It's just who I am. Unfortunately a lot of these things are made synonymous with being a stick in the mud, perfectionism, and generally not being a fun person. I think that's sad, because a lot of people do really find this stuff enjoyable and that's ok.

That being said, I understand that too much of a good thing can really hurt. Brain farts, burnout, and of course, dealing with an autoimmune disease plus real life means you have to pull your head into reality every once in a while. Sometimes, you really do need some mindless fun to relax your big, beautiful brain. So I've made a list of all the things I want to do this summer, as modest as it may be:

• Go to the beach, maybe train it to San Diego
• Throw a Goodbye House Party (we're moving!)
• Hang out with my nephews more (we went to the zoo and had a party last weekend, but I also want to visit the Discovery Cube too, and see Cars 3)
• Squeeze in a visit or two to the Griffith Observatory and The Getty, as I haven't been in yeeaaars
•  Mani, pedi, hair, all that biz

 How are you spending the summer? What are you doing during the summer that is preparing you for what comes next in your college journey?

As I have mentioned in my previous posts about anti-bias children's lit, girl characters in children's lit being portrayed as part of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math interests are rare. We've seen an upswing in interest and representation of girls in STEM, but the truth is, boys interests, representation, and toys remain the priority of many educators, television program producers, authors, and product developers. 

I have taken an interest in the endeavor of getting girls into STEM since before I decided to leave Halloween, as I pushed for more girl models wearing traditionally boy costumes: scientists, firefighters, fighter pilots, astronauts, etc. (I also pushed for more girl versions of superhero costumes). I realized as I did research that girls were getting the short end of the stick, and when I was a young girl, none of today's efforts at representation existed!

Brave New Girls volume 2 is due out on Kindle and in Paperback in August 2017

That is why I am extremely excited and appreciative to be a part of Brave New Girls 1 & 2, a compilation of stories written by fantastic up and coming authors, all of which feature girls in scifi and/or STEM settings and interests. I met Mary Fan, one of the authors and editors of the project, while exploring the science behind scifi fiction writing while living in New Jersey some-odd years ago, and have kept in touch with her. When she sent out the call for illustrations for Brave New Girls 1, I jumped at the chance. 

I was given two stories to illustrate the first time around, The Hive by Kate Lansing:

My illustration for The Hive will be featured in Portolium's 2017 Best of Portfolium,

"Teen science aficionado Fi has made it her duty to protect the honeybees. Not only does she love the little creatures, but her society depends on them for their survival. Something sinister is astir, though, and powerful forces are behind it. With the help of her programmer friend and a surprising ally, Fi sets out to discover the truth and share it with the world."

 and Flight of the Zephyr by Aimie K. Runyan:

"On the planet Tenturia, mining service is mandatory. But Wynn Felstrander managed to avoid it by working in her father's lab instead, after the government decided they needed her scientific skills more than another laborer. Still, she's trapped on the planet by the all-powerful regime.

When Wynn makes an important breakthrough in the process for refining the crystals used for fuel, she thinks she's finally found her ticket to freedom. But then she discovers that the Council is hiding a sinister truth about the very energy source she's spent her whole life working on. And the consequences for her mining-outpost home could be dire. Wynn soon finds herself facing the most difficult decision of her life. Should she take the Council's offer for safety? Or risk everything to leak the truth?"

When Mary announced a Volume 2 of Brave New Girls, I once again jumped at the opportunity.  This time I was able to illustrate three stories, and dove into each while also finishing up a 40+ page child study paper and studying for finals! But it was all worth it. I felt that this volume was building off of the previous, with bigger, bolder stories for girls and boys to read about brave heroines in STEM! The first I tackled was The Maker's Handbook by George Ebey:

"In a post-apocalyptic future where technology is shunned and people work as slaves for the good of their province, a young girl named Enola meets a mysterious wanderer who puts her on the terrifying and liberating path. "

Then there was The Case of the Missing Sherlock by Mary Fan herself:
 

I really enjoyed playing with black & white, and really wanted this image to reflect the excitement of vintage mystery novels like Nancy Drew.

"When her AI roommate, Sherlock, vanishes while working a case, fledgling biomedical engineer Chevonne is left to play detective after the authorities refuse to help her. Her investigation takes her into the heart of a dangerous operation that seeks to use Sherlock’s scientific know-how for their own nefarious purposes…"

And my personal favorite, The 17th Quadrennial Intergalactic Neo-Cultural Expo & Science Fair by Jeanne Kramer-Smyth:

I had a lot of fun with this one. I really wanted to get into some scifi fashion design, using my previous career in costume design, and create a magazine cover type feel, as if advertising the titular event itself!

"Up late working on their entry for the Intergalactic Science Fair, Alice and her friends are faced with a dire emergency on the space station that holds their boarding school. Can they figure out how to evacuate their classmates before time runs out?"

I'm sure everyone involved in this project hopes that their work will encourage girls to take part in STEM but also to show boys and girls alike that girl heroes do not have to fit into someone else's traditional gender roles and tropes. Just like real life girls and women, females are smart, hardworking, and ingenuitive! Illustrating these characters has not only been fun but also a part of my own mission to help and work with kids to see their potential. How many future scientists and astronauts will I meet? That's an exciting prospect!

Brave New Girls volume 2 is available August 2017, and is perfect for the young reader in your life, the classroom, or even for yourself!

Finals are over! Spring 2017 is done! You're free! Freeedooooom!

Ok. Get it out of your system because I am going to suggest something that is going to put a damper on your Summer plans (which, if you are a non-traditional student like me, you don't have because you work full time anyway and don't get Summer breaks...). What is that thing you don't want to hear?

Take a class this Summer.

Oh, what?

My college has classes available during the Summer and many students take advantage of them. These classes are usually basic, introductory, and general ed classes that are easily compressible into the short Summer break (our college calls them Fast Track classes) and help students get things out of the way so come Fall Semester they can take classes that really interest them.

Our summer catalog!

I will be doing this with Math 25, or College Algebra for this year. This way, I can apply to transfer this Fall! I met with a transfer counselor and we realized the only thing standing in my way is this class, and of course I'd rather get this class done now!

I did take a class during last Summer as well. I took Introduction to Philosophy, mainly because at the time my major was undeclared and I wanted to keep my mind busy. This unknowingly helped me prepare to take Intro to Religion that Fall, which I did need for my major.

Here's why you, as a non-traditional student, should take a class this Summer:

Keep the momentum going.
This is my main reason for taking a class during the Summer. I don't want to get complacent, and while relaxation is needed and should be done, I don't want to relax so much that when Fall comes along I struggle to get back into the groove. 

Get some basic classes out of the way.
If you have things like basic English that you need to get done but don't want to waste a full semester doing, this is a good chance to get it out of the way. These classes are usually compressed during the Summer so there's less chance you will get bored with the material and feel like you are wasting your time.

My summer will be a summer of math! This way, I can apply to transfer in the Fall, and I will keep the momentum going from my A in Math-425. When Statistics for Social Science starts in Fall, I won't be scrambling to review!

Explore something new.
I took Intro to Philosophy because it was interesting but also it was an online class. I'd never taken a strictly online class before, and I've had friends jabber on and on about philosophy before, and I'd always struggle to keep up in conversation. I decided to get some basic knowledge and earn a grade while I was at it. I learned that while philosophy was interesting, I didn't want it to be my major, and while online classes were novel, I missed the social aspect of being in a class and discussing ideas. If I had never taken that class, I would have never known.

Reduce work load for the future.
Next semester has me doing Biology with a lab and Statistics for Social Science. These are two classes that I've heard are heavy on workload, and I don't want to be stuck doing a class like Math 25 while I am working on Statistics and whatever it is Biology lab will be throwing at me. Getting this class out of the way frees up my schedule to focus on these two classes. 

However, there are special challenges that taking a summer class may bring, and how to get around them:   

Your kids have the summer off.
If you are a Stay At Home Mom/Dad, you may be in charge of the munchkins for the Summer while their school is out. Your demands of being a parent will be mixed with going to school during the Summer. The solution? Stick to easier, basic classes or take classes at times when your SO/secondary caregiver is present. Or, take online classes. This may mean taking classes on a Saturday, or in the evenings when someone can watch the kids. Or, sign your kids up for a Summer Camp that takes place during the day so you can take classes at that time.

Our catalog also has a section with online and hybrid classes for the summer.

There aren't many classes available when you can take them.
My solution to this is take one in something that interests you at the time you can take them. Look to online classes where you control your schedule. You will ultimately be responsible for the routine to get the work of these classes done, but the flexibility of managing your own schedule is unparalleled.

You need more time to understand the material in the class.
I faced this last Summer. I tried to take an Intro to Ceramics class because I really wanted to explore ceramics! But ceramics isn't something you can compress into a tiny amount of time. I found myself struggling and decided that while I was still interested in ceramics, I needed to be honest with myself. I wasn't going to rob myself of the experience of learning. I wanted to learn, and to enjoy the art, not rush to get things done. I dropped the class.

Your city may have a summer activities brochure like this one that features classes you and your kids can take during the summer.

If you are faced with a class where you know you need more time to learn, then don't take it. Take something else, or take a prerequisite/easier class to the one you want to take to prep yourself. If your school doesn't have a class available, check with your city. Chaffey is in Rancho Cucamonga but also Fontana and Chino, and all those cities offer summer classes (without credit) that may be a more gentle introduction to a class. They don't just have art classes too...they also feature classes in computer skills, music, writing, and more!

Not all teachers come back to teach during the summer.
Sometimes summer classes only feature not-so-popular teachers, new teachers, or worse, really bad teachers. Getting around this can be rather easy. Just visit ratemyprofessors.com and check out potential teachers ahead of time. My rule is generally if they have many Green Ratings and maybe one Red Rating or Yellow Rating, they should be okay. When I see tons of Red and Yellow, I stay away. But I also look at what the students are saying in the ratings. Are they talking about the teacher's organizational skills, ability to lecture in a way that will help me to learn, or making the learning experience fun? Or are students consistently saying that the teacher is unorganized, is hard to understand, and makes learning a chore? I also look at how the professor's teaching style meshes with my learning style. I love to write papers. So if a bunch of students complain about writing papers all semester, it may not be that bad for me. But if students complain that a teacher never collects homework or gives feedback, that's a no from me. 

Hopefully all this will be an incentive for you to keep the momentum going for Summer! I for one am actually really excited: coming off my A in Math (first ever!) and wanting to prepare for the future, giving myself the best chance I can for Statistics for Social Science? When you think about the work you have to do in that way, it seems less like work and more like a present!
 
What classes will you be taking this Summer? How will they prepare you for the Fall?        

It's the end! Of this semester, anyway. Finals are done, papers have been turned in, I've gained a few more grey hairs, but it is finally over!

I tried out some new things this semester to help me get through it as sanely as possible, and I want to talk about them for a bit before moving onto some other things about this semester. One of the things I did was to Set Semester Goals and Do a Mid-Semester Check of those goals to make sure I was one track. Here are those goals with the results:

My Spring 2017 Goals:

1. Read all my textbooks. I did read all my textbooks front to back, so that one is good!
2. Do my homework ahead of time. This started to get shaky towards the end, and in Math, I actually didn't do three chapters of homework (which were actually very small) until the day before the Final. Ouch. BUT! I didn't need to turn them in. I did them as sort of a review. However, I was still disappointed that I let this goal fall through.
3. Really get math out of the way. Yes and no. I did pass this semester's math. MORE than passed. I got an A in a math class for the first time in my life and I am so jazzed and proud of myself! Having an Assignment List and planning ahead really helped, but so did having a study schedule, doing (most) of my homework ahead of time, attending all classes, and going to tutoring. If you'd like to read about this process, click here. However, I need to take Math 25 during Summer so I can apply to transfer in the fall.
   

   For reals.

4. Be a better team leader. I don't know if I was a better team leader. I think the group project of this semester could have been done better, but it got done and we got an A, so the results kind of make it worth it. I did speak with a few people about how to be a better team leader, and I realized there was no one formula for every situation. Each team is different, and each project is different. To expect everything to work flawlessly despite your best preparations is wishful thinking at best. I think being a good team leader is understanding that there will be bumps in the road, and the best you can do sometimes is hang on and go with the flow instead of forcing things to go one way or the other. 
5. Balance school and life a bit better. Work and school worked out great. Keeping up with chores and school? Not so much. My room and car are both complete messes right now. I don't think my organizational skills have anything to do with that though. More on that below.

I think, looking back on these goals, I did a relatively good job on them. However, this semester was really hard for me. I dealt with a lot of things that I don't know if many college students deal with but I'd like to think the experience puts drops in my "resilience" bucket.

The hurdles.  
First, there was my birthday mid March. This may not seem like a big deal, but I turned 35 in the middle of my new school journey. I still have 3 years to go (which I am not happy about, my Sophomore "year" is turning out to be two years), and as much as I love school, I kind of want to stop being the 35 year old working on her bachelor's. I don't want this to seem like a complaint, seeing as I am grateful to be given this second chance. That isn't to say I certainly don't feel a little anxious to get it going!

G.Ma departed us Spring Semester 2016, and Pappy left us a year and some-odd days directly after.

Then, there were two deaths in my family. The first was a cousin who was younger than me by 3 years. I'm used to older people like grandparents dying. But this was the first time in my life that someone in my age group had died. My mortality was suddenly made so aware to me as I reached my 35 year milestone, and I got a good dose of you better make sure that what you are doing in your life is what you want. I'm an introspective person anyway, so delving into that wasn't hard. But seeing someone your age in a casket is hard on top of the grief you feel.

The next was my Pappy, my last grandpa. This hit me triple fold because he was my last grandparent to die. I am now grandparent-less. Even though we weren't close, he was a constant in my life and I suppose it goes to show that nothing is permanent. Life changes whether you like it or not and I discovered I didn't like it, even though his dying took a year and you'd think that'd be plenty of time to get used to the idea. It's not and never is. I had the honor of being the person to place my Pappy's ashes in the columbarium. 

Sometimes during your college journey you will face changes and situations that are very difficult and make you feel all alone. You've decided to go to college and be dedicated to yourself. No matter what happens, you must persevere.

But as this was happening, we learned that my mother had a different father than all of her siblings. We found out who he was, and that he died in 2013, two hours from where I was living at the time. It was hard to juggle the joy of discovery with the grief of a person you've never met and didn't know you wanted to know until the decision to know them was never yours to begin with.

Then, there were some medical issues. I had a doctor suggest I had diabetes when I went in for an allergy test. This gave me quite a scare, and looking back, it wasn't a good idea for him to casually suggest that. I spent a good part of March chasing down medical tests and doctors, only to learn that I am not diabetic and am in no danger of being diabetic, and what I was experiencing was a histamine issue related to the automimmune disease I have, Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Despite all this, I managed to keep it together at school. I don't want to say I blocked it out or compartmentalized, because I didn't. I was crying and distraught over reports and homework, trying to figure out the quadratic formula from the quadratic equation between blurry tears. I was trying to wrangle group members into participating while trying to support grieving family members. I've had to pull off the side of the road to cry like I've never cried before on the way to class or work. 

If I had not put together an assignment list or study schedule, all this would have put a serious monkey wrench in my goals. Scheduling my time and creating a buffer for emergencies really helped me out this semester. At no point during all this did I want to quit. I wanted things to calm down, and for my group members to step up, but wishing for something to happen doesn't negate the reality facing you. Sometimes you really do have to put on your big girl pants and get things done, even if everything around you is on fire.

The highs.
But, I would be remiss to leave you on that note, which many may see as negative (but please remember, being positive does not mean to ignore the reality of life which may include many dark or "negative" aspects). This semester did have some very positive results (aside from, you know GETTING AN 'A' IN A MATH CLASS!).

First, a teacher asked me to use my Child Study Paper as an example for future classes. I've had one other teacher ask me to use my stuff last year, but this paper meant a lot to me. It makes me happy to know that the hard work I've done will also benefit other students. In fact, I've also been asked to guest speak next semester. I will be presenting to next semester's CDE3 class, and explaining the Child Study Paper to them. A few teachers also asked me for advice so more students can be successful next semester. To find that my work is so respected has made me so grateful for this school experience. I want to be a teacher and am glad to see that before I am even officially a teacher my efforts are helping to guide others.

Spring 2017 ended in As for all classes and a 4.0 for the semester, and a 3.6 cumulative!

How was your semester? In what ways did you feel you could have done better, and how do you plan to address that in the future?

As I've noted before, I'm introverted. For those who may not know what an introvert is, or may confuse an introvert with things like social anxiety or shyness, introversion simply means that a person is wired to get their most fulfillment by themselves or in small groups of people. This is an oversimplified description at best. Just think of the person who is happy to spend time in solitude, and you have an introvert.

Me? I can be at home in a crowd very rarely. I prefer small groups, but classrooms are okay with me. At work I am quiet, and at home, still quiet. I've gone at least four days without speaking to somebody once. And while I "come alive" in the classroom (if you know me from class you probably think I am extroverted), the truth is...I'm happiest when left to my own devices.

So when it came time to put together the term paper for Observation & Assessment using four months of observations of a single child, I purposely procrastinated a bit. Last week I started BBC's Sherlock (which may have been a bad idea) and let myself get lost in one of my more favorite characters (who I always knew of but didn't really discover until I went to NYC and found a mystery themed book shop in 2012). Why?

The Mysterious Book Shop. I'd probably want to buy it all. Good thing I don't live in NYC then...

So I could sequester myself Friday night, most of Saturday (I have math from 9 to 1 on Saturdays), and all day Sunday to write this paper. Near two days of writing with nothing but me, my cat, my laptop, several reiki candles, crystals, my Buddha, and ambient electronic music.


I was in heaven.

I can imagine others in this class wondering what is wrong with me. First, I have a background in writing, having dabbled in journalism and fiction writing, and I copywrite for a living. But honestly, the written word is just...beautiful to me. Research, typing, organizing ideas, making it all make sense in a wonderful way...to me it's fun. Even when it gets challenging and I am up until 2 AM writing and wondering what the hell is wrong with me...

It's all worth it.

I did run into a few of those moments where I questioned what I was doing. My paper had reached 30 pages and I still wasn't done. Our professor said that our paper would be a minimum 20 pages...and I've had professors tell me not to write so much, with one even saying that every time they got a paper from me it was like getting a book (those papers were 5 pages long, so calm down, professor!).

The paper is due today, and it is a lovely hunk of paper: 47 pages, making the paper itself 45 pages if you remove the cover page and two reference pages. It's gorgeous, has weight, and full of wonderful information about a lovely child and their developmental milestones.

I love it.

What paper were you particularly happy to write? Have you ever written anything longer than 10 pages?

It's that time. The middle of Spring Semester (or nearing to the end for us, but some people may be in the thick of it still) and we're all a little tired. Tired of being in school, tired of going to school every day, and annoyed by group projects and tests. It's easy to let go of our goals during this time. I revisited a few past posts to make sure I was on track, and was glad to see that I had actually lined out my goals for this Semester.

Here are those goals, just in case:

My Spring 2017 Goals:

1. Read all my textbooks: This seems like a no-brainer, but how many of us actually read all of our textbooks? Last semester I found myself skimming some books, which I didn't like because I like to read. I think I had some time management issues that kept me from committing to my reading, but this semester I want to stay dedicated. I've even started the reading already!
2. Do my homework ahead of time: When I come from home from school I like to sit down and watch a show. This semester, I want to come home and immediately get started on homework. 
3. Really get math out of the way: This is the last semester I want to spend doing Math. I want it done! I need to get it done so I can take statistics, and I do not want to waste another semester in Math!
4. Be a better team leader: I found myself floundering in one group project last semester because I did not take my own advice and take the leadership role right off the bat. I did not delegate and I did not plan. Even though we got an A, this project caused me a lot of anxiety that planning would have alleviated. My goal is to be a better team leader so at least I can rest a little easier!
5. Balance school and life a bit better: My room, car, and desk were an atrocious mess after this semester! At some point my organization system crashed and I did nothing to fix it. Papers were everywhere, I abandoned my binder at some point, and my textbooks found a home on the floor of the passenger side of my car. This was not okay...just looking at the mess caused me anxiety because I knew I had to clean it but had no time to do so! This semester, I want to make sure I stay organized, and make sure I have time to take care of Real Life things like cleaning.

I'm determined to pass my math class (Intermediate Algebra) with an A. I will do everything in order to do this, I even made this semester only 3 classes to make sure that I spent more time working on Math. In fact, that is the class I spend the most time on.

The thing is with math, is not that I can't do it or my brain doesn't work that way or I am bad at it. It's that it's boring. There are no real life applications for it (yet) and I can easily spend that time daydreaming or sleeping or working on another class's homework.

But I want that A. I want an A so bad in that class! I have crafted a strategy to get there, and so far, it's working. Here's what I do:

First, I actually go to class.
If you're rolling your eyes at this, guess what? None of the tips that follow are going to help you. If you don't go to class, you aren't going to know what to do. I skipped two classes this semester - one to attend Women's March and another because I was sick and I promised myself to give myself a break if I was sick - and I missed so much. Trying to catch up was hard, especially since one of those days was on a day when they went over the Quadriatic Formula and Equation. I try to go to every class session...and even if I zone out, I can jog my memory about it later.

I paginate and organize my notes.
This way I can find things easily and am able to understand what I write. There's a full post on this here, if you haven't gotten in the habit of keeping a spiffy math notebook.


I do all the homework...ahead of time.
I created an Assignment List so that I know what's coming up and when, and I work on homework ahead of time. A brain that is just trying to get things done in a hurry isn't a brain that is allowing what you are doing to soak in. By giving my big beautiful brain time to absorb the material and actually learn, I am able to do better.


I ask questions about homework in class.
As you can see from this post, I am not afraid to ask "dumb" questions. I don't care if the answer is so simple you can't believe I didn't get it. I don't care if it's basic, or the teacher went over it already, or whatever. I'm not there so the teacher or other students can just get through the class. This time is for me and I am going to use it!

I utilize the teacher's online lessons.
My teacher is awesome enough to post lessons online so that in case we missed something we can always go back and review. It's done in his voice using a computer program that records his writing, so it's just like watching him at the board in class.

My prof is so nice as to have extra lessons available online! If yours doesn't, the internet is full of lessons on Youtube or other places. Plus, Symbolab and Mathpapa are your friends!

Each link goes to a Youtube video that has a recording of the lesson.

I review the notes...not just the day before the test.
I review the in class notes throughout the weeks so that I don't forget. I am just jogging my brain a little every time I do this. It may not seem like much, but they do say you have to hear/see something a certain amount of times for it to stick. The more times the merrier, then!

I create a study guide for each chapter.
I create a study guide that goes like this: "When you see ____________, then do this ______________." Basically, it reminds me of what to do when. I also write down any rules or formulas of that chapter and how to do it. Then I review these before the test.

I do the chapter's chapter review and test the night before the test.
This way I can ensure I know what I am doing. I work through the problems and consult all my notes and guides, and if I have a problem, I make sure to ask the teacher about it. He's usually good in letting us ask questions before the test. But sometimes he doesn't, so I....

Attend the additional education assistance meetings provided by my school.
We have a tutor who attends the class sessions with us, and holds tutoring sessions an hour before and an hour after each class. I don't attend the after class session, because by that time it's 1:30 PM on a Saturday and I just want to go home. But I will go to the 8:00 AM session, where we work out problems and ask questions about things we don't understand. We can also help each other, which is helpful because sometimes it's better hearing solutions from people who are in the same boat - and learning mindset - as you.

Not only do I go to the tutor sessions, I also discuss math with others in my class and people outside of class. By normalizing it as part of my life, it becomes more routine and I am more apt to pay attention to it.

Last, I ask for test corrections.
So far my test scores have been pretty good, but this last test, I got a C. The material, despite all my best efforts, didn't stick with me. So we asked for test corrections, where the teacher allows us to correct problems we got wrong on a test to recoup partial points. I know how grading systems work, and I know it's all a points game. The more points you have at the end of the semester, the higher your grade is. But I also know that a test doesn't define you. You only learn from your mistakes if you are allowed - and allow yourself - to go back and fix the problems. I'm truly grateful to the teacher for giving us these opportunities.

I actually ran out of time on this test to finish #12 (and I think I was going to be wrong anyway...), but I went through and redid everything I did wrong just to make sure I got in the habit of doing the problems correctly.

What are some strategies you use in order to get the best out of Math Classes?