Adventures Between Semesters
This last week has been interesting because I took a one-week long statistics course in Hierarchical Linear Models. This was a 3 credit course all crammed into one week. Wow! I’m quite tired.
Because this course was held between semesters, especially after spring semester, campus was quite quiet. Normally, there are nearly 29,000 students taking classes at the University of Utah. This means there are quite a few people on campus at any given time. There are also nearly 20,000 faculty and staff on campus at any given time, so campus is usually quite busy. Because campus was so empty, the buildings for our course were really quiet. Almost surreal.
But now I’m done with that course and it is quite a relief. So I have now completed three “semesters” of statistics. Hallelujah!
But I feel that I’ve actually learned something about statistics this time. I want to write up a blog about hierarchical linear models in statistics and what they are. This model of statistics is actually pretty cool.
But I didn’t always feel this way; Monday evening I was so frustrated with the textbook because I couldn’t understand the gobbledygook past Chapter 2. I think I actually cried a little bit, and thought that maybe I wasn’t cut out for all this. But I went to class Wednesday morning and worked through the lab Wednesday afternoon. Because of the activities in lab, I was able to get through my frustration and begin learning the concepts of hierarchical models.
I imagine this won’t be the last time I experienced frustration and else about my abilities while I’m in this doctoral program. A doctoral program is by no means easy, and it is meant to make you grow and become an expert in the field. That can be painful and sometimes.
My family coping with me being in school
this last year has been a tough go for me and my family. The first year of a doctoral program is a bit of a shock in the amount of work that is required. So your family has to then get used to all of the time you spend on homework, in class, and at work. My kids had some trouble coping at first, but the girls seem to be doing okay because they come in and talk to me while I’m working on homework.
However, my son is still having difficulty coping with how I’m not spending a lot of time with him in the family room or playing games. In fact, he’s been rather mad at me, but we seem to be working through it. I hope he continues to understand how much I love them and how we can get through this without much difficulty. We just need to be most conscientious about spending time together.
I think that’s important for working mom anyway: to be conscientious about spending time with your kids. It can be difficult, but it worth it. You also have to teach your kids to be most conscientious about spending time with you and talking with you. You can accomplish this by encouraging them to come in and talk to you about your day, feed them chocolate, and listen intently. Don’t lecture, just love your child and be there to help and listen.
