Day: March 18, 2010

Note: This post is one in a series on how we prepared our homeschooled children to take various College Level Examination Program tests. The introductory post for this series explains why we take these tests, what parts of the preparation worked for us, and what parts of the preparation did not work.

This exam, in terms of preparation, was very similar to the CLEP Western Civilization I exam and the U.S. History exams. You can read more about her preparation methods at that link. She used both note cards and a heavily annotated timeline to help her study. The CLEP Western Civilization II (REA): 1648 to the Present book helped a lot, but she one thing that was a little disconcerting was that, even though she got very high scores on the REA practice tests, she got a B on the actual test. She thought this might have been due to the fact that the “theme” of the test was a little different than what was in the REA book. Still, she felt like she would have been able to get an A level score if she had a little more time. All in all, she was satisfied with both the book and her preparation.

Results: Kelly took the Western Civilization II test when she was 15. According to the REA preparation book criteria, she would have gotten a grade of a high B in the class. She received college credit for a one semester course for her score on this test.

University of Texas at Austin claims to have invented a cheap (28 cents per gal.) way to do coal gasification.  This sounds VERY interesting.  It would change everything.  Here is the article:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/texas-university-has-eureka-moment-for-coal-to-gas/article1502823/

You know those awkward silences when you’ve said something a bit out of place and no one responds? Or even worse, when you’ve said something that, as far as you know, is prefectly acceptable, but the silence is still there? I don’t know if it’s more prolific with teenagers, but I run into those kinds of situations a lot. Some people have absolutely no problem with them, but for me they’re almost like dying a thousand deaths. Not really that bad, but close. It feels as if I’ve just broken a really big unspoken rule, or like I’ve said something blindingly obvious or inappropriate. The silence makes me want to dig a deep hole and stay there. The longer the silence the deeper the hole.

Being the awkwardee is almost as bad as being the awkwarder. Maybe the awkwarder really did say something innapropriate. It’s hard to know what to do, other than shrug it off or stay quiet in those situations. But when it’s just a case of an oddball thought, a misplaced comment or a naive statement, what does it hurt to put one’s reputation at risk for a second to make the other person feel comfortable? Sometimes I stay silent just because everyone else is or because I’m afraid of what others will think if I speak up. This is wrong. Staying silent is almost always the cruellest thing to do in awkward situations.

Now I don’t often have the problem of being the awkwardee, because since I talk a lot, I’m generally on the awkwarder side. I tend to fill the silences with more talk to try and fix things, but it always makes things more awkward because the more I talk, the more prone I am to saying weird things. Having a lot to say is not really an all-the-time great policy.

Fortunately, there are a few gracious people out there who can make the awkwardness magically disappear with something as simple as a laugh or a few encouraging words. These awkward wizards are generally wonderful people as well as being wonderfully socially capable. From my short experience, they’ve tended to be effortlessly kinder, not quite as sarcastic and more interesting than most. They’re very convenient for we Chapmans to have around, doing double time as friends and foils. I’d love to get to that point someday.

Anyway, I passed my CLEP Western Civ II test! It’s a load off my shoulders, believe me. I feel like a free girl. Now on to Precalc. and Chemistry CLEPs. Oh, and I didn’t get pinched at all yesterday! So it was a pretty awesome day, all in all.