Most undergrad classes are functionally "history of x" or "here are some things that are types of x" or "750 names and/or numbers about x," and even the ones that aren't seem to involve working as hard as possible to keep students from doing or even looking directly at x
-
-
Yes, there's great variance between universities, fields, programs, etc. I'm more interested in arguing about what x can reasonably look like with a room full of inexperienced people than trying to explain what "most" means, so please spare me
Show this thread -
I actually think this is a hard problem for universities. People seem to do most of their actual learning when they're either operating under direct mentorship/apprenticeship or building/practicing on their own and/or autodidacting with more limited direct mentorship
Show this thread -
University structure remains largely unchanged despite broad expert agreement that people don't learn very much that way, and I honestly think most admin think undergrads are too stupid for a real education. And anyway, they seem happy to pay 5-6 figs for lectures + bubble tests
Show this thread -
A lot of people *could* hire a very competent expert in their field for 10-15 hours/week to guide a more productive process, but they wouldn't be able to get loans for it, and depending on the field it may be legally or practically impossible for them to work
Show this thread -
If you want my maximally cynical take, it's that I think these places mostly exist to provide certificates to the sort of people who will later become major alumni donors, and the especially brilliant professors & prodigies are no less window dressing than the student athletes
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
I don't know what you did in undergrad but I did stuff like play with skeletons. Haha
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
or initiated by the kid who knew nothing about said subject but was an expert in dragging the class through a 10 minute exercise in self-aggrandizement
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
I went to college and law school 25 years ago, and we had all written exams. We had the bubble tests for entrance exams only. We quite frequently had good discussions with the professors and grad students. Didn't like that engineering run as a "flunk out academy".
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Courses with a 'class participation' component of the grade always earned my contempt because the discussions were both boring and absurd
- 1 more reply
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.