University
Since young, I’ve always felt that schools are very restrictive, in that curiosity is not really encouraged, and doing well in examination is the only purpose of going to school. Students were not encourage to learn more about other interesting knowledge on our own, and what’s important being an empty vessel, capable of memorising all the “important facts” that the importance of understanding seemed to diminish in comparison. By hindsight, I don’t think I really enjoyed my years in primary and secondary school.
What about Year 12 in HSC? *Shrug* I don’t know, but I think the workload from 5 subjects couldn’t be compared to the 11 subjects during secondary school… not that I did all the work during secondary school. At least the subjects, Physics, Chemistry, English, Mathematics and Economics, were relatively interesting and useful, compared to certain subjects in secondary school, which, I am sure, don’t need any mentioning.
I thought university will be a place of education, a place to gain knowledge is gained, a place where the subjects will be intellectually stimulating, and being the oh-so famous and pretigeous (relatively speaking) University of Melbourne which motto is Postera Crescam Laude, it will be a place where students will have more freedom in terms of learning, choosing subjects and persuing interest. I thought university won’t be just another machine, churning out “leaders of tomorrow” annually.
Clearly I was wrong.
Sometimes I do wonder if I have chosen a wrong course. Sometimes I jokingly say that there’s still useless subjects in university, just to remind students that, in the famous words of Monty Python, “life’s a piece of shit when you look at it”. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worthed to pay so much to study here.
Let it be clear that I do not think certificate is any important at all. It is not a proof of competancy, and certainly is not a guaranty for success in the future. Maybe there’s some truth in it when people say that you degree is only important until you get your first job. Truth to be told, perhaps one of my biggest fears is having to rely on a salary through working from 8 to 5 everyday for the rest of my career.
I think that the ability to learn on our own, and not having to rely on any formal education is of the utmost importance in life, solely because learning should be a lifelong process, while we only spend by a fraction of our time in school and university. Often that I ask the people around me, which would they choose, if they were to choose from being a jack of all trade, or a master of one. Ideally, both, they inevitably say. But if they were to choose, most would rather be a jack of all trade. I guess Pascal said it accurately in Pensées:
Since we cannot be universal and know all that is to be known of everything, we ought to know a little about everything. For it is far better to know something about everything than to know all about one thing. This universality is the best. If we have both, still better; but if we must choose, we ought to choose the former. And the world feels this and does so; for the world is often a good judge. – Blaise Pascal
I couldn’t help but to feel that hypocrisy when a person who encouraged curiosity among students, and urged students to learn more on their own, told me that he can’t approve a subject change just because he has to abide by the requirement set by the association of engineers. Even when I requested that this subject, which supposedly going to teach all three main topics: economics, accounting and law, to be replaced by an accounting subject. Even when it is clear that these topics will only be covered superficially.
I am quite certain that I already have the understanding economics required by the subject, if not more. Yet, I was told that the economics I learned in Year 12 would be different from what I will be learning from 1/3 of a subject next year. And I was told that I cannot be exempted from taking the subject, because that’s what required even though I may not like it. I can’t help but to feel sick, when he made an analogy, where he was fined yesterday for parking illegally in front of the faculty building, even though it was his day off and he was just there to pick up some documents from his office – even though he doesn’t like it, that’s the way it is. Such is the word of an educator.
Frustration, frustration.