The proper approach to learning this material

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Step 1 - If you don't understand something, then read and re-read the sections in Lammle.  Whenever I am learning new material like this, I always have to re-read (at least once) certain sections. 

Step 2  -  Be Bold. Be experimental.  Try it in the routers.  If it is wrong, the router won't work.  Big deal.  Try it again a different way.   Still doesn't work?  So what.  Try it a third way.  The material I understand the best is often the result of 2-3 hours of struggle and failure, climaxing in success. 

Step 3  -   Teachers who just give students answers, cheat them out of learning for themselves.  If the teacher is always giving you the answer, then what are you going to do in corporate America when you encounter a new problem, and there is no teacher to give you the answer?  On the other hand, if you learn to solve problems on your own, your confidence will soar.  When you have a question, always ask yourself, "How can I set the router up to test out the different possible solutions?"  The router is the final authority. 

Step 4  -  Seek help from your peers, your TAs, and your teacher  -   but not too quickly, and not without testing different possibilites yourself first.