3
Prepare to Overcome Barriers
Everyday Example
This term Jesse is taking two online courses and a face-to-face science course with a lab, so he will need to be on campus four days per week. Jesse lives and works in a rural area 20 miles from campus and there is no bus system between his home and campus. Jesse has a vehicle, but it’s not very reliable and he expects that he won’t make it through the term without a breakdown. Most of his money will go to tuition, gas and rent so Jesse does not have money available for a new vehicle, but he is usually able to make minor repairs within a few days when breakdowns happen to keep the vehicle running. Jesse has identified a breakdown as a possible barrier to his academic success, but he doesn’t want to let that barrier stop him. Jesse is brainstorming things he can do now in preparation for meeting and defeating this barrier. Do you have any ideas?
Reinforcement Exercises
An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/bodyphysics/?p=181
You are completely capable of being successful at physics, but that success will not come without time and effort. Life will present you with barriers to success and some of those barriers will not be under your control. You may not be able to remove them, so you will need to work with your instructor, advisor, family, and co-workers to find ways to get over, under, around, or straight through them. The information following sections and the activities at the end of the chapter will help you to define what success in this course means to you and identify barriers to that success. The activities will also prepare you to most efficiently apply your valuable time and effort to achieving your success.