Kristee <kjseelna@students.wisc.edu> wrote:
> The root of my anger is not the word itself; it is the
> nature of teaching it. For the most part, students are
> very placid; they just sit back and take notes, accepting
> as unbiased truth whatever a professor says. I didn't say
> all do, but my observation is that most 'go with the flow'
> and swallow up this supposed knowledge, while I mentally
> process all that is said, because it is extremely biased
> and unfactual if it is being "taught" or lectured on, and
> decide what I believe of what is said. I was annoyed that
> I was suppose to write down, memorize, and accept a term I
> did not like, 'niguard' or 'nigology'.
I can certainly sympathize with your experience of what most people do in
class -- it's my "philosophy" that (even in engineering) most are simply
sheep: along for the ride, but certainly not willing to interfere in the
Prof.'s lecture, even when the Prof. seems to want it.
This, of course, is an issue I've thought about for a *long* time -- it
does relate to other issues in my conceptual framework; major issues. For
instance, I've been studying "Authority": it's a very deep topic. At first
sight, I sort of wondered about that passage in the bible where "the people
were amazed at his teachings, for he taught with AUTHORITY, as not as the
scribes". It's meaning was not clear to me -- but it has become so. The
reason Jesus stood out was the the scribes argued from the authority of the
bible, or at best from the classic "the LORD sayeth.." -- they NEVER made
arguments from their own authority, like Jesus's sermon on the mount "you
have heard that [...] BUT *I* say unto you..."
I relate that now to the authority of the people in my own life -- my
professors, and my dad (also a professor) -- and it seems to me that
teaching from ones own authority is more common now. The beauty of
science (and engineering) is that you can be sure of your material -- after
twenty years in the field, some of these Prof.'s know the material so well
that it's second nature to them -- and they often argue from their own
authority, rather than referring to text books. (the best, of course, is
when they refer you to THEIR OWN textbook!)
My own simplistic attempts to build that kind of confidence in myself have
proved quite difficult -- but I am sensing more and more of my fathers
style in myself; I match more and more with the classic INTJ (literally
introverted intuituve thinking judging) profile -- give me a problem, and
I'll be able to tell you instantly if I can help you. Once I know this, of
course, it becomes much easier to stand my ground -- confidence in your own
abilities is the first step in an argument from your own authority.
As to not accepting what is taught in class -- I've never found reason to
think they are wrong. But then, engineering is about as grounded as any
subject I can think of -- it's not like major controversies and differences
of opinion occur about how to model sensing equipment.
(sorry if I got off topic)
ERiC
-= who says "function over form, every time" =-