aska: I recieved the following rant from a bitter student –
Hi, first of all, Great Web site and fantastic work! Very Immpresive! I have just discovered this site two days ago but I am realldy addicated to it now.
I want to make a point here and I would like to know what is your opinion on it.
Do you think the university has set up way too many (administrative)barriers preventing students from leaning the knowledge they want most?
I do. For example, I am a transfer student from YorkU(after completed 2 years comp. Sci there) and trying to get into comp.sci and commerce at UT now. I have every thing they want except I do not have a “pretigious MAT137”. I have done the standard full year calculus course at York already which is a tough course too. And I got A+ for it. I know myself that I have a very strong math background. But the departments does not care. I simply was asked to take it again! Which means more money and more time and even worse, delay of graduation.
I may agree that MAT137, in some aspect could be harder but I also believe that York’s calculus course should have prepared the students a strong enough background in the filed as well.
As students, we came to university because we simply want to learn knowledge? Why the hell there are so many “political” stuff making our life so hard? What do you think about this point as a senior university student?
Thanks very much for your time.
preach on little brotha!!!
welcome to the hotbed of elitism. maybe that’s their point. in the real workld, you’ll be excluded from things all the time because you don’t have the right prerequisites. these prerequisites come in many forms, some trivial, some vindictive, some pretenious, and some condemnatory. is that what the university is teaching us? is it a life lesson?
obviously, not everybody is cut out to compete in every forum. but i really think more emphasis should be placed on giving students a chance as opposed to setting up insurmountable barriers across a young student’s scholastic career. it’s frustrating and humiliating. maybe the university could try helping people to get into the course rather than trying to stop them.
let’s take a second now to formally ackowledge that there are some awesome people at this school, who’s only interest is to support the student. they’re in registrarial offices, and teaching courses, they’re department heads and undergraduate secretaries. why can’t all of the administration take a note from these people?
there’s nothing worse then a bitter, unresponsive person in a position of power. i’m with you.
cheers,
askastudent