Actively Studying and Other Dilemmas…

When I say I didn’t study for a test, what I really mean is I didn’t study as much as I could have and probably wanted to. I had concerns going back to college this late in the game. Would I be able to keep up? Would my knowledge be relevant? Would I feel out of place, unprepared, or worse, intimidated by younger students who didn’t have a decades long gap in their academic resume? I have been concerned…

We were told of a quiz for today the class session before. The quiz was going to cover just what we went over in class that particular day. Basic. I went over the material, and the power point the prof had supplemented online.  I wanted to study longer, but I am battling a potential cold/sinus infection and fell asleep on my notes thanks to Nyquil I took before I started studying (I just didn’t think it was going to take effect so fast!).

So why is it that by the next class session, no one seems to have studied?

Worse, at the end of the quiz while papers were handed up some asked me for the answers! I laughed off the request giving nothing, but inwardly I was taken aback! WTH? Is this what passes for scholastic integrity now? If so, it’s no wonder having a college degree today is ubiquitous to having a high school diploma 20 years ago.

Maybe I am old fashioned. Maybe my military experience gave me additional values that are absent from the current 20 something generation. Regardless, I am ashamed and embarrassed for those students. I would never have thought to do such a thing, not fresh out of high school and not now.

I know it’s just a quiz, and it was also the first quiz, but it counts toward a final grade. Why not take it seriously? One part of me takes this situation and laughs at it, those students are not competing for a top grade with me. Another part of me wonders what the hell happened to students in the decade and change I was out of the classroom.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my professor made the comment on our first day that his student veterans (like me) are always his best students. No wonder if what I saw today is indicative of the caliber of student he is used to getting.

In the end, my “minimal” studying was sufficient for the quiz we received today. I know I can do better when I am feeling better, so go ahead college. Bring it on!