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Education debate.

OK, so, I'm having a debate about school and its procedures with someone who shall remain nameless. He's very very intelligent so It's not like I don't understand what he's saying I just think it's wrong.

He says that he only went to school to do tests. Never went to class, didn't do assignments and said, and I quote, "who goes to school besides for exams? I never understood that one either, people who need to go to class, people who need to study and do their assignments"

I'm arguing this very harshly because I find it pretty stupid to say this. Most people go to school to learn something they don't know. So if I were to only go to school and do my tests with out learning anything...how would I get anywhere? I'm not paying 10,000$ a year to not go to school.


What do you think? Would/did you only go to school for exams and skip out on all the in between or would/did you actually GO to school?

Or am I just the stupid?

at uni i only ever attented the first/last week of classes + tutes (and exams of course). lectures suck major arse and i learned things by studying, not by being talked at.

Right. I had hands on stuff, too, but a lot of work I had to be there being taught.

I think it also varies on the program you're taking. I only had 1 lecture class, ever.

Schooling cannot be quantified as just exams.

If done correctly and with a purpose, schooling can be a tremendous learning asset and can help properly mold you into the human being you become.

Up until university I was only there to do tests and get it over with. That's how I survived high school; if I hadn't skipped most of my classes, the boredom alone would've made me drop out. The system isn't adjusted to everyone's pace, and if you happen to learn quicker than most of the other students, you get stuck waiting for them, and that makes the whole experience incredibly unstimulating, and even depressing.

Now I go because I want to learn stuff. But sometimes you have to go through classes (like prerequisites) that aren't all that interesting or classes where you already know most of the material and you just don't feel like showing up to class every day and get bored.

Had a math class like that this semester. I had no interest in the subject but I needed this class to take other more advanced methodology classes, so I skipped most of it (went to maybe 2-3 lectures), opened my book last sunday, skimmed through it for a few days and passed the exam on thursday.

I went to school to learn, not to take exams. Exams are a means to an end, not the end.

I guess it depends on your school, your program, your curriculum, and how you learn.

I for one, could never skip class. Not only because my teachers facilitate better understanding, but because a lot of what I learn I retain simply from listening.

Perhaps if I was more motivated to study on my own I'd be fine, but I like a mix of learning methods.

i rarely went to lectures, would only attend classes because they were compulsory, if they weren't i probably would of skipped them too

IMO each person should do whatever they think they need to do in order to learn/get an education. For example I know people who rarely study and understand everything immediately from class or by reading through the book once, and end up taking 5,6 hard technical classes with ease. And it works fine for them. But since I know I can't match that I stick to what I can handle by brute force studying.

My point is, if he knows his stuff after he aces the test and that's what works for him, then it's fine

But I also think that education should be about challenging yourself...so I'm inclined to say that if he's having such an easy time, he should probably challenge himself more

A huge portion of your grade usually reflects on the little assignments you did in the semester, too. I wouldn't want to not do them and lose 20%-25% (yes this can be huge) of my grade even if I aced my test.

tachobg = very bright

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN at uni i only ever attented the first/last week of classes + tutes (and exams of course). lectures suck major arse and i learned things by studying, not by being talked at.

Unfortunately at my university, they make sure you're in class, or they withdraw you. Two of my classes have a quiz every day and another has you sign an attendance form. 3 absences and you're out.

quote:

Originally posted by Frenchie A huge portion of your grade usually reflects on the little assignments you did in the semester, too. I wouldn't want to not do them and lose 20%-25% (yes this can be huge) of my grade even if I aced my test.

There are alot of uni classes where you can choose to either have your assignements + midterm + final add up to your final mark or choose to have the final count for 100%.

Haha, I'd love it if my final counted for 100% of my mark.

don't forget to graduate hehe good luck!

I've actually noticed that a lot of grad/advanced classes make problem sets/assignments the majority of the grade. some don't even have exams so it's not like you can procrastinate on assignments and get away with cramming for tests. I think this is a good thing to do as it forces you to spend time really thinking about the assignment as opposed to banging out the (most likely easier than the homework) problems on the test in a couple of hours.

Also in a lot of my classes the prof has straight up said "You don't have to come to lecture, I know everyone learns differently and you can just read the book." This results in one of my math classes having like maximum 5 people each day

Yes, it definitely varies based on what you're studying. For math classes you have a curriculum and a text or two or lecture notes and you're good to go just by reading the text if that's how you learn best. Of course some other subjects naturally focus more on doing things (e.g. engineering/science lab classes) and discussing things (philosophy, literature, etc) rather than knowing things (math, pure sciences, etc).

Though 'doing' and 'discussing' are also vital to pure math and science, the content contained in the book often does not differ significantly from that of the lecture, given that you know the exact syllabus and know what to read.

See, you're paying all this money for tuition, so why wouldn't you want to get your money's worth? That's my logic for always attending, anyway. Guess I've been fortunate enough that I haven't had any seriously dull classes in a long while.

quote:

Originally posted by Sykonee See, you're paying all this money for tuition, so why wouldn't you want to get your money's worth? That's my logic for always attending, anyway. Guess I've been fortunate enough that I haven't had any seriously dull classes in a long while.

True. Though sometimes class is unfortunately a waste of time if the prof fails at teaching or if you're being made to take a course where you already know most of the stuff. I agree though, once you get past requirements and into interesting stuff, there's really no reason not to go to class

edit : edit

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN at uni i only ever attented the first/last week of classes + tutes (and exams of course). lectures suck major arse and i learned things by studying, not by being talked at.

i go to lectures, but i don't read materials until finals. what's the point of ingesting all that information when you just have to do it again at finals? That's just my style though.

quote:

Originally posted by jerZ07002 what's the point of ingesting all that information to do it again at finals.

Because repetition helps lock new information into long term memory. Again, I guess it depends on your field. I personally, and I'm sure the people I care for, prefer to actually know the shit I'm learning outside of getting a good grade on a test.

Even though I reckon many students can learn on their own quite a lot, being under the guidance of people a lot more knowledgeable than you on a specific subject is essential to a good intellectual development.

Growing up in a culture that emphasises individuality and independence, it's a bit difficult to notice how the environment can help you achieve things things you'd never be able to do on your own. When you listen to someone, you can interact with this person, reason why you can get a lot more out of lectures/seminaries if you decide to speak up.

Naturally, you're going to have both terrific and terrible teachers in your life. If your teacher sucks, then yeah, attending the classes is kinda pointless. But, unless you give it a try, how would you know? Just because of the first week?

Personally, I don't care if the students show up, as long as they take the exams. However, it's interesting to notice that, in general, the more a student skip classes, the worse their grades tend to be.

The more I hear about other people's shitty teachers, the more glad I am for the awesome teachers in my program. They're truly amazing and inspiring.

quote:

Originally posted by jennypie Because repetition helps lock new information into long term memory. Again, I guess it depends on your field. I personally, and I'm sure the people I care for, prefer to actually know the shit I'm learning outside of getting a good grade on a test.

fair enough. I am much better at retaining a massive amount of information over a short period than I am at retaining short bits of information for a long period. Thus, I prefer to cram before finals. It's all about what works best for you.

In my field, I don't think going to lectures really adds anything to the experience (unless you are truly having a difficult time understanding the materials you read - law isn't brain surgery). The entire class is based on what you read prior to class. Thus, sitting in a library for hours is likely a better way to learn. The only reason I go to lectures is to know the testing angle the professor was going to take.

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