4

March 2, 2011 + Over the Edge

Keeping Down That Plate Full of Knowledge

Students learn next to nothing?

DEVON FLYNN
CONTRIBUTOR

GOOD GRADES

CHOOSE TWO

COLLEGE

You only can choose two

Make your choice.,.but be sure that you make the right choice...

The headline of last week’s school newspaper read something along the lines of “Studies
show students are learning nothing new.” Rather than throwing my hands into the air in a
flamboyant gesture of protest and debate, | actually laughed and exclaimed to no one in
particular “Well, no shit!”

| can’t lambast the educational system we have embarked ourselves into. | knew what | was
getting into when | signed up and dropped thousands of dollars for classes | sometimes go
to. To hear that students are not “learning” as much from their classes is a bit of an obscure
statement though. I’m quite fond of professors demanding students to actually absorb and
learn from their studies rather than regurgitating information, because this shows a genuine
interest in what the students are taking away. However, that just doesn’t seem to be the
case, as the study points out.

Many students can attest to forgetting information quickly after final exams. Some claim to
forget lessons as soon as they walk out the class! This is likely due to the lack of repetition
of those lessons, especially later in life.

The majority of repetition done is the droning on and on of some arbitrary fact that you need
to know because your prof said it would be on the next test. You’re confident you won’t need
to know this in your field, but you just want to pass the exam. An ends to a mean, right?
Sadly, this is all too true.

So why do we do it? Why do we not heed the words of our educated advisors and “learn”
instead of “remember?” Simple — we don’t have time.

What has students so busy that they can’t sit down, read their textbook a million times through
and “learn” the material? Everything.

First of all, let me stress that | use these expectations from a middle-class, young and healthy
North American attitude. There are cultures worse off than ours, but to be fair, they do have
different expectations and lifestyles.

As Aldous Huxley pointed out in “A Brave New World,” excessive freedoms can be just as
debilitating as a lack of freedoms. Whenever we have free time, we are expected to use it to
be productive; a go-getter student, valiant employee, and a turning cog to society.

We pay for school by taking time out our class schedule to get a part time job. We can avoid
this by applying for bursaries, which demand we get involved and volunteer. What about
when we’re not studying, working or acting as proud members of society?

We’re expected to improve ourselves. Media today demands we become health gurus, fit
and fabulous. Aside from hitting the gym, we should be fuelling our bodies with homemade
meals with ingredients bought from the farmer’s market. If the gym wasn’t enough, we are
told to try yoga, talk to a friend or go for a walk to clear our heads. If that wasn’t enough, we
pressure ourselves to catch up on the latest episode of Big Bang Theory or House. There is
not a single one of us who hasn’t wished at one point that there were more hours in the day
to get everything done that’s expected of us. So how do we manage? We adapt.

ONLINE SOURCE

Students are the most adaptive creatures out there. When so much is demanded, there are
several ways we adapt.

1) We simply say “F*ck that” and demand less of ourselves. Ignorance becomes bliss
as we eat shitty, yet instant food, decline hopping on the health wagon and we let that
“B” we've been striving for in a class slide to a “C”. No biggy.

2) We multi-task. We take food on the go, we study on the bus, and we type up
assignments while watching our favourite TV shows (not the most effective, but it’s still
done). Hell, |'ve seen a girl read a textbook at the gym. She insisted it was dry enough
to put her to sleep, but not while running on the elliptical!

3) We cut out what isn’t important. Just reviewing in class? That’s time better spent
finishing up other assignments worth more marks. Can’t go to the movies when that
report is due the next morning, can you? Much to the chagrin of my professors, | skip
readings that are not absolutely necessary. It frees up much of my time to pursue a
million other things on my to-do list.

4) We don’t sleep. There’s a damn good reason why students can often be seen
chugging coffee or energy drinks by the bucket. I’m always shocked at anyone who
goes to bed before midnight. There’s so much to be done!

Something has to suffer; it’s just that simple. Whether it’s a decline in our social activities
or abuse to our bodies, students create the means to achieve what is important to them.
However, once a year, we are blessed with those seven days of bliss where homework often
gets knocked down a few pegs to other important things. | refer to Reading Break.

While most students are ecstatic to ditch the books to go travel or work some extra hours,
some just can’t get that monkey off their back. Just how many of us wanted to catch up on
homework over that free week, do those readings we haven’t done or start that lab due the
following week? | know | was.

Only after noticing just how little | had accomplished in several frustrating and unfocused
hours, | had an epiphany: Reading Break isn’t just an extra week to extend our descent into
high-expectation insanity, it’s a week to bring us back to reality.

Sometimes doing nothing with free time is just as important as doing something. It gives us
an opportunity to let those classroom lessons sink in and connect the dots when we least
suspect it. And come those Monday classes, when we get back into the swing of things, you
feel refreshed and ready to absorb some more good ol’ knowledge. Unfortunately, some
people really do have too much homework and can’t afford any time to lose that momentum
during Reading Break. To those people, | am sorry.

Once we take a step back from the homework, studying and stresses of daily student life, we
remember why we decided to go to University - to learn. We don't just create time to learn;
we learn what IS important and what we value the most. Although the most common lesson
these days tends to be how to manage, | know some students who are definitely top of that
class. (FYI, | wrote this article in lue of studying for a final, so I’m not one of them!)