Is it like that at other colleges? I have so much homework and we move through material so fast you don't get a chance to appreciate any of it. A couple years ago I read "Computer Organization & Design" (Patterson & Hennessy) on my own (this was during high school) and found it really interesting. I read it pretty much cover to cover and understood almost all of it. Now it is the textbook for one of my classes, and it is just much less enjoyable.
I guess it is largely because of homework and the time schedule. If I didn't have stupid homework assignments, I could read the books to understand them to a level that satisfies my desire to understand (generally, I want to understand books entirely), instead of ending up "learning" it just well enough to get the homework done and do ok on tests. And because of the homework, you are forced to move at a certain pace - you can't read 2 chapters in one day and nothing for a week, then come back when you feel like reading some more.
Does this homework system really work better than a system where the prof says "In 3 weeks we have a test on the first 5 chapters of the book. Learn it." and then doesn't require anything from you until the test?
Maybe instead of homework and tests, each student should have to sit down with the prof and answer a bunch of questions verbally to demonstrate comprehension of the material. That would work much better than tests that screw you over because of an arithmetic mistake in the first part of a problem.
An unrelated rant: professors who expect you to show up to lecture, and don't make their notes available. Obviously, I wouldn't want to skip class if I felt I benefitted from it. When the prof just puts you to sleep and sucks at explaining stuff, you learn nothing from attending class but NEED to attend to see what material is being covered :|. Every class I've had with "mandatory" attendance has sucked. I guess the professors who don't require you to attend know that students will because class is worthwhile, but the profs who have mandatory classes know they suck or something. :disgust:
I guess it is largely because of homework and the time schedule. If I didn't have stupid homework assignments, I could read the books to understand them to a level that satisfies my desire to understand (generally, I want to understand books entirely), instead of ending up "learning" it just well enough to get the homework done and do ok on tests. And because of the homework, you are forced to move at a certain pace - you can't read 2 chapters in one day and nothing for a week, then come back when you feel like reading some more.
Does this homework system really work better than a system where the prof says "In 3 weeks we have a test on the first 5 chapters of the book. Learn it." and then doesn't require anything from you until the test?
Maybe instead of homework and tests, each student should have to sit down with the prof and answer a bunch of questions verbally to demonstrate comprehension of the material. That would work much better than tests that screw you over because of an arithmetic mistake in the first part of a problem.
An unrelated rant: professors who expect you to show up to lecture, and don't make their notes available. Obviously, I wouldn't want to skip class if I felt I benefitted from it. When the prof just puts you to sleep and sucks at explaining stuff, you learn nothing from attending class but NEED to attend to see what material is being covered :|. Every class I've had with "mandatory" attendance has sucked. I guess the professors who don't require you to attend know that students will because class is worthwhile, but the profs who have mandatory classes know they suck or something. :disgust:
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