I was going to write this is two separate posts: one about my peers, the other about the computer science department at this school. But seeing as many things about them go hand-in-hand, it makes more sense to me to write them as a single post.
Throughout most of my time here in Rolla, I've noticed I'm a bit different from the people around me. It wasn't until only recently that I realized what those differences were. The biggest revelation of my distinction came about in an Ethics course I took last year. This course, by nature, was a bit abstract and not very structured. I absolutely loved the course as philosophy is something I like and I loved learning about various different ways to look at an ethical dilemma. But one day, the kid in the seat next to me was talking with me about something. At some point, I brought up that I liked the course I was in and my professor's teaching style. This kid, however, did not. We were mainly discussing the less structured nature of this professor's teaching style, and I realized at that point that the only thing this kid was focusing on in this course was what he needed to know to pass the exam. I've also noticed that he wasn't the only one, as many people in not only that course but others here seem to only care about what they need to know to pass a course.
These people I call "Test Takers". They're the kinds of people that thrive on standardized tests but have little to no critical thinking skills. They can't adapt to situations that are more fluid than the rigidly structured environment they were raised in. This aspect of these students became quite apparent in my Statistics class this semester when half the class thought an assignment was due Friday when, in fact, it was due Wednesday. This assumption regarding the due date of the homework came from the idea that classes were supposed to have one day on which to turn in homework, and that day should never waver. However, on the homework assignment itself was the due date, and it was these students who decided not to look at the homework, not to take responsibility for their grades, who believed it was due Friday. It's these students that performed incredibly well in high school because they did exactly what our high schools are designed to do: get kids used to being rigid and disposable.
Additionally, I've noticed through several people that many students at this school have absolutely no idea how to live on their own. I've had housemates who didn't know that electric stoves have a vent coming out through one of the back burners. I've had others who didn't know that dryers had lint filters. And I've had others still who had no idea how to load a dish washer. Even worse were those who threw a tantrum any time some household chore wasn't done according to their schedule, despite the fact that they made no effort to perform this chore themselves. It's these kids that were raised in homes where they never had to do anything themselves. They always had a parent (or possibly maid) who did the various household chores for them and they never learned how to do these themselves. These are the kinds of kids that feel like they deserve to have their hands held every step of the way as that's exactly how they were raised. And it's this kind of student who often goes to private schools, where they are taught that they are better than everyone around them for simply having money, which often times leads to the belief that they are above such menial tasks. And it's also this kind of kid that tends to come to Rolla.
The problem with most of the students here being from private schools is the computer science department teaches their courses as if they're an extension of a private school. Somehow, between the beginning computer science courses and where I'm at now, my peers seemed to learn a lot more about computer science that I had. Maybe they were more driven and therefore studied outside the curriculum. I suspect, though, that they already had this information from the schools they attended, and the computer science department's curriculum was based on having that previous knowledge. Unfortunately for me, who was lucky enough to take the very last programming course our high school offered, this meant I was lost when it came to several aspects of the coursework. For example, I don't know much about how to use a Unix system from the terminal, but many classes assume we already know how to do pretty much everything. It's based on an assumption (possibly accurate) that most students taking computer science courses were taught how to use Unix in high school. Unfortunately, this means I often times get left behind in a class as I'm supposed to know information that I don't know. Also, most professors, when introducing a topic, focus not on the amazing things one can do with the new subject matter, but rather on the large piles of money one can make from knowing this material. The university, in general, is more focused on money rather than education. Considering the environments these kids came up in, this doesn't surprise me, as money has always been seen as important to them. As such, they're more driven to learn things they can brag about on their resumes and more focused on GPA's rather than their intelligence.
And that was where I learned how I was different: I was raised poor. Unlike so many of the people at this school, I was raised way below the American poverty line and was never addicted to the materialism that seems to be plaguing our society. I learned how to survive on a low amount of money, where these kids feel like they have to have large amounts of money in order to survive. Don't get me wrong, I do like money, but would have no idea what do to with it if I were to have a ton. Also, being from a single parent home that was this poor, along with having a disabled sister, gave me a greater sense of independence. There was never time to wait for my mom to do my laundry or cook as she was usually busy with something else. As such, we learned how to do these things at a much younger age. We learned how to be independent way before any of these kids learned how. Many were dumped in the deep end when they came to college and have no idea how to survive on their own. But thanks to my unique upbringing, I was prepared to handle most of the challenges that living on my own brought.
But my unique mindset also had some problems when combined with this school. I was raised on Star Trek, and learned either from that or from my mother that my intelligence was important and something that should be honed. I learned that education for education's sake was a good thing, that expanding one's knowledge also expanded one's horizons and improved our decision making processes. I learned that there are far more important things to life than just money. But I could never thrive at a school based on the exact opposite of those principles. I can't thrive at a school who is more focused on getting researchers instead of professors. I can't thrive in an environment where thinking is discouraged and blindly taking orders is the way of life. I can't thrive with people who think money is the only thing in the world that matters. And this clash between the culture found at this school and the one I was raised in is why I've decided to transfer to a different school. I'm not sure if UMKC will be any different or not, but at least the computer science department is smaller and hopefully more focused on education instead of money.
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