In 2003, a clownfish named Nemo swam his way from the Pixar Animation Studios to the hearts of millions—but this is not about him.
It is about the friends Nemo made in the aquarium of P. Sherman—those who were placed in plastic bags of water and who rolled over the streets of Sydney, only to realize that after escaping into the harbor, they are still stuck in the bags of water.
“Now what?/What now?”
When graduation is only two terms away, you start asking yourself the same question because of mixed feelings of anticipation, excitement and possibly, regret. College is overrated or at least, it can be.
I have only two terms left to “prepare” myself for the world out there, which has been defined by every life manual, as ruthless and dog-eat-dog. College is supposed to prepare me for that but here I am, almost there, needing more, wanting more.
There were too many classes wasted on professors who were bad at teaching; too many interesting topics wasted on class discussions that were not engaging; too much time wasted on subjects that were stagnant instead of innovative; and too much money wasted on classes that failed to serve their purpose.
I am not alone. I am just one of the many who needed to learn physics but didn’t because the professor didn’t care that we could not understand his lecture, the many who would demand a refund, if we could, for subjects that instead of teaching us something new, taught us what we already knew, and the many whose college departments won’t allow us to do the on-the-job training that we want based on the future that we want.
Educators Karl Fish and Dr. Scott McLeod launched their first of the “Did you know? Shift happens” series of videos in 2006. Since then, more than 30 million people have watched the videos, left in awe by the facts and figures about the media and its influence on people. According to the video:
“The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist, using technologies that have not been invented in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.”
That was 2006. It’s 2010 now. Just imagine how much more innovative education should be.
It is not and should not be limited to what the books say but what recent studies say. Professors, instead of explaining theories should ask their students to test them.
Here we are, studying about problems that will not be around when we join the workforce. We sometimes fail to understand that we are not only supposed to learn in college. We are supposed to learn how to learn and to adapt so that when times change and things change (and they definitely will), we will know what to do.
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One example of a subject in the University, which can be so much more than what it is now, is the Personal Effectiveness (PERSEF) program. It is problematic that a common sentiment among students is that they don’t need the class to be personally effective. This just proves that whatever is taught in this class is something that a student (or the average person) already knows.
It means that the program has to be updated with the issues that are pressing to students. While personal issues like family and relationships are universal, times have changed and the circumstances surrounding these issues have changed too. We don’t need modules that tell us what “lifestyle” magazines already do.
Even more important issues that PERSEF should be able to address are those surrounding career choices. In a university that boasts of producing graduates who move and shake society, what else is a PERSEF class for except to guide students make the right choices based on what matters to them or what the changing times call for.
All the modules on how to nail job interviews, power-dress for the office and make impressing resumes are helpful to students who wish to “climb the corporate ladder” but how about those who don’t? How about those who wish to be their own bosses or those who plan to enter jobs that won’t pay much but will fulfill them, just the same?
The rise of books like Escape from the Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur (by business coach and writer Pamela Slim) and the growing number of employees who quit their 9 to 5 jobs to either make it on their own or get lower-paying jobs that allow them to do what they love cannot be ignored.
PERSEF classes should take note of that. Perhaps then, PERSEF will be interesting and helpful to students who are stuck at crossroads but eager to know what lies ahead.
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One of my friends, who recently graduated and is joining the workforce on the same day this issue comes out, told me that the first thing you realize after you finish college and start looking for a job is that you don’t need college.
I cannot even imagine the horror on my mother’s face if I tell her I didn’t really need the education she spent hundreds of thousands for. Good thing I won’t have to deal with that.
Yes, I think that the curriculum could be improved in many ways—by managing the time allotment of each topic in the syllabus so the important ones are not compromised because of the trimestral system, by asking the students to do more research and read newer materials and by exposing them to the latest trends in their field of study.
Yes, I expected college to be more than it turned out to be, but I won’t say it is useless because college is not limited to what happens in the classroom. College, like life, is what you make it to be.
While your school owes you the education you pay for, the choice to learn is still up to you.
Dissatisfaction with education is not an excuse. If anything, dissatisfaction actually means that you know something is missing, and you know that because you know what you need and what you should demand for.
I was not satisfied with what I found in the classroom so I looked outside it. I found the “training” I needed for the real world in the people I met and the places I worked in. I know what it is like to be happy with a job I love and a job I hate. I learned how to do things on my own if I had to.
“Now what?/What now?”
The answer to that is really up to you. If you prepared for the day you will ask that question (ie., If you milked out as much learning as possible inside and outside the classroom in college), you will be okay. It won’t be easy but to know what it’s like to not have it easy is actually lesson number one.
