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| College Dropouts | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 16 2007, 07:37 PM (358 Views) | |
| piercehawkeye45 | Apr 16 2007, 07:37 PM Post #1 |
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Franklin Pierce
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http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2007/04/16/71562
Personally, being a current university student, I think it is mostly the student's fault while teachers can play a big role in it too. I know of many students that just give up when they don't understand the material, blame the teacher, and do nothing to get extra help. But these students aren't part of the controversy, no matter how hard a teacher tries to teach, these students will most likely fail out. The controversy comes when most of the students are starting to do very bad on tests, assignments, and that. In my Calculus class right now, the average test scores for our first two midterms were 48 and 55 out of 100 and I'm pretty sure the midterms do not get curved. If the average is that low, is it the students fault, or maybe the professors, or maybe just the material is too hard, or a complex combination of the first three? Another controversy comes when a student does go to class every day, works with other classmates to understand the lessons, and goes to the TA/professor's office hours yet still doesn't understand the material. For all the hard work, should we sometimes lower standards for these types of people to succeed or should we keep our higher standards and let nature sort them out? Opinions or experiences? |
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Dropped the atomic bomb let them know that it's real Speak soft with a big stick do what I say or be killed I'm America! I have found the enemy and he is us. | |
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| Killer Bee | Apr 16 2007, 08:22 PM Post #2 |
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From my own experience, it's a double edge blade. I'll explain: For the student(s) that only shows up to class once per month and complains about how hard the subject matter is, why are they having trouble? If they're smart enough to skip class 90% of the time, then they should be able to ace any test given that semester/quarter. In cases like these, it's like they are paying $7,000 per semester to flunk out. Sad. I wish I had that kind of money to party..... To accomplish anything in life, it takes making an effort. For the student(s) that do show up and put forth the effort and they still are having difficulty, then maybe the style the class is being taught needs to be changed. If an instructor/professor has to curve the test scores so a 50% is passing a test, there is a huge problem. Also, if there are a few students who are gifted and ace all tests and the instructor/professor curves to their scores, that's also a problem. There should be NO curves when grading tests in college. If you're teaching and no one's getting it, how will curving ultimatley do any good? Outside of just passing a student who may not understand anything you taught for the length of the class. When I was in college, most of the TA'a were about as useful as tits on a bull. When you could get one to help, their "I'm in a Frat and you're not" attitude gave me the urge to go homicidal on them. I guess there really is no clear cut solution to poorly teaching at the university level, except for an across the board study involving a large handfull of universities to find out what their weakest subjects are and then setting up new criteria to help students pass and UNDERSTAND the material. I do think, Pierce, it's a combination of student ethics, harder than high school subjects and poor teaching. Just my two cents anyways. |
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| BohemianG | Apr 16 2007, 09:10 PM Post #3 |
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Voted Most Likely to End the World
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I'm a university dropout. I was essentially told what course I should be doing, and then told that a gap year was a waste of time and money. The gears of my going to university were in motion when I had no commitments down here where I live. Unfortunately, I then got a girlfriend (the one I am still with). The university in question was over 200 miles from home, and seeing her often was not viable. I was increasingly depressed and, well, a bit disturbed (thinking nothing of writing on the walls in my own blood...Christ, what was I thinking (I sound very emo now, don't I)). On top of this, I wasn't too enthusiastic about the content of the course that I had been shuttled into. It wasn't my original choice, but I was told by advisors that it'd be better for me. Of course, it wasn't. So, a course I didn't really want to do at a place very far away from the sole romantic interest I'd ever had (what did you expect, I'm a geeeeek). And so, these things contributed to my increasing unhappiness, until it came to the point when there really was no point carrying on. So yes. Don't get romanitcally involved with anyone, ever! I might go back in the future. To a different place and on a different course. |
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| 严加华 | Apr 16 2007, 10:57 PM Post #4 |
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Magister Ludicrous
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Unsurprisingly I side (mostly) with the teachers. Yes there are terrible teachers out there. Yes they seem to congregate in universities. (Universities, after all, are not institutions of learning. They're institutions of research where learning is a side-activity.) Still, push comes to shove, the teacher can do absolutely nothing to put knowledge into the students' heads. The student does the learning. The teacher can only ease the process. The most common question I get in my line of work is "how can I improve my English?" My answer never satisfies. Because my answer is "work". Or "use it". Or, the long version, "to improve your speaking, speak; your writing, write; your listening, listen; your reading, read." The answer isn't appreciated because, although it is 100% true, it involves work. And work is not what they want to hear. What they're really asking is "how can I have English magically implanted in my head?" |
LC Sez:
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| piercehawkeye45 | Apr 17 2007, 01:05 AM Post #5 |
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Franklin Pierce
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Some universities are geared more towards learning and other towards research. My university has a goal of being the number three research facility in the world by 2015 or something like that. I've had some bad teachers already but usually they just let the TAs teach. |
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Dropped the atomic bomb let them know that it's real Speak soft with a big stick do what I say or be killed I'm America! I have found the enemy and he is us. | |
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| Dizzarth Stumpy | Apr 17 2007, 04:43 AM Post #6 |
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Pessimist
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i can say with total certainty that me dropping out of college was 100% my fault... |
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STUMPY WAS RIGHT. HIS TOUCHING SOLILOQUY HAS MOVED ME, TRULY A MANIPULATOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. I HAVE ALLOWED HIM USAGE OF HIS PREVIOUS ACCOUNT. EHRHRHRHRNGGHH LC is the best and brought back my embarassing sex tapes. | |
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| Grenelle | Apr 17 2007, 03:26 PM Post #7 |
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Crazy Doctor's Apprentice
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I know someone who dropped out of university after her mum died, to support her family (financially more than anything) so that was nobodies fault, really. It was a shame, as she was an incredibly intelligent girl and would have done well at uni. Ah well. She might go back, one day. |
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Blanc sur rouge et rien ne bouge. Rouge sur blanc, tout fout le camp. | |
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