Recently, university has been seeming a little pointless. After thinking about this for a bit, I've come to the view that it's because of the culture of mediocrity that seems to exist in regard to academic success. Students, of course, have a reputation for laziness. I think that this reputation comes about in part because of people's tendency to only work so hard as is necessary gain rewards, be they in the form of self-improvement or material wealth. Such rewards are in short supply at university. It is pretty childish to want praise for one's work, of course, but in my experience at least, the grades we get do not differ at all relative to the amount of work that is put in; they stay more or less exactly the same; every time. Even if one enjoys one's subject, as presumably most arts students do, this can be a little soul destroying. Unless one is at either extreme of intelligence or ability, all that one can do is tick along not working too hard and not excelling either. There's just no point putting the sort of effort in to a degree that most people put into, say, their jobs, when such difference in effort is not recognised. If most people earned the same no matter how hard they worked, and there was no real possibility of them losing their job or getting promoted, then they too would be 'lazy,' like students. In addition to this, since most people's grades do not improve during the course of their degree, we do not particularly feel the satisfaction of knowing that our mental faculties have improved. Learning to think well is touted as being one of the main advantages of having a degree. This can certainly be taught in more efficient ways, though, and the university does not seem to be pursuing the goal in any clear way. If the majority of students are so mediocre that their intelligences warrant the award of 2:1's no matter how hard they work, then perhaps such students (myself included) shouldn't be at university. I'm not going to have a blinding insight into a work of literature that no one has had before. The vast majority of students are not either. So we are being funded by the taxpayer to stay at university learning the sorts of things about texts that are required to have really interesting thoughts about them, yet failing to actually have such thoughts. Before we came to university, most students at York were amongst the best people they knew at the subjects they chose. It was sensible, therefore, for us to believe that we were as likely as anyone else to excel at our subjects and so to apply to study them. Upon arrival, it quickly became clear that we weren't as good as we thought. Yet we then have three years ahead of us of learning things which, whilst interesting, we aren't mentally equipped to analyse in an original way that would contribute to the body of knowledge of our subject. I don't think the blame lies with us for trying to succeed, and it is not necessarily the fault of the university selection process, either. I'm not sure it is possible to tell, at the age of eighteen, when a potential student is applying to universities, whether or not they are going to perform as required at university level. Perhaps there could be some system, after say the first year of a degree, for removing all but the very best from pursuing studies in subjects that are entirely based around natural ability, as some arts subjects are. Students should be operating in a field where they are able to excel. In the case of arts students who cannot perform exceptionally in any discipline, they should be removed to vocational degrees or directly into work. Why, exactly, do our leaders believe that they can afford to subsidise students thousands of pounds to study English Literature and other arts subjects in a half- hearted way when so many people are dying at the hands of a shoddy NHS? Or when there are people in our own country who won't survive this coming winter because they cannot afford to heat their own homes? I am starting to feel the bite of being middle-class and moderately well educated, and the privileged status it gives me disturbs me enormously. Knowing things about Shakespeare and Milton doesn't make me a better person. But government money is spent on teaching me these things, which could have been spent on, say, the NHS. I wonder how many people could have been saved from dying, miserable and penniless in hospitals, by better allocation of the money my degree has cost? The taxpayer should not have to fund hundreds of thousands of students every year who are highly unlikely to make worthwhile contributions to their disciplines. Such students should not be funded to spend three years absorbing material that they cannot fully comprehend. As long as they do so, they are only encouraging the sort of lethargic fatalism about our degrees which abounds amongst most students I know. You can respond to Oliver's thoughts by filling in the form at the bottom of the page.
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Matt P: Turn on, tune in, drop out
Oliver C: Is university a little pointless?
Henry: Checklists: need to complete them Could you be a student diarist?
If you hail from North Yorkshire or are studying in the county and think you could squeeze out a few hundred words about once a month (more if you want to!) get in touch with us by emailing [email protected] |  | Jon
If you are set on limited freedoms and a 40hr (minimum) working week only to console yourself at the end of it with a few hours fun at the pub - enter into higher education.If however you want to nurture your own creative inhibitions (something which the powers that be want taming from an early age) then follow your heart. The likelyhood of any college/university having a course that perfectly suits your cretive side are slim to none. As cliche as it sounds higher education preps you into becoming a slave. There are some things that only you can teach yourself. It requires hard work, and as such many people will find it easier to channel hop all day building emotional ties to fictional lifestyles. Those who can control their will in such a way to work with their creative side will become a success - period. Tim Sonley
I'm halfway through a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, it's a fascinating subject! So how does a university education manage to make it so boring? Its almost like they've sucked all the life out of it. The only lecturers who look like they enjoy what they're doing work in the maths department, the electronics and networks guy just talks at us, as he's been doing it for years and thats what he does, the comms guy is good when he turns up, but disappears for a coffee during labs and comes back an hour later, the digital guy is funny, but doesn't get on with computers (Very old fashioned) and uses the same notes he's been using for the last 16 years (Hand written on an ohp, i kid you not), management is ok, not particuly interesting to me, but thats to be expected and i can't understand half of what the the guy who teaches electrical 1 and 2 says as he has a very thick chinese accent. The labs we do are based on confirming a simple fact that seems to be distantly related to a practical application. The lessons are all about the theory, as theory, not as the background behind something physical. We analyse simple circuits, they all look the same, they do not appear to relate to something which i find interesting. I can't help but wonder why? I really want to learn these things, but because i want to build different things (I won't go into this, it probably wouldn't interest anyone else nearly as much as it does me) based around what i have learnt! I don't know, maybe its just me.. I seem to learn differently to most people, after all the reason i've never taken any of my vehicles to a garage is because i wanted to know how they worked. If it aint broke don't fix it, fix it when it is broke. If you make it more broke, fix it when its more broke, eventually it won't be broke anymore. Well thats my philosiphy anyway. Simon
I couldn't agree more with Oliver. As a current student of English Literature, I am becoming increasingly disillusioned with university. You 'sum it up' perfectly when you say:"Knowing things about Shakespeare and Milton doesn't make me a better person."Your right, it doesn't. Instead of the glorified 'book club' that is the study of English Literature, why not enjoy reading as a hobby? Do we really need to be lectured by a group of pretentious, utterly irrelevant academics?Instead, the money should be spent on things that can actually benefit society such as the NHS. Tulip
"I wish I'd studied something useful like Midwifery or nursing, but I really don't want to be a nurse or a midwife. I wish I'd done a vocational subject like Law, but I wouldn't have wanted to be a lawyer. I wish I hadn't studied at university, but then my element of choice would have been limited. I wish I had no choice and had pushy parents who wanted me to be something or other, but then I would have been miserable..."The grass really does look greener on the other side doesn't it?Personally, I'm glad I did an English degree - I got the chance to think deeply about things, like why do we study the writers we study and why are some cast aside like beggars. What's the role of literature and art? It's good to go to university because it does filter some of your idealistic preconceptions about your subject and make you want to work in a job instead. I did some creative writing, which was the highlight of the whole course because I was taught by a writer and expert on American poetry. Life is what you make of it, and it's your responsibility to make use of your degree, no one can do it for you. No longer will you be spoon-fed, no longer will you be spoiled and privileged because you've entered the real world.I'm sure most graduates end up doing a job that pays £25k, even if it takes them 10 years to get there, and that can't be that bad surely. Not everyone wants to have children or a mortgage. Some of us are quite happy just living in the present moment and being relatively comfortable. For those who do want material success, they are able to do so if they have motivation and a sense of identity. Those who don't know who they are or what they want, they have the opportunity to find out, there's no hurry, nowadays people live a lot longer. |
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