The way I learn constantly changes whether it was learning how to ride my bike, catch a ball, do a back flip etc. I never started off knowing how to do things. I would always learn new things to add on that would make it easier to do. Which learning new things like this always took 2 or 3 tries, maybe even weeks or months to actually master them. It took me a good year to just master a backhandspring. I went from almost falling on my head every time to finally being able to do it correctly. Also, I remember trying to learn how to rock climb (this is in a rock climbing gym- not outdoors. I am not ready to die yet). The instructor explained for probably about a half hour on how to tie a proper knot (so you could hold on to the rope of the person that was climbing with you). I just could not get it. He kept getting so mad at me because he thought I was kidding with him, but I was dead serious. Same with cheerleading, learning new cheers and dance routines always took me several times in order to get them down. .Learning for school basically is the same as outside events. I learn my material by going over it several times. I wish I was one of those people who could read their notes one time through, but it just does not work that way for me.

There are many things that cause me grief about learning. Basically going from high school to college was a learning experience of itself that caused me to have severe anxiety and minor heart failure (not really but if felt like it). I come from a school where class was always taking notes and if you studied your notes, the test would be identical. Whether it be multiple choice or essay, it still was note-oriented. This made high school relatively easy. We never had a test on more than 2 chapters at a time and we probably finished 5-6 chapters a year. However, when I came to college, there were 3-4 chapter tests and you completed a whole book in about 4 months. This, in general, was an overwhelming experience. Tests were extremely hard and many dealt with a lot of application. Needless to say, application was not a part of the curriculum at Paintsville High School. I agree that application is the best way to learn because if you can’t apply what you know, you will be in trouble. Application itself makes me have anxiety. I just feel that no matter how much I study, I won’t be able to apply what I know. However, I know that these feelings are a result of insecurity due to the fact that I had never had experience with application tests. I try to sit through and think of scenarios about the material to help me apply what I know. Even though I may not fail Mrs. McComas's application tests, I always leave the test saying, "oh, I now I failed. "There is no way I did well.” I guess this is a lack of confidence on my part. I feel that if I had more experience of application tests, I would have more confidence. The more experience I get with application, the better I get at having confidence in myself.

Learning new things are always exciting, but also stressful at the same time. In chemistry class (in high school), we always complained that we never got to do fun lab assignments. We kept begging our teacher that we were ready to do bigger things in the lab. Finally, for our mid-tern he let us create our own antacid independently. It was exciting to finally make something from scratch, but at the same time it was a lot of responsibility to complete the assignment. It was just so nerve racking that thought I would not be able to complete the lab. Also, the lab experience in the daycare for CD 422 was exciting and stressful. It was good to go in there and use things that speech pathologists might do in therapy with phonemic awareness and narratives, but it was also stressful at the same time. We had never done this and each time we taught, we always would do something different. We never knew what kind of mood the kids would be in and how they would react on any particular day. There were approximately 20 kids divided into 4 different groups. It was hard for them to concentrate on what they had to do in our group because there were too many distractions with the other groups. It was too much for them to want to focus on you and it was hard to get them under control. It would have been easier if we were alone with them. However, it was a good experience to learn how 3 year olds behave.

Also, I don’t know why, but every time I have a new class and have new teachers I just get so nervous the first couple of days. Not knowing their teaching styles, what they like, tests etc. makes me worry. Before going into the class, I am always afraid I won’t do well because I do not if I can meet their expectations.