Wednesday, October 24, 2012

End of Semester

Final lectures were Friday. I'm now on study break.

I'm taking a moment here to summarize the amazing discoveries of the semester. These observations are glib, of course. If anyone wants to query/dispute them, feel free.

  1. Students have become swots, but they're not brighter for it
  2. A number of subjects have emerged between the old subjects, and struggle for recognition
  3. Mathematics seems to have got easier since the early 90s, but it is also taught better
  4. Large scale student political engagement seems to be finished
  5. The practicality of subjects studied is unknown to both students and staff
  6. Mature students are assumed to not exist at undergraduate level
  7. The facilities have improved dramatically
  8. Costs have increased for everything from courses to books to food
  9. The Internet and mobile phones have changed the face of interaction as much for students as everyone else
  10. It's hard to find people who can make decisions
  11. It's hard to find people who have plans for the future beyond a few years ahead
  12. Staff appear to treat students more like children than I recall in the past
  13. There seems to be no central congregation point for the student body
  14. Students as a group seem to be disjointed, fragmented, compartmentalized
  15. There's a higher level of respect for authority than I remember

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