The semester is coming to an end, which means teachers, TAs and administrators will be taking stock of our perceived worth and applying judgment as they see fit. Using such archaic and inflammatory criteria (grades, attendance and participation), the fate of our lives and credit scores are in their hands.
For some, like myself, little can be done to change the impression we’ve left upon them regarding our capability.
As State Press columnist Christine Truong alluded to yesterday, some — if not all — of the blame rests squarely at the feet of the student, and so be it. Toward the end of my senior year in high school, a teacher gave me a book to read, “Get Off My Brain: A Survival Guide For Lazy Students.”
That was many moons ago, and while I still haven’t read it, I’ve been meaning to get around to it. Honestly.
What is frustrating for me, having been in the “real world” working various jobs (including military service), is the notion that college actually prepares you in some way. It doesn’t.
Much of the time used to complete lower division credits within a bachelor’s degree is spent rehashing material covered in high school. Regardless of your major, or life aspirations, taking college math, foreign languages and various sciences are requirements.
For the record, I loved taking Sign Language to meet a requirement, but I’m an English major. Shouldn’t I be taking English classes? As for math and the sciences, again — I’m an English major. I can add, subtract, multiply and divide just fine, and I have a smart phone that comes with a calculator. Why do I need to care about the value of “X” or its “slope” in relation to “Y”?
In truth, I don’t. It isn’t going to help me pay rent or buy food. For those tempted to prove me wrong, don’t waste your time. As long as I spend less than what I make, understanding ratios and quadratic equations is moot.
If I wanted a job after college that required me to know how to find the square root of something, I’d take the class, but I don’t. If I wanted to be a geologist, I’d be more than willing to take geology and its coloring counterpart (lab). But again, I don’t want to be a mathematician or geologist.
College is just another place for some to add to their “friend” count on Facebook. Many of you will take jobs after graduation that aren’t related to the degrees you’ve slaved over for however many years.
So what’s the point?
Life is full of silly flaming hoops we all have to jump through, and to that end, I guess college does teach you something. The practicality of this “life lesson,” however, is more insulting than it is beneficial — not to mention expensive and time consuming. Why we as humans love making things harder on ourselves (and others) is beyond me, but we do.
The only reason I’m here is because writing for the paper beats blogging. Is there a future in this, or in whatever you are pursuing? Only time will tell. I just hope the old adage of “C’s get degrees” is true.
Reach the writer at jbfortne@asu.edu
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