University students offered a B- to drop course

[Jon Miller]

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/01/20/literacy.college.students.ap/index.html

I think it is relevant

my undergrad was pretty tough, in physics at least

out of ~50 in the freshman courses, my graduating physics class was ~12 (and I did the honors and did math as well)

I did actually know enough for my first year of grad school.. however I sort of lost heart towards the end of the first year and have struggled academically since...

Jon Miller

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Seeker
My room mate is studying biochem, and my two best friends graduated electrical engineering and software engineering.

Western forced the engineers to take the mandatory 'Ethics in Engineering' course and 1 other arts half-credit. Non-engineers can take any combination of courses equivalent to 1 full arts credit.

That's hardly back-breaking stuff here at Western folks...

Not backbreaking at all. I'm assuming you're talking UWO, by the way. Now compare to many US schools, where you have to take 10 or 15 arts classes (30 or 45 credits in a 3-credit class system). I'd rather have the guy designing the bridge I'm on taking more structural engineering and less "Gender roles in Shakespeare's plays"...

[Asher]

After this term, I'm done with all my compsci classes. Or science classes, period. If I take any science classes, they don't count towards my degree.

I still need six courses for my degree. I'm taking the Simpsons Philosophy course, the Sopranos course, Human Sexuality course (hott!), Film Studies, and two I haven't decided yet...

[StarLightDeath]

Yes there is.

In fact, I'm fairly certain that they teach things which you couldn't learn, period.

Actually there has never been anything that I couldn't understand or teach myself. Granted I have never taken any super high level courses, but I also have never felt like I couldn't grasp something. If I can teach myself Calculus and Trigonometry from a book I'm sure I'm more than capable of understanding higher level maths as well. It's a matter of what I find useful to me and what I find interesting. I find physics interesting, unfortunately it's not useful to me and so I don't have the luxury of learning it which is why I'll eventually just buy a book and teach myself when do have that luxury someday. Therefore, what do I need an instructor for if I can just spend 100$ on a book? The only thing a book can't teach is real life experience, and neither can an instructor.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Originally posted by StarLightDeath
Granted I have never taken any super high level courses, but I also have never felt like I couldn't grasp something. If I can teach myself Calculus and Trigonometry from a book I'm sure I'm more than capable of understanding higher level maths as well.

And thus the second sentence proves the first...

[StarLightDeath]

And your point is? Who cares if you take all the high level maths in the world. If it doesn't make you any money then it is a hobby. I'd like to buy a book on differential equations someday or an even higher level math, but it would be a hobby and I certainly won't waste the money on a course with some dumbass instructor that I don't need. Some of you sound like you're married to the world of academia and for a time I'm sure you'll be happy to look down on the common man high atop your academic credentials, but when you get right down to it natural talent is what determines your place in this world and that little piece of paper you get at a university doesn't mean **** if you can't apply it to the real world. So, to get back to my point, I don't see the need to take a bunch of bull**** classes that won't help me make any money and I can learn from a book anyway.

[Jaguar]

Behold! The Malevolent Nightlight has posted!

[Odin]

People who think life is all about $$$ tend to be the one that end up the most unhappy. I'd take knowledge over wealth any day, which is why I'm a science major and not a business major. You can't buy happiness.

[StarLightDeath]

Behold! The Malevolent Nightlight has posted!

If you're going to be one of my worshippers, you have to pay your membership dues. It's 40$ a month, no exceptions. Will that be cash, check, or charge?

[Agathon]

Western forced the engineers to take the mandatory 'Ethics in Engineering' course and 1 other arts half-credit. Non-engineers can take any combination of courses equivalent to 1 full arts credit.

I agree: that is largely a waste of time. I had to teach that once.

Apart from a couple of really good people, the rest of them couldn't string a sentence together and were hopeless at arguing.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by StarLightDeath
If I can teach myself Calculus and Trigonometry from a book I'm sure I'm more than capable of understanding higher level maths as well.

I'm not.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Agathon

Western forced the engineers to take the mandatory 'Ethics in Engineering' course and 1 other arts half-credit. Non-engineers can take any combination of courses equivalent to 1 full arts credit.

I agree: that is largely a waste of time.

An ancient Greek philosphy prof call an ethics class a waste of time. Oh the irony.

[Asher]

It's like a bum fight.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Odin

An ancient Greek philosphy prof call an ethics class a waste of time. Oh the irony.

I look down on applied ethics classes as it is. Even though I've whored myself out to teach it for money, it's not real philosophy in my book.

The ethics for engineers class is a waste of time. Half the class are foreign students whose English skills are not up to writing an essay. The other half just do not understand why appealing to empirical data does not by itself constitute a moral argument. Most of them don't want to be there and get mad because it lowers their GPA (as will doing a paper in any humanities subject do for most science students and vice versa).

It's not like it's the philosophy department making them do it either. The school of engineering insisted on it and paid our department to run it.

Interestingly enough, there was one outstanding student in my class. He loved philosophy and had been reading all sorts of stuff on his own. He was wasted as an engineer. Asher would have liked him: he was gay and an Apple fanatic to boot.

[Asher]

Was he cute?