Let me tell you what taking statistics at BYU is like for me, a 51 year-old:
--It is like a knock at the door from a visitor--I'll call him Mr. Stats. At first, our visits are enjoyable and novel, and then the frequency and length of them become frightening. "No, not you again. You came yesterday and stayed for quite a while. I have other things to do today and I was thinking I might want a little break from you today, but no, here you are are again." The knocks on the door continue and the visits are lengthy and persistent. Day after day he comes to visit and my schedule has to be adjusted to accommodate him, and the days turn into weeks and into months. But alas, there is hope! There is only one more week of class and then the final!
--It is like awakening from a 30 year hibernation period. My brain has not worked on complex formulas for a very long time. Can I still think? Do I have "anything" left? Does my brain work in this particular way? Why yes I do have something left and that fact is both exhilarating and frightening. I do not call myself smart, but I have been determined and have doggedly tried to learn the material. I read the chapters before class and then I attend class and listen to the teacher explain what I read at home, then I come home and read the chapters again. Then I make flash cards on the textbook material, class lecture, and practice quizzes, going over and over the material until I understand it--or come close to understanding it. I have had to work hard, perhaps because of my age, but the concepts of work, of repetition, and of preparation do not frighten me.
--It is like eating a meal, a very large meal and needing a few days to digest it. And then, you are offered another large meal and you shake your head and say, "Oh no, really. Thank you for the offer, but I am still full from the last meal and I couldn't possibly fit anything else in." But my plea for respite is not heard and I had better open my mouth, because in comes another meal. That is how I have felt each class time. I am still trying to digest what I was given last week and it is time for another meal. My cheeks have been full and I have motioned "no more" but in comes more. And that is why I am happy that I did not take this class online--it would have taken me months to complete it because I would have gone at a slower pace. Taking the class in person forced me to get through the material quickly.
--And last but not least, taking statistics is like boxing. I don't like boxing, but I have been in the ring now for almost four months and I am getting the hang of swinging. It has taken courage for me to stand up and face my opponent. The blows from stats have come as hard chapters (like 17), hard tests, long lectures, a "new language" (really, sometimes it is as if the teacher is speaking a different language because I don't understand what she is talking about), quizzes, checkpoints, formulas, and so on. Sometimes stats wins a round and I go to my corner bruised and beaten, but I stand back up, ready for another round and I fight back. Sounds dramatic, I know, but this class has taught me about fighting. I have had to put on my boxing gloves and fight, and you know what? It has been good for me.
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