Well if I thought regular academic term classes were a joke, nothing could have prepared me for the farce of the summer term. Since summer terms are half the length of regular terms, the classes meet more often and are longer in length, so as to get the same number of actual classroom contact time as regular term classes. So if you missed one class, you missed a lot, basically the equivalent of missing two classes during regular term. But that did not stop people from skipping class, and from leaving a class early. By the end of the term, each class had shrunk considerably in attendance size. Since no attendance was taken, the numbers became fewer and fewer as time went along.
At the beginning of the summer term, each prof would announce that in order for the classes to be shorter, the regular break would be skipped. So a two hour class would become one hour and 45 minutes long. Well, the other students would leave and take a smoking break anyway. And then the prof would get tired of lecturing and let us out early, after one and a half hours. So each class was shorter than it should have been.
And it was the same old crap, of being lectured at, with no discussions. And it would have been possible in the smaller class sizes. Guess the profs who have to teach during the summer term are real rookies. It must be some kind of new teacher initiation rite. You could tell they did not want to be there. It showed in their lectures. More of being read to from a textbook we already owned. We definitely did not get our money's worth during the summer term.
Low Education Post number 7
What Good is College?
What good is college? I keep asking myself that. It seems college is mainly a bunch of hoops you have to jump through to get a piece of paper that employers use to weed people out. The sooner people realize this and just accept it, the better.
And that is not the end of it either. I mean really, when it comes down to it, all that matters is how well connected you are. Time for a job after graduation? Forget job applications and monster dot spam, just call up Uncle Fred, because that is the only way you are going to get a job that matters.
Bachelor degrees are so commonplace that to have one is not enough to get ahead in this world. A Masters Degree can help a bit, but not that much. Don't waste the extra year of your life. Get a bachelor's degree and then start calling your relatives. Or skip college altogether and get a job with no degree. Again, it is who you know. Or get an associate degree or one-year certificate. My best buddy from high school is about to graduate from a two year technical college and already has job lined up as an aviation mechanic and will be making more than I thought would be possible.
And don't waste time getting good grades in college either. Spend time making connections with people that are going to matter in your future. Research the backgrounds of your classmates and find a way to hang out with the rich. Pass your classes, shoot for straight B's. Leave time to network with the rich or famous. It will serve you better than studying in the end.
When it comes time for me to graduate, I will not be asking for much in the way of college graduation gifts. Give me the gift that keeps on giving - a JOB!
Post number 6 in Low Education
And that is not the end of it either. I mean really, when it comes down to it, all that matters is how well connected you are. Time for a job after graduation? Forget job applications and monster dot spam, just call up Uncle Fred, because that is the only way you are going to get a job that matters.
Bachelor degrees are so commonplace that to have one is not enough to get ahead in this world. A Masters Degree can help a bit, but not that much. Don't waste the extra year of your life. Get a bachelor's degree and then start calling your relatives. Or skip college altogether and get a job with no degree. Again, it is who you know. Or get an associate degree or one-year certificate. My best buddy from high school is about to graduate from a two year technical college and already has job lined up as an aviation mechanic and will be making more than I thought would be possible.
And don't waste time getting good grades in college either. Spend time making connections with people that are going to matter in your future. Research the backgrounds of your classmates and find a way to hang out with the rich. Pass your classes, shoot for straight B's. Leave time to network with the rich or famous. It will serve you better than studying in the end.
When it comes time for me to graduate, I will not be asking for much in the way of college graduation gifts. Give me the gift that keeps on giving - a JOB!
Post number 6 in Low Education
Rampant Cheating on Campus
I mentioned in my last post how the students acquire a copy of a previous exam and so thereby can easily cheat on every exam offered at this university. Another aspect of the rampant cheating on campus is the fact that in the Literature classes, I believe I am the only student who actually reads the assigned books. All the other students just get by on the Cliff Notes or online synopsis. But because the classes are conducted without discussions, the professors do not realize or do not care. The lectures do nothing to help stimulate creative thinking about the meaning of the assigned book. Much is made about learning the plot, setting, and characters. But little or no emphasis is put upon analysis of the plot, background information on the author which led them to write the book, etc. The lectures on significant literary pieces are as interesting as the dullest presentation on the Periodic Table of the Elements in a chemistry class. the exams cover only the facts of the books, so the Cliff Notes are all the students need to pass the exams, again multiple choice tests of poor quality.
Post Number Five of Low Education
Post Number Five of Low Education
Robotic Professors
And now I shall turn my attention to the professors themselves. Class attendance is not even recorded and the professors are often late. If they speak intelligible English, you are very lucky. Most are foreigners with thick accents that are hard to understand. Class size is huge and most professors just read from the book. They add nothing of value to the class textbook. No wonder students skip class. It is usually just a boring lecture, and not even a true lecture, but a reading of the boring textbook. There is no discussion of ideas, no questions asked. At the end of the class, students pop their earbuds back in their ears and silently leave the room. It is eerily silent. The tests are a joke. First of all, because the professors are usually not full professors and are graduate assistants, they write one test and use it each term. So the students are able to easily cheat on these exams. If you are unfortunate to have no access to last term's test, don't worry, the test will not be a challenge. It will be multiple choice, a very simple multiple choice, with two of four answers unplausible, so the answer becomes fairly obvious.
Post Number Four on Low Education
Post Number Four on Low Education
Drugs on Campus
Drugs on campus are everywhere and it is hard to avoid seeing a drug drop if you live on or near campus. They may as well hang out a sign that says, "Hi! We can take your drugs between the hours of 10pm and 2am." Or put that on a t-shirt and just walk around campus. I just look the other way. But it is so sad to see this happening on what is supposed to be a clean, middle-class institution of higher education. Monday morning in classes is prime learning time for me. I just about have the profs to myself, as more than half the students are sleeping off a hangover or drug high and don't bother to come to class. The administration just ignores it. Student volulnteer monitors are supposed to report any evidence of alcohol or drug abuse. Yeah, right! The volunteer monitors are just as likely to be using or drinking as the students they are supposed to report.
Post Number Three on Low Education
Post Number Three on Low Education
Underage Drinking
If the students themselves are not underage, then half of the party-goers are, as these fraternity boys like to sneak high school girls into their parties. Why does my university turn a blind eye to this? I can only imagine what goes on behind the closed doors of the fraternity dorm rooms. I can hear their rowdiness all the way across campus with my windows closed and a fan running. Loud music is blasted out of the windows and people shout and scream. Sometimes they come out of the fraternity houses and run around the commons in all the various stages of undress. You would have to be blind and deaf to not know there was underage drinking happening on this campus. Is this a case of 'What happens in Sigma Xi stays in Sigma Xi?'
Post Number Two of Low Education
Post Number Two of Low Education
College Is Not What You Think
This whole blog is going to be about college and how disappointed and disgusted I am with the whole idea of it and the reality of it. So if you are turned off by this premise, then read no further. I am in my third term and I thought it would get better. It is getting worse. What are my complaints? Excuse me, but did anyone besides me come here to learn? College is nothing but a free ride for unlimited drinking and drugs. I cannot believe my family has saved up money all these years just to subject me to this. It is disgusting. Campus visits should be unannounced and always on a Saturday night about midnight. That is when the true face of the student body is revealed to anyone who cares to observe.
Post Number One on Low Education
Post Number One on Low Education
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