Queue on 29/8/2013 at 05:09
That was one of the best things I've ever read on these forums.
Thank you, V.A.
... and thank you for demonstrating what integrity, self-reliance, and self-worth really mean.
(And you too, Chade.)
Muzman on 29/8/2013 at 05:14
You hear a lot of this stuff about 'self motivation' and "You are on your own now!" which I think frankly is a myth. Although I'm sure it varies wildly, but the myth of the stern, abstruse conservative Master type who coldly withholds in order to get you to boostrap yourself doesn't exist in any of the tertiary institutions I've been involved with.
Sure there's still crusty old Dons here and there but they are few and far between.
Indeed I remember being told at the end of Primary School that 'teachers don't care if you do your homework or not over there (referring to High school). You do it because you want to succeed", just to scare kids essentially, and it wasn't true there either.
On the whole I'd have to say the reverse is true. The amount of educational care actually increased the further up you went. And this is actually great, however it may unsettle the rugged individualist nerve we still possess. At the end of highschool I would have told you scholastic endeavour is complete fraud and waste of everyone's time (and I would still say this about high school actually). University is very different and can make you think it all might be worthwhile after all. And all this talk about 'hard work' is usually a waste of time too, since it's all relative. Find a topic you like and it'll barely be work at all. You might find you quite like concentrating on things and figuring stuff out. So long as you actually do is all that really matters.
Yakoob on 29/8/2013 at 05:28
Quote Posted by Robert4222
Well, joining clubs doesn't seem a bad idea, but I'm not very much into going parties in general.
Neither was I. But going to parties opened me up, making me a better person overall. And there's only one time you can have that "experience." Don't miss out on it.
Quote Posted by faetal
Study something you are passionate about and it can change your life.
Conversely, study something you have no idea about and you might just discover new passions.
(that was me - wouldn't have discovered my love for film or developed good writing and knowledge if it wasn't for the Liberal Arts degree I frankly had no interest in at the time. In the end, why pay to be taught something you are passionate enough to learn on your own?)
Robert4222 on 29/8/2013 at 05:38
@Queue: The way you're telling me to get a job is like it was given to the first comer, and like if signing up in a Uni is all about paying the tuition.
1. You don't know where I live and how critical is the economical situation here. People with master's degree can't even get a decent job. And let's even imagine I got one, How is it going to change anything about the way I'll be taking courses and learn ?
On the other hand, I don't have time to fuck around while knowing that my folks (who even though I wholeheartedly hate for personal reasons, I got a little respect for them) are old enough to retire, but they still word to allow me and my older siblings to get a higher education
2. I earned accessing to a particular and prestigious uni by: Doing well on a general admission test, getting a good score in a english TOEFL test and give a good impression in an oral interview.
Shayde on 29/8/2013 at 06:47
I scraped through my undergraduate Degree despite being drunk and stoned for most of the time. I skipped lectures and sulked and was an asshole teenager. I don't think I learnt all that much. I was just there to tick off an expected box on my life list.
I then went into the job market and worked through a few crummy jobs and a few great ones. I had babies and freelanced for a while. At 30 I went back to school for Postgraduate studies paid for by my company. It's a very niche area and crazy expensive and if I had failed I would have had to pay my company back. Despite working 9 hours a day and having a husband and 2 kids (under the age of 5) to take care of, I graduated with a distinction. I am about to register for further studies for the sole reason that they pay me according to the qualifications I have (academia).
TL;DR
Know yourself. I am motivated solely by potential salary growth and the desire to afford a great school for my kids.
If you can understand what motivates you and you can match this to what/ how/ where you are studying then you will do fine.
Chade on 29/8/2013 at 06:55
Muzman, I don't think that "you are on your own" is meant to imply that your teachers don't care. But in my experience, if you want to skip lectures and/or assignments, no one is going to try to stop you. Hell, if you are that way inclined, it's very easy to get through Uni without your teachers even knowing you exist. This is not true in high school.
Muzman on 29/8/2013 at 07:25
It definitely was in my case (and to anyone who was in the class with me at the time). On several occasions it was made clear to us that teachers at university don't care if you live or die. You do your own work and if you don't well you get the grade and that's the end of it. It was repeatedly portrayed as an indifferent place as a rule.
But it never panned out. You can skip lectures because no one takes attendance, but I've known plenty of tutors and professors who spend loads of time chasing up students about attendance and assignments or other things. Checking up how they are going; wondering why they're failing; seeing how they're coping; giving them second chances; offering help. It's constant.
High School teachers have about 50% of their job being making sure kids are where they are supposed to be and yeah, they don't do that so much at university. But otherwise there's loads of assistance. It's very involved in my experience. It's highschool where their care is more limited (because there's loads more kids to deal with and there's still that need to be a supplier of discipline and regimentation). But I think universities do it, to the horror of the starched collared brylcreme'd Republican dad from 1956 who lives in us (especially in politics), because the learning is better.
Thirith on 29/8/2013 at 08:57
I taught at Uni (and am hoping to get back into it), and my attitude was always that while it's my job to make my teaching interesting and engaging, it's not my job to make students care about the subject. Anyone who wasn't willing to meet me halfway would simply not get much of my professional attention - I'd reserve that for students who were obviously willing to put in some effort. For instance, any students saying that they hadn't done their reading? Well, tough: that's their job. They don't do theirs, they shouldn't expect me to do it for them. I would be understanding if things were happening that made it difficult for them, but only to the extent where I'd give them time to catch up - they'd still have to do the same work.
Some students were fine with that. Some students didn't work the tiniest bit. The latter usually dropped out before long. As far as I'm concerned, that's entirely on them - a student who's not filling to put in any time and energy to begin with shouldn't be at Uni to begin with. I expect some minimum of cooperation, otherwise they're pretty much on their own.
demagogue on 29/8/2013 at 09:19
In my experience, younger professors tend to put in more attention to students, and older professors are more about just giving lectures & being famous (though the impact of awesome lectures shouldn't be discounted either) -- with exceptions both ways of course.
I taught last year to Burmese law students, but as there were only 26 students and they were specially selected for the program, it was inevitable they'd get more attention from us. But I'd do the same if I were teaching at a normal law school (which is what I hope to be doing soon too).
Universities vary too. From my own experience, UTexas was a lot more open cultured (professors and students and groups alike) than NYU, where everyone was a bit more detached -- sort of ironic since the former was a gargantuan public school and the latter a smaller private school.
Briareos H on 29/8/2013 at 09:22
Quote Posted by Robert4222
You don't know where I live and how critical is the economical situation here. People with master's degree can't even get a decent job. And let's even imagine I got one, How is it going to change anything about the way I'll be taking courses and learn ?
From your previous posts I got the impression that you were a Frenchman. If that's the case or if you live in Europe you don't get to complain that people misinterpreted your original post, because the words you used made it fairly obvious you were talking about colleges built on the american model. If you live in France, for example, 95% of what people wrote in this thread doesn't apply because the system is so different.
So, where do you live?
