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I read all your assignments for Sept 16, and I picked the following because it shows how "critical thinking" can (and should) apply to everything, and it can apply in different ways. There is no one single methodology. It really has to do with the willingness to take advantage of all opportunities.
(Incidentally, I am favorably impressed with the quality of your assignments. They show purpose and seriousness. Keep up the good work.)
COMMENT: what single thought/idea in this reflection strikes you as being especially original and insightful?
Father Guido
Sarducci mentioned his plans for the five-minute university in one of his
stand-ups and it was quite ingenious because
he was able to combine humor with the sad truth. I have watched this video
before so while we played the video in class I couldn’t help but to pay
attention to my classmates’ first reaction to the video. I noticed that
there was somewhat pain in our laughter because we subconsciously knew that
what he is saying is things that are actually true. A lot of us could relate to
what he was saying because we know that we tend to forget everything that we
have learned during the semester and only some of the principal ideas get stuck
with us. I have realized that universities tend to test our memory instead of
our intelligence which is why we end up forgetting everything at the end of the
year. I also think that some of the required courses don’t even offer valuable
information which is also why we tend to forget everything.
As I read this excerpt, what struck me the most were the last two sentences. The penultimate highlights a very underrated idea, the fact that memorization is the staple method employed to test students in schools seems to be too short term. I'm no expert but I don't think a method of testing that tests the student for the short term performance based on regurgitation is an effective one. Instead, there should be a way for students to be test in their "mental versatility," as was briefly touched on in class, which is to say that a student should be trained to be trained flexibly, to be malleable and adaptable. As mentioned, intelligence is being conflated with memorization skill and there's no bigger flaw.
ReplyDeleteI'd often thought about the idea presented in the last sentence, the fact that the information presented in the school system starts to get too general after a certain point. This excerpt helped me realize what I said in my first paragraph.
What really strike me the most was how accurate this response was especially where it mention about the test "universities tend to test our memory instead of our intelligence" it's funny how fast people forget about the subject once the test is over. The "test" basically rank student according to who can remember the most.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found especially original and insightful was addressing our reactions to the video. The fact that we all relate to the otherwise sad truth is comforting at least. Taking the time to watch the video beforehand to then see if our reactions would be similar is admirable. It means we all know what the problem is. From there, it is just the matter of doing something about it. However, this truth depends on where one goes for their education and the person as well. A person would view school and education differently depending on whether they want to go or not. At the same time, school with a great amount of resources or their students would give better experiences for them rather than one with few resources. In reality, people value more the piece of paper that is a diploma or where we get our education from rather than if we have the knowledge to perform a job optimally or not.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that strike my mind while reading this reflection was where it says "universities tend to test our memory instead of our intelligence." This statement has a very deep meaning because after reading this I actually spent 5 minutes thinking about it. As a student I totally agree with it because there have been times in the past where I started studying a week before the exam so that I can pass it regardless of if I was actually learning anything from that course. My goal was just to pass the class. The question is "Can the education system be fully memorization free?" Or are there any limitations for memorization to exist?
ReplyDeleteOne thought that strikes my mind is the fact that universities have the tendency to check our brain capacity rather than how well we will retain the information for the future. Unfortunately, it is true that the more information you have memorized should be an indicator for how intelligent an individual actually is. However, through this approach, it's almost impossible to be intelligent because we often only maintain ideas that interest us. However, it's also interesting to wonder how much students brain can expand in an environment where they can learn information without feeling pressured to study for any examinations .
ReplyDeleteThe idea of us subconsciously knowing that we are forgetting material that we have memorized is an interesting idea. As it takes a look at the difference between learning and just remembering something.However, even though I admit to memorizing information that I later on forget, I can also see myself learning. In order to memorize information I must first learn the given details I need to memorize.Afterwards, I focus on memorizing the given information so that I can push through the class. Learning focuses mostly on understanding the topic thoroughly and being able to utilize that information to do more, while memorizing the information doesn't necessarily mean you are understand the concept.
ReplyDeleteWhat really caught my interest was how correct the statements were in the paragraph. We all read it knowing that yes, we laughed at the video, but at the same time know that all of it is true. We memorize everything to then just forget it the moment college is over.
ReplyDeleteThe last sentence caught my eye because I had stated the same thing in the homework assignment. Most courses are just classes we are told to take, but in reality have no meaning in our life. Which is why I have to agree that if we take these courses we would forget the material soon after the completion of said course.
The idea that struck me the most was when the author said that our laughter had some pain in it because we knew what Sarducci said was true. This was very accurate as I was laughing at the fact that what he said about universities are true. It's not only in university that many students start to use memorization instead of learning the actual concept, I think that it starts in high school. Majority of the learning we want to do would be for our main courses such as science or math, but half of the classes we get are classes we don't really care about so we just try to memorize as much information we can.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that really caught my interest from the reflection was about how Universities test our memory instead of intelligence. That is the sad truth that I have noticed in college. I took a lot of science courses thinking I would go the pre-med route. What I experienced in those courses made me want to stop going to school at all. The professors would not teach the students, instead throw a bunch of information at them. When I went to ask for help because the class was very hard one of the professors told me that maybe I should not be in pre-med because its only going to get harder. I had to memorize way to much information in s short period of time and then get tested on it with exams that had 70-80 questions. So whoever had the best memory would probably do best in the class because none of the questions tested our understanding of the topic.
ReplyDeleteI find it very sad because we as students need to understand the topics to be able and use them in out work field. Memorizing does not mean you understand what you are learning and absorbing the material good enough. Maybe I was the unlucky one that was not able to learn as much as I should in my science courses because it was just tests after tests. I am not the best memorizer so for me pre-med was to challenging.
Everything about the paragraph seemed true to me. I was laughing at some of the funny moments that came up in the video, however everything he was saying was true. College and universities do not teach us much, or if they do, it doesn't stick in our minds. We shouldn't be obligated to take classes that don't relate to our major or the field we want to work in. We learn about things that won't really help us in the future when we do start working.
ReplyDeleteAn insightful idea that struck me was that universities tend to test our memorization rather than knowledge. We have to memorize countless terms and be able to provide textbook definitions. I was kind of sad when I saw the video though I laughed at the way Father Guido Sarducci presented the sad reality in a humorous fashion. I was sad that I was spending so much money, time and effort into an education that will barely increase my knowledge. Obtaining a degree is necessary in current times every job listing requires at least a BA. Whether we like it or not we end up in this mess where we are like an old pc that keeps on crashing. We retain information get tested on it then crash all the information is lost and the cycle continues.
ReplyDeleteThe thought that college is just a grading system based on memorization intrigues me. Based on personal experience, I agree that it is true in most cases. In my math courses, I have to remember formulas and theories to past the exams. However, after the course I toss everything out of my head because I assume that I will never use them again.
ReplyDeleteI have realized that over the years I would tend to memorize things rather than actually understanding them. I think that some of the required courses that aren't for our major could be replaced with classes that could actually prepare us for adulthood.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others on how the grading system seemed to be a memorization based one. I remember when I was studying for the history regents, my teacher suggested that I choose two historical leaders, study them and forcibly try to relate them to the prompt instead of actually knowing information and writing about it.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that universities' focus on memorization being the cause for students' tendency to forget everything was especially insightful. Since we have to memorize so much information in such a short amount of time, we tend to quickly forget them once we pass the test. Most required courses also does not possess any further use for the students, so the information they memorized are easily forgettable.
ReplyDeleteI really like how the person took a completely different angle that would have never thought of to take. Reacting on the reactions of others. Now the idea of reacting to reactions is sort of an internet "meme" but in this instance it was rather eye opening in the way of information gathering, rather than just reflecting off of myself.
ReplyDelete