Short Attention Span Challenge | The Number Cruncher

Well, this week has been another challenging week as far as my schedule goes.  On top of this blog, my kids, my full time job, and all of life's general ups and downs, I have been preparing to take the GRE Standardized Test as well.  Actually, I have been off and on semi-preparing for the test for years!  There are two issues I have with this test.  First, I have been too scared to pay for it ($185) until I was confident I would score well.  Second, I have never been confident I would do well because it has been twelve, yes, TWELVE years since I took any sort of math class.  Wow, typing it out just made me feel a whole lot older.  When I started college, I took Statistics right away (and got an A, might I add). My math requirement was done and I spent the rest of my college career focusing on English/Written Communications.  So, imagine my horror when I took a practice test for the GRE and many of the questions were Algebra, Geometry, Statistics (and maybe even some Trigonometry---I don't even know anymore!).  This stuff wasn't hard for me when I was actually in school doing it on a daily basis, but now it is what nightmares are made of. 

The Challenge
Relearn advanced math skills.

The Process
I started out by checking out a bunch of the library's GRE test prep books.  We have other test prep books as well from SAT, ASVAB, LSAT, TOEFL, AP, to career and civil service test booklets. They were great, and very helpful in some ways, but clearly, whoever wrote these books assumed that the person reading them remembered anything about advanced algebra.  I am not that person.  In fact, reading these books made me even more frightened than I was when I started.

I thought about doing a lot of things; including taking a class, hiring a tutor, paying an exorbitant amount for some online GRE prep courses.  However, I realized, "Why am I stressing out about this so much?". Every week, I find a skill, check out a book, and learn it.  Does college level algebra have to be any different?  NO!  So, I walked over to the 510-519 section of the library and grabbed some books.  I started at the beginning, checking order of operations, solving for x and y, factoring, simplifying, and lo and behold, it slowly started coming back to me.  Our books reminded me of being in school again - starting simple, doing the problems, and working my way up to the harder stuff.  I covered my desk with scratch paper and did each and every problem from beginning to end until I felt confident at what I was doing.  I did algebra while cooking my kids dinner. I studied geometry after everyone went to bed.  I did word problems while eating breakfast.  I have spent nearly every waking minute relearning these skills. One night, I had a dream about being in my middle school Algebra class.  Even my unconscious was studying!

The Result
I am still going through the books, but thanks to the library, I finally feel confident.  After years of putting it off...

I am scheduled to take the GRE on April 29!  Wish me luck!!!

Blog hint---Someone asked me if I link the books I use for my blog.  The answer: Yes! Always!!!  Just click on the blue words above to go to either the books I used or the library catalog search term to find them.  

By the way, next week I will write about GRAPHOLOGY, or HANDWRITING ANALYSIS!  I have anonymous handwriting samples from library staff!  It should be fun!