Monday, November 29, 2004
So what?
Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age, but I'm less and less impressed with what passes for education around here. So much of my classroom time is caught up in meaningless jabber about nothing in particular, or the way things should be (as opposed to the way things are), or individuals' personal agendas that I don't feel like I'm preparing myself to go forth into the world as a more educated being. I suppose part of education is dealing with the opinions of others, learning how to express yourself, and even fuzzy subjects like philosophy. But I'm not feeling that my education is being very practical right now.
I'm thinking particularly about the class I'm cross-registering for at the Divinity School, "Faith, Politics, and Society." Classroom lectures are really just a chance for our supposedly famous poverty activist/preacher to advance his agenda on us, and later, when we convene in smaller groups to discuss the day's topic more closely, I often leave not knowing what the heck we were talking about (and I don't think it's because I'm stupid and unperceptive).
I suppose it's largely the topics I'm studying. A class about religion in politics is going to be very blabbery. A class about "Digital Democracy" (one of my regular law school classes) is too. I kind of miss the days of my music theory classes in college, where we learned the practical rules of voice leading. No parallel fifths. It's as simple as that--no discussion. (Of course, if you're Bach, you're allowed to break the rules.) With a class like that, I walked out knowing more than I did when I walked in. I don't always (or even usually) feel that way in law school.
I'm thinking particularly about the class I'm cross-registering for at the Divinity School, "Faith, Politics, and Society." Classroom lectures are really just a chance for our supposedly famous poverty activist/preacher to advance his agenda on us, and later, when we convene in smaller groups to discuss the day's topic more closely, I often leave not knowing what the heck we were talking about (and I don't think it's because I'm stupid and unperceptive).
I suppose it's largely the topics I'm studying. A class about religion in politics is going to be very blabbery. A class about "Digital Democracy" (one of my regular law school classes) is too. I kind of miss the days of my music theory classes in college, where we learned the practical rules of voice leading. No parallel fifths. It's as simple as that--no discussion. (Of course, if you're Bach, you're allowed to break the rules.) With a class like that, I walked out knowing more than I did when I walked in. I don't always (or even usually) feel that way in law school.
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