5 Things I Hate About School

in Careers Education college life by marcus — February 14, 2008 at 2:42 pm | 2 comments

College is an awesome way to learn, grow, and, of course, improve your future. You meet wonderful people and get exposed to things you never otherwise would have. You get challenged and earn your stripes, so to speak, in the real world. All good things. But I just hate some things about it.

This might seem like a funny thing to write on a website about education. However, after six years of higher education- just keeping it real here-, there are some things I will never get used to. In fact, leaving school and then returning for a master’s degree has not made it any easier. You know the whole absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder thing? Well, that’s not true with college.

So, in the spirit of complete honesty, I just wanted to gripe about college-related things I just can’t stand. I am hoping, obviously, that others out there will share my frustrations with the whole university experience. I also wince at the prospect that I am just being a big wimp about the whole ordeal and this will broadcast that wimpiness across the expanse of cyberspace, a risk I am willing to take. For your reading pleasure, following are the five things I hate about school. You’ll notice that most of these stem from my belief that universities should operate more like free market businesses and less like the stuffy universities of two centuries ago:

1. Expensive textbooks – Okay, nothing says ‘Welcome to a new semester of school!’ like paying several hundreds of dollars for books that you will go through in three to four months and never read again for the rest of your life.

Universities make very little effort to rein in money-hungry publishers and make things a little easier for students who are already paying out the yin-yang just to pay tuition and rent. The university holds our arms behind our backs while the publishers sock us in the stomach.

2. Grades (especially on the curve) – News flash: in the real world, there are no grades. Especially, people are not graded on the curve and they sure as heck aren’t graded on how well they tell the professor what he wants to hear. In fact, the most successful organizations are those which create win-win environments where all participants achieve their potential.

The university grading system is still around because, well, it’s just always been there and that’s what people expect to see. It’s high time this relic of a performance measure was retired and sent to a cold, lonely grave.

3. Anal professors – It’s no secret that professors often regard their classes as their own personal kingdoms, their word as gospel, and opposing viewpoints as a threat to their authority. Running ironically contrary to the supposed goal of universities to foster debate and free thought, these powermongers too often suppress their students merely for the pleasure of hearing themselves speak. Their lust for power is also manifest in their unwillingness to compromise with students on test scores or assignments.

Not every professor is this way, but too many are. Last time I checked, I was the customer, the one forking out the dough to consume their service. Shouldn’t they cater to me, instead of the other way around?

4. Anal students – Especially in groups, these students become extremely annoying. These students have bought into the false sanctity of grades, GPAs, perfect scores, and the pot of gold they will receive for graduating magna cum laude.

Were they to see how very little grades and test scores matter after school, they might loosen up and enjoy the company of their fellow students, stop and smell the roses. Sadly, their fate will be to tear through college only to enter the workforce and be shunned by their co-workers because of their lack of interpersonal skills or perspective.

5. Clueless professors – You walk into class one day only to find your classmates taking an unexpected midterm. When you ask the professor about it, she remarks, “Oh, I mentioned it two weeks ago in the middle of my lecture on tenant farming in the 17th century. You must have missed it.” Professors who are too laid back or who offer excessively ambiguous syllabi also can make your college life miserable. These professors make it virtually impossible to stay on top of the work in their class. The worst of these evaluate your work with a much more critical eye than they do their own.

There it is! I said it. Just had to purge there for a moment. Education is a wonderful time in your life full of discovery and inspiring teachers (except for all those things I just mentioned). Tell us your college-related gripes below…

Tags: anal students bad professors clueless professors college dislikes gripes university