With fall around the corner, schools across the country are starting a new academic year. The same rings true at my old university in which classes began this past Monday. There are times when I become reminiscent of my college days - but honestly, there are few memories that I can call happy. College never ended up being something I enjoyed. The grind of classes really wore down on me. And coming right out of high school and starting college classes that fall really proved to be a struggle for me. My focus was never there. It finally took me to my fourth year before I finally got a handle of the college studying routine and by then, my GPA never recovered to where I was hoping to get it. That's not to say my entire five year college experience was a total waste. I did end up with a four-year degree and there were a few people who had a positive effect on me. But the negatives far outweigh the positives and as far as I'm concerned, I really have no desire to go back.
When I started classes for my freshman year in the fall of 2000, I wasn't positively sure of what I wanted to major. I had declared my major to be in network computing systems - something to that effect. But I just wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle the more complicated mathematics that would be required for the major. Algebra 2 was as far as I had gotten in high school and taking a higher math course in high school like calculus scared me. I was happy with Algebra 2, to be honest. So following through on the math was going to be a huge test - and sadly it was too large of a goal to overcome for me. But it wasn't just the math that caused me to change my major; it was my first computer science course that totally threw me for a loop. It was Computer Science 120 and right from the first day, I was confused. We had started to make these simple programs with our laptops and I just couldn't understand what to do. The professor I was dealing with was absolutely no help. She wasn't even that approachable, in my opinion. She was old and quite cranky. I knew this computer science thing was not going to go in my favor, so I soon became an "undeclared" major and knocked out some of my elective courses.
One of the very first elective courses I decided to tackle was Music in Society. It was basically a music history course, but it also made you learn about some basic music terms. In fact, this was the first class I went to at 9:00 AM on day one. The professor was super nice, one that I had dealt with briefly in high school as he helped our high school choir group. But coming out of high school and into college, I was not prepared for the course load and so I was unfocused. I could not study the material for this class. And looking back on it, it was such an easy course! I ended up with a "D" as my final grade and getting that D honestly hurt. Never in my life had I gotten a D in a class. If I kept this up, I was in trouble. Not only was that class somewhat of a nightmare for me during semester one, but Intro to Sociology was a struggle, too. If I didn't study the material for Music in Society, well I certainly didn't for Sociology. And I did something in this class that I regret to this day and vowed not to do it ever again - I cheated. I didn't bring a cheat sheet, but I was looking at other students' bubble sheets in the row below me (we were in an auditorium setting). I honestly believe a girl sitting below me caught me looking at her sheet because she gave me a dirty look and covered up her paper really well. I thought she was going to turn me in and my college career could've ended quite abruptly. I was so scared she was going to say something to the professor when she turned her bubble sheet in. But apparently she didn't because I never was talked to by the professor. I ended up with a C for the final grade in that class which amazes me. I hardly studied as it was and I ended up with an average grade. The only class that semester I did well in was a freshman college composition course which I wound up with an A-. Intermediate Algebra I ended up with a C+. That didn't bode well for my future with Math.
The Winter semester of 2001 went a little better for me, but not much. This was the semester where I took the computer science course but ended up dropping out. I just couldn't hack it, no matter how hard I tried. I also took a basic Biology course which, again, I didn't study much for but ended up with a C. The professor for that class was easy on the eyes at least. I also took a Finite Mathematics course which, to my surprise, I ended up with a B. The only reason I did decent in that course was because of the professor. He was originally from India and his teaching methods were pretty lax, in my opinion. His grading methods were so lenient. Overall, he was a nice guy even though there was a bit of a language barrier that hindered the learning process. But growing up, we had Indian priests at my church, so I was kind of used to hearing the Indian dialect. Also this semester was another Sociology course, which I did far better with than the previous Soc. course. That was because the teacher basically referenced what would be on the test through the course material she covered in class. This was a class that met only once a week in the evenings. And more often than not, the class ended far earlier than the 9:20 ending time. So overall, the second semester of the year ended up much more positive than the first.
Then came the third semester, the first of my sophomore year. Again overall, this semester was 0.2 GPA better than the previous one. But that ain't saying much! I took a more advanced English course, a Writing and Literature class. It wasn't terribly bad, but it wasn't great either. The professor could put you to sleep at times with his lecturing. I think we ended up writing four different essays in this class - obviously these essays weren't stellar on my part. But this was the semester when the tragedy on September 11th occured. In fact, this was the first class I went to on that day, and it was extremely hard to focus because of the events that were going on. Classes ended up being called for the day soon afterwards and rightfully so. But it's one of those events that I'll never forget. Also during this semester, I took a history course called "The Third World." If you couldn't already guess, it was a class on the third world countries in our world. It was interesting to learn about the history of some of these countries, particularly those in South America. But do you think I can remember much of that history anymore? Anyways, I ended up with a C in this class which was disappointing because I took rediculously good notes and it didn't exactly help me. I also took an Intro to Philosophy course which was a class I honestly had no use for. I didn't know Philosophy could be so boring! I consider the "C" I got for a grade pretty good. And a big plus was that the professor re-used some of the questions from previous tests on the new tests. Last but certainly not least for the fall semester of 2001 was Statistics and Probability - yes, one of those dreaded math courses. I certainly made an effort and tried the best that I could with this course, but I was doomed from the start. I technically didn't have to take this course because after I became an undeclared major, I didn't need it for my network computing major. But it still qualified for an elective which is why I decided to give it a try. Well, it didn't work out and I soon struggled with the course material. It wasn't long before I dropped out.
As you can tell, I definitely had my struggles through the first three semesters of my college career. Keeping focus was proving to be a tremendous challenge for me. And I blame a large portion of my non-focus on my living arrangements through the first three years of college. I made an arrangement to live with my grandmother who lived a relatively short distance from campus. I think living with her and her boyfriend proved to be a double-edged sword. Growing up, I didn't really see her that often. And after living with her for three years, I can understand why. But all of that is for another day and part of me doesn't really want to go into those details for fear that one of my family members should happen upon this particular blog. Even though my grandmother has burned a lot of bridges in her life, I still think she has one or two people that are close to her. I don't want those individuals to be upset by what I have to say.
This blog posting is going to run rediculously long if I continue into my college career, so this will be a multi-part blog. Expect part 2 to be posted soon.
2 comments:
I have been wondering about folks who go to college(I didn't). I wonder if I could ask a few questions? If you don't want to answer I will understand. Do you think the education you got helped you in your present employment? If no one studies , therefore they don't know the information..are you really getting an education or just paying the money to go to classes. How about those classes? Once a week , how many classes a week? What do you do with all the spare time(esp. if you aren't studying)? Does that really help you prepare for real life? Seems like a lot of money for not actually learning a lot to me. Not picking on you, really , my nephew is going through that now and I am wondering why? And if the colleges need to tighten everything up. More classes per day, per week thus shorter time to get a degree?
Do you think the education you got helped you in your present employment?
Yes and no. My current place of employment required those starting out to have a degree. But it didn't necessarily have to be for the type of work required for the job. My degree, which is in writing, did not match with the job, however, that did not matter.
If no one studies , therefore they don't know the information..are you really getting an education or just paying the money to go to classes. How about those classes?
I know exactly what you mean. The electives go towards your degree, however, they have absolutely nothing to do with your degree. I had to take a lot of those kinds of classes and it's frustrating. People wouldn't have to go to school for 4, 5, 6 years if they could cut out those electives. Like you say, all anyone is doing is paying money to take those classes. Eventually you forget what you learned (like I have).
How about those classes? Once a week , how many classes a week?
It varied. When I was able to, I took night classes, which met only once per week usually for nearly three in a half hours. Other times, classes were held twice weekly for a little over an hour in a half. Otherwise I'd go to class every four days for a little less than an hour.
What do you do with all the spare time(esp. if you aren't studying)?
I didn't have much of a social life when I went to college. All I basically did was hung out at my grandmother's house, helped her out with stuff, watched TV, exercised, surfed the net ... that kind of thing. I also had a weekend job that kept me busy.
Does that really help you prepare for real life?
Probably not as much as it should. It would be better if you would be able to take courses more suited for your future degree, but the whole college experience is overrated, in my opinion. Is college exactly what it's like when you're working full-time? Absolutely not. Sure, there are internships you can take. But a little hands-on experience probably wouldn't be a bad thing.
So as you can see, I really didn't get much out of college like I wanted. Sure, I got a degree. But I don't really know what I have to show for it. As you know, I plan on continuing this series a bit more, but the conclusion I've come up with is that if I could do it all over again, I would. However at this point in time, I really have no desire to go back to college. And I doubt that'll change.
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