Question of stupidity

Thallium

I am very tired of being so self-destructive and asking questions such as these, but here I go anyway:

Does getting an average grade prove that you are dumb?

I got an average grade on my final exam: oral presentation, 15 minutes and I was so nervous. The censor said that some of what I said was "unclear", but I had control of myself and I made many good points. I did it my way and I am so disappointed with myself. To me, that grade was not put on the examination, but one ME. To me, taking tests are to prove or at least seek to know, that I am clever. That is very arrogant and I keep destroying my mentality no matter what angle I see it from. I am trapped and outburnt.

chroot

You win some, you lose some. Don't worry about the small battles; worry about winning the war. Getting one mediocre grade does not make you mediocre; even getting ten bad grades does not make you bad. Relax.

- Warren

Ivan Seeking

So the first point is that some of your presentation could have been better, but that much of it was good. I would take that exactly as it is. Don't turn a small need to improve into a defeat. This is part of learning. Next, tests are designed to measure your understanding of the material. Being clever has little to do with much of anything as nearly as I can tell. Being clever is for parties and internet forums. Being prepared covers most other things.

Ivan Seeking

From a Gary Larson cartoon I think.

A middle aged man is seen sitting in bed and he appears to have been startled or jolted awake. He looks to be quite panicked. The caption reads: "Suddenly Bob realized that nobody cares what his GPA was in college"

The reason this is funny is that so many middle aged people know the feeling.

BobG

This is why so many people fear public speaking more than death.

Actually, the techniques you use in public speaking, oral presentations, etc. aren't any different than any other skills, knowledges you learn. The only reason they're more difficult is that it's hard to get your attention off of yourself and onto the material and audience.

Was this a public speaking course? They should have taught you a few techniques to help you with this like visual aids (that really helped pull me from behind my notes and into my presentation), focusing on the folks who seem the most interested (and using that as a link to the folks you need to draw back in once you've gotten a little better at this), and several others. If not, I'd consider taking one.

Regardless, relating your grade as being put on you vs. being put on your presentation skills is the biggest obstacle you need to overcome. The skills, you can work on. It's a little harder to overcome the extra baggage you're tossing in on your own.

BobG

Oral examinations can be so much fun. I was in a split course, where if you did well enough (B or higher), you went on to part II - otherwise you spent a little more time working on part I. And if you went on to part II, you got two separate grades - one for the first part (3 hrs) and one for the second (2 hrs).

That set up a 'nice' situation for those of us who just missed an A by 1 or 2 points. The instructor gave four of us a chance to take a three question oral exam in front of the class (they build character, really) and we only had to get one answer right to get the extra points we needed.

Of course, the problems were nearly unsolvable. The first day, I actually was able to solve one of them, unfortunately it wasn't the one he gave me (nothing like standing in front of the class looking at the board with a dumb expression on your face).

Still, I felt that knowing one of the problems meant I had a realistic chance of getting one of my problems correct, so two of us went ahead and went for the second question the next day. Neither one of us knew the answer to either problem, but now I'd gone too far. I was only going to get one more question to bomb on and, having bombed twice, figured I could suffer through it one more time (plus I was able to talk the other guy into into it, as well, so I didn't have to look stupid alone).

By that time, you know you're going to fail, so I still start out staring dumbly at the board. Except after a few seconds, I realized I actually knew the answer to this one. Both of us got our last problem right but then, after class, had to endure the instructor's stories about the oral exams he had taken and how much he had gained from them

phatmonky

That is true for all tests in life.

Thallium

Many good thoughts and advices here. I did not look much down on my notes, but it might be that I mumbled a bit too much. I did not look much at the two teachers who sat listening, but more below their bodies somewhere near the floor, and out of the window. Not too much, but I shoudln't have done that. I was very good at not looking too much at my notes! :)

I also know that the grade was put on my presentation skills and not on me, but somehow, my frustration causes all the negative speculation to well up inside me and it covers the positive sides.

My understanding of the task was good, but I have a feeling I did not express myself too clearly.

Thanks for the therapy everyone!

Chrono

Sounds like you're speaking from experience, there, Warren.

chroot

Chrono,

Well, uh, yes -- like virtually everyone else on the planet, I've gotten a few bad grades along the way.

- Warren

Andy

A few bad grades? I dont think I've ever had a good grade for any subject at school. Ever.

jimmy p

Lol same here.... That is A-level maths failed for good now

Chrono

Yeah, I hear you, dude. Kind of bringing up some bad memories now that I think about it.

Jon