Yep, last night I decided to quit. One class, that is. Actually, one class and the associated lab. Did I scare you? Classes began this week at SPC and one of my courses was Human Anatomy and Physiology. Well, I was completely blown away by the first assignment. It consisted of three questions. I'll list them here, and I'm paraphrasing so this isn't excatly what they were: 1. List all of the major organs in the human body and describe their functions in detail. 2. Name and describe the cavaties of the human body and which organs are located in which cavaties. 3. Describe the physical relationships of the organs of the body using medical directional terminology (such as "the wrist is DISTAL to the elbow" and "the knee is PROXIMAL to the ankle"). Well, about an hour and a half into question one, I decided this class isn't for me. Today was the last day to withdraw and get a refund, so withdraw I did. Unfortunately, this means I most likely won't be finished with my AA by the end of the year as I had hoped. I posted the info in my blog today (see link below) if you care to read more about what happened...
I don't blame you for dropping that class. The assignment is, IMO, ridiculous. It's like asking someone to write out their textbook.
been there, done that - there is no sense in taking a class for which you don't have the time. Why set yourself up for failure?? I'd say it was a good decision - one that you surely won't regret. BM
Well, I believe I'm going to have to take a SPC class in order to meet the residency requirement. So far, no other class is available online that meets the "3 credit class plus 1 credit lab" requirement. Perhaps you'd like to look at "Section D" on this document and offer your suggestions: http://www.spcollege.edu/webcentral/acad/genedaa.htm I'm already taking Earth Sciences from the "Physical Sciences" section so I have to take something + lab from the "Biological Sciences" section.
I took A & P I and II and the labs at my local university. VERY in-depth. Easily 60+% of the classes failed and attendance was packed every week. I don't think I could have handled those classes DL. I think its a little strange that your first assignment asked those questions right away. How are you supposed to have a broad functional view of the human body when you've just started to study it? My classes started from the cellular level and worked up to organs and cavities in the second semester. We had entire units for each organ. Your assignment looked like some of the essay questions on my midterms.
A&P is one of the hardest classes you can take anywhere. I have a lot of friends studying to be nurses, occupational therapists, and other medical related professions, and it's a struggle for all of them. It's basically a weed out course.
On the first day of class in my last semester of undergraduate school the history professor said "here is a list of 15 books -- the first exam in 2 weeks will be over all these". About half of the class dropped out that afternoon. College courses do not have to be gut busters!
I wondered about that. They seemed to go out of their way to be less than helpful, especially the lab instructors. My lecture grade carried me through that class.
I taught that class as an adjunct at SPJC (it was J back then) The question is really not that hard, but the instructor needed to be more specific in the phrasing. You can name the organ systems and what they do in a few paragraphs (they are the Chapters of the Marieb book I think they are still using). Describing the body cavities is easy too, another few paragraphs. Learning distal, proximal, medial and lateral is easy. Farther from, closer to, middle , outside. My hand is distal to my elbow. My transmission is proximal to the engine and the muffler is distal to the engine. The fingers have 2 joints the DIP and the PIP (distal interphalangeal and proximal interphalangeal). Your ankle has two protuberances. The one on the inside is the medial mallelous and you got it the one outside is the lateral mallelous. To ask someone to describe indepth the structure and function of organ systems in the first week of the semester is not really acceptable. A&P in a community college should cover the basic functions of the organ systems, the terminology that you will encounter in the professions with little rote memorization. If you come out of it knowing only what the gastrocnemius is then you're not well prepared. If however you remember it is the calf muscle and it is involved in plantar flexion of the foot (and if you learn dorsiflexion and plantarflexion, pronate and supinate, and the like) then you are learning things you need to know. If you need A&P you need A&P. If you need 3hrs with an hour of lab then try micro with Wilhimena.