 From
One Exam to Another
Hope all of your essays (probably being written the day before the due
date) and exams (I don't need to mention the traditional way of studying
for them) are going well. Mine are...well...you can make some
predictions from the remarks in parentheses in the first sentence. (Hey,
if you're one of my instructors, you can skip that sentence.)
We all know that it's not an easy task to concentrate on
readings, essays, lab assignments, quizzes and exams while our minds are
busy with lots of "real life" problems. I use the phrase "real life"
intentionally because there's a distinction accepted as irrefutable by
most of us students: a distinction between "the student self" and "the
real self." The tasks of school life (starting with primary school and
generally ending with university graduation) aren't perceived as a part
of "real life" by the majority of us. This majority never sees a
connection between the things "taught" in lessons and real life
experiences: the only use of a chapter in a textbook is to provide a
source for school assignments. Consequently, while everyone necessarily
puts his/her daily worries at the top of his/her "things to do" list,
stuff such as homework and essays comes later.
It's almost impossible to spot a connection between
quantum mechanics and daily life (although it exists), but what about
people studying engineering or social sciences? Why do we refuse to
apply what we learn from sociology class to our relations with the
people around us? Is it useful to live such double lives?
Most probably, it's not. Every time we face the necessity
of making the change from the real self to the student self, we feel we
are being compelled to act contrary to the urge telling us that it makes
no sense to study. Because as long as we don't see any use for what we
learn in class outside the classroom, it will only create a vicious
circle: studying for exams; exams leading to new topics; studying these
new topics for new exams....As long as success in our courses doesn't
give us anything other than a diploma, it will be almost impossible to
convince ourselves to spend years of effort just to get a piece of paper.
Have you ever heard a person say, "We're studying for
nothing," after he/she sees someone who doesn't have much education
succeed? I'll bet you have. And you know what? We'll have no convincing
response to such a statement as long as we persistently refuse to gain
experience from such a large part of our lives, one on which we spend
our hours, days, weeks and months.
İsmail O. Postalcıoğlu (POLS/III)
ismail_orhan@yahoo.com
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