Must. Get. Out. Of. This. Hell.

By now your semester is in full swing. It’s early enough that you’re still optimistic, but not so early that you’re wishing you could still sleep until noon everyday. You’ve unpacked your dorm, caught up with your friends, and even gotten settled into all of your classes. But are you really happy with all of your classes?

I don’t know when Add/Drop ends at every college, but its quickly approaching at mine. And I don’t really have much choice with the classes I’m taking this semester but you might. So I ask you, do you really want to take that class with 100+ pages of reading a night? The one with the horrible professor? With the not-so-cute guy? Is it really worth it? Think about it….and then drop that class while you still can!

Which classes should you sprint, not walk/run/mosey/skip/saunter, away from? Read More »

Okay, so it’s confession time. I really love the History Channel, and most channels like it. Think Discovery, or National Geographic. During the summer, rather than doing something “normal” like going to the beach, or grilling, you could find me nestled under a blanket sitting on the sofa watching a documentary on who really discovered America. For hours, I’d be there, mouth agape and cup of lemonade in hand.

But come on, you can’t tell me that those channels aren’t cool. Think Shark Week, a week I know people mark on their calendars. These channels have something for everyone. You can watch a documentary on the history of marijuana, or the Salem Witch Trials, and then follow it up with a WWII special.

The only problem with the History channel and its counterparts is when it finally hits you: you learn more from one hour long documentary than you ever do going to class. One story alone is assembled better than any lecture you will ever attend, without the annoying graduate student who says “um” every other word or the keeper of the crypt who keeps nodding off mid-sentence.

I spend time in some of my classes contemplating over important issues like what a piece of toast would say if it could talk, but I can’t wait for a commercial to finally end when I’m watching a special on Discovery.

Bottom line: Professors could learn a lot from these channels. Read More »

"What do you mean, you didn't have time to complete the 750 pages of reading for today?"

Remember in high school when you and all of your friends failed the same exam and you were convinced it was the teacher’s fault?  “She never taught ANY of this stuff “ you bantered.  In a fit of rage, you stormed to an advisor to make a complaint.  You knew something had to be done about this dreadful teacher, and you were certain that if enough of you joined together, the school would surely do away with her. Your concerns were heard, but most likely, nothing was done.

For students at Louisiana State University, their wishes came true.  Recently, a professor was actually dismissed for grading too hard.

Victory at last!
Students’ voices are finally being heard!

Maybe this is a sign of good things to come. Maybe now is our time to finally speak up and rid universities across the country of those notoriously evil teachers who make us wonder how they got the job in the first place.  The hard graders are at the tops of all our lists, but here are a few other profs who should also get the boot. Are you listening, Dean of Students?! Read More »

Picture it: We pan over a full classroom, a man with a slightly too-tight plaid shirt and vile comb over is lecturing with the same tone and volume of a dull beeeeeeeep.  If we watch the students, we see several completely passed out while others furiously scribble notes, attempting to keep up with information that may or may not be on any exams this teacher gives. The old guy up front is so dull he makes Ferris Bueller’s teacher look like Lady Gaga, but what can you do?  The class is required and this guy is the only one who teaches it, whether the students like him or not.

But what if you, the student, got a say in that? It’s happening at Stanford, where students get to give their teachers a grade for a change. The university is using student evaluations to determine things like professor salaries and tenure. Read More »