Dans Blog

Random College Tip: Learn it the first time!

// October 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // College, Life

One of the biggest time wasters in school is having to relearn something you didn’t learn properly the first time.  When other students say they’re studying, most of the time they’re making up for a previous failure to learn the material.

In computer programming (which is super hard!) it’s well known that bugs should be fixed as soon as possible after they’re introduced.  Waiting to fix a bug near the end of a project can take 50x as much effort as it would take to fix the bug the first time it was noticed.  Failing to learn what you’re supposedly taught each day is a serious bug.  Don’t try to pile new material on top of an unstable foundation, since it will take even more time to rebuild it later.

During each semester ask yourself this question:  Am I ready to be tested right now on everything that has been taught up to this point?  If your answer is ever “no,” then you know you’re falling behind, and you need to catch up immediately.  Ideally you should be able to answer “yes” to this question at least once a week for every subject.

Falling behind even a little is an enormous stressor and time waster.  First, you have to go back and re-learn the old material when the rest of the class has already moved on.  Secondly, you may not learn the new material as well if it builds on the old material because you lack a solid foundation, so you just end up falling further and further behind.  Then when you come to the end of the semester, you end up having to re-learn everything you were supposed to learn.  But because you cram at the last minute, after finals you forget everything anyway.  What’s the point of that silliness?  It’s like overspending on a credit card that charges you 25% interest.  Eventually you’ll have to pay up, and it will cost you a lot more time in the long run.

Liberal arts education is a great path

// September 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Life

in anybody’s life, especially immediately after high school. There are so many different paths a person can dare to take after high school such as community colleges, vocational colleges, liberal arts colleges, trade schools, institutes, universities, etc. I am glad I chose a Liberal Arts college. After reading the articles and actively following the discussion, I learned that a liberal arts college teaches one how to think, learn, and view everything in life in many different perspectives and as a whole.

My definition of a “useful education” was as follows: Instead of just memorizing facts, a useful education includes exploration and research in society by engaging in the public to be more well-rounded.

The importance of taking multiple classes, especially those not related to your major, is crucial for ones success in life. Those who say taking an english class is useless for becoming a nursing major are witty.  Nobody can predict the future or know exactly what they will need to know for what life throws at us. That is why it is important to be educated in many different areas; a well rounded person is a happy person. The Nordenhaug article mentioned that “a dumbed down society is not a pleasant place to live” and I have to completely agree with that concept. Life is more interested with educated

With the evermore competitve society nowadays, it’s vital to be more well-rounded that the people around you. Think about the work place and resumes; how many employers look for the employee that has more skill sets or more knowledge. I also predict that an employer would hire a more well rounded person over a person who has few concrete skill sets. It’s because some of the abstract concepts you learn in a Liberal Arts education cannot be discovered elsewhere. I strongly believe a liberal arts education is the best preparation for life-time of employment because it stimulates intellectual and personal growth.

I also feel like by going to a Liberal Arts education I will feel confident and overly-prepared for life after college. I don’t think many students after attending a public school can say the same. In universities, straight up facts and knowledge is more important than hands on participating in ones future career. In Universities, there are lectures with billions (not really) of people in a giant pit of endless steps. How can one feel confident working for a career after just attending those types of classes? I’m sure some will agree that they won’t be ready. That’s not to say someone from a liberal arts education will be ready too. Nobody can be fully ready for what life throws at them. All in all, I think a Liberal Arts education enchances the readiness of the mind, body, and soul for life after college better other alternatives.

College Life

// August 27th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // College

I think the biggest transition in anyone’s life the year after senior year.  The year you leave all of your beloved family members friends. Friends who you knew since kindergarden, middle school or from facebook.  School that had strict rules with limited freedom and with lab nazis who would yell at you for restarting the computer because Microsoft Word would take 20 minutes to open up.  Now, in college, freedom is crawling in and out of everybody’s residence halls and out of everyone’s laptops.  You can check our facebook whenever we want, as if that’s all we do in class. The best of all, you don’t have to raise your hand and ask to use the bathroom! I remember in high school I got a detention because I left to use the restroom after I used all my available bathroom passes. Like seriously, teachers go to school to teach, not to babysit our bodily functions.  If high schools are trying to prepare us for college, I think someone should let them know that you don’t need a bathroom pass to visit the bathroom in college.

I’ve been to college for two days already, and I can already spot some leading changes. First of all, the language people use is much more well mannered and mature. In high school, people swore nonstop just because they had no other vocabulary in their insuficient brains.  Now in college, people speak with authority, confidence, and everyone is extremely down to Earth.  It’s such a cool, calm, collective world where everyone feeds off of each other’s personalities, thoughts and ideas. Just some advice: think twice before you say something, you will stand out. In college, if you stand out it’s usually because you made a fool out of yourself.  People tend to remember the times you made a fool out of yourself rather the times when you saved the day.  If you saw Jonny A run into a spotless clean window and break his nose, but later that day pick up dropped books for a classmate, which would event would you remember more easily? Almost everyone would say the event where Jony made a fool out of himself. The point the make a fool out of yourself in college and you will have hell of a time. However, there is a difference between “fun” and “stupid”.  You can make a fool out of yourself in a fun way and everyone will laugh and move on, but don’t be a stupid fool for regrettable laughs that will haunt you in the future.

I go to a fairly small college and I think it’s way better than a University.  Sure the bigger schools have more well-known reputations, but it’s the skills and knowledge you get from your college that matter, not a piece of paper. With smaller class sizes and teachers who know your name and e-mail you to see why you did not show up, it’s hard to not get grasp any hardcore lifeskills for your desired career path.

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