[148] I Hate College

I almost have to force myself to stay seated. How do we justify this process, here's a word, write it down, I'm going to talk about something you won't be able to recite back to me after class, repeat. The home”work” consists of copy and pasting the words you write into another word document. What kills me is that I've been apart of this process for 15 years and I still cannot find a point. I don't see how it works, nor do I understand how those who aren't just good at memorizing are really “learning” anything. I venture to say the vast majority of the class is not going home to memorize this list of words. I'm hot an uncomfortable. I'm not learning, I don't care, and I hate being here.

There is an easy way to fix this. Take the apprenticeship stance. Say your going to go out to the garage as a kid and you and your dad are going to build a tree house. Do you think your going to learn a damn thing if he gets you all pumped up to work with him, then sits you down, and explains the name, shape, and history of every tool and types of wood that have been used to build tree houses? It's called picking things up as you go along. People who are dropped into a country are surprised by how quickly they pick up the language and start to understand. This is not because they got all A's on their tests for a years worth of Spanish.

I think wasted time is any time your not doing something either 1. You enjoy doing and is stimulating, 2. is productive in light of some cause or organization, 3. countless others are doing it as well who both can and are doing it better than you, and 4. It's an action that was established as a rule of thumb and is carried out for that sole purpose. (I came up with four because one of those bloody rules of thumb is to find fucking 3 of everything.)

1. I don't consider all my down time wasted, nor do I even feel as bad as I'd let on, because I'm frequently doing something that I enjoy or am enjoying the company of others. My free time consists of Big Bang videos, joking in the lounge, movie nights, and soul searching discussions. Given that one of my main goals in life is to be as happy as possible, I feel I'm chugging down that path just fine.
2. There are many ways of being productive that are not entrenched in homework or coveted notions about memorization. I feel as if I contribute more to my human race by learning science things in my free time than I'll ever be able to do memorizing a list of psyche terms associated with regions of the brain. What's more, if and when I need to know a specific region of the brain to counter some point or provide and example, holy shit The Google is still running. Furthermore, I've learned more from being forced to formulate arguments than I've ever learned from a slide show in class. When your compelled, or forced in my case, to teach someone, you almost automatically learn whatever it is your talking about because your mind does all those little subconscious things that assure itself you'll use and need this information later. Grades no longer reflect what I care to see from my “work.”
3. I can't help but feel futile when I look at the hundred or so kids around me copying the words exactly as I'm doing. All the while the professor carries on in a couple minute spiel about each word, the real meat and potatoes if you will, that we aren't expected to right down or know anything about, because after all, this is an “introductory course.” We watch a minimum of 3 video clips each day with some scientist explaining their work, and I can't help but feel like their day to day doesn't consist of preparing to be a jeopardy contestant when an interviewer is present. If a specific field of study needs more researchers, here's an idea, present those fields, garter classes around them, get the more specified skills and terms to those who show a passion for such a subject. Sure, I'll recognize MRI on a multiple choice exam, no, I still have to use The Google to explain all the cool and happening ways it is influencing our lives today. One on one learning obviously speeds things along. Should we prefer to give meager overviews to hundreds of kids, or specialize handfuls to carry out desired tasks?
4. Our whole school institution is like this. I've heard at least two presentations from teachers themselves telling us that our modes of learning are rooted in 18^th century thought. You ask almost anyone why they are down some path or making some decision and you'll overwhelmingly get “because I have to,” “this is how to get a job,” “I think (key word, only think) this will make me happy.” We are a species that is prone to ruts. Our minds are prepared and willing to accept them, and the more actions we can mimic from those around us, the better we “fit in.” Granted, there are common and “best” ways of achieving some means that we should be able to recognize as universal, like using the sidewalk instead of the middle of the road, but I feel that such a simple and obvious level of realization is destructive when applied to our higher faculties. “Ga-hilk, I said this word over and over and nows I remember it better ::LIGHTBULB:: omg everybody should repeat things over and over to get smarter like me!” Easy there Jethro, lets maybe study the behavior of the people who've achieved most in the world, and accept broader and more mature definitions of progress and learning. Maybe you love the current system and think it's the best way. I'd refer you to my number 3 argument and point at Japan or China, because yes, they are indeed kicking ass, but at what cost?

One of the quickest things to piss me off as well is rationalizations people try to give in response. For example, when I ask myself why the hell I'm in Spanish when I don't care to speak it, I find it boring, I have no future plans of using it, yet I'm told if I know it well enough it will get me a job quicker, I kind of feel like the person doesn't really get it. Biology and math are the life lines to our health and existence, yet a complete guess would say to me there are thousands of kids here who will never take another math or biology class and still do just fine. I think people should be asking themselves what they alone can contribute. On a TED talk there was the example of Photobucket or Flicker where some people gave thousands of pictures, others gave one. If that one person gives one picture that many can still find cool or useful, that single picture has now given that person a purpose and meaning for their contribution over those who've upload thousands. I personally believe that everyone has at least a glint of originality for simply being an autonomous being, and the more we become a society cognizant of that glint, the more we'll see and get out of each other. I just want to focus on taking my one photo first.