I generally believe I am going to school because I want to learn. I may not be interested in every subject I am being forced to take as a result of university style schooling, but all-in-all, I want to do well so I can get a good job. Although, I’d have to say a lot of people aren’t in school for the same reasons as me. Some people simply just go because it is expected of them. And this leads to waste of time for most everyone involved.

Some people know that I have spent 4 years in post secondary prior to my schooling at the UofS. I obtained my Bachelor of Applied Information Systems (IS) from NAIT. I worked at my would-be career for 3 years after my schooling and I decided that it wasn’t for me. After galavanting around Europe, I finally decided that if I was to make any kind of success in a career I needed to go back to school. Going back to my old career in computers may have been an option, but I had already established that it wasn’t for me anymore. So I would like to say that I’m done with computers. Little did I know I’d be in a position of taking an Intro to Computer Science as a requirement for my new degree path. For someone with my schooling this course is like going back to kindergarden. Sure you know how to count to one-hundred, tie your shoes, and identify basic shapes, but now I have to complete assignments and am quizzed on my basic knowledge. You could imagine my annoyance towards this. I’ve appealed it twice only to be told finally that there is no way I will get credit for previous schooling and I have to take it again. However, there is a silver-lining to every situation. My marks are between 90% and 100% on all assignments and exams, so this will help my GPA a lot, and I get to watch people struggle with knowledge I consider very basic.

You might call me an asshole for taking enjoyment in other people’s struggles, and you are probably right but I can’t help it. These people bring it on themselves. I cannot count the times I see someone raise their hand, ask a question and, as soon as the prof. starts answering it, they have their cell phone out and start texting. Or the laptops with Facebook, some flash game, or some random website on the screen. (Mind you the majority of my final year at NAIT involved me playing Trial Bikes during class.) Then people do poorly on the assignments and exams. Our prof. doesn’t help with his pessimism. Every time he explains something he always asks negative questions.

“By show of hands, who doesn’t understand?”
“By show of hands, who is less clear because of my example?”
“By show of hands, who did that do nothing for?”

Then he wonders why everyone doesn’t raise their hand for at least one of these questions. Why not ask if anyone actually understands instead of assuming everyone doesn’t? Or at least that’s the impression I get from his line of questioning. When I first took this course it probably helped that my class was half the size. But I don’t recall anyone struggling as much as everyone seems to be in my current class. I think the major issue is there are no computers in the lecture. With the exception of the prof. for his slideshow or the laptops I mentioned earlier. But I mean computers for applying the knowledge. Instead we do examples on paper. Just like the cavemen use to do it.