We hear a lot about student apathy from campus groups that can’t seem to get undergrads excited about events, to the media that note low voter turnout among twenty-somethings. But there is one kind of student apathy that I have only become aware of since crossing that line from “the taught” to “the teacher.” It is also one that appears to be prevalent in both my undergraduate institution (University of Washington; a 50,000+ student public state school) and my graduate institution (the complete opposite).
I’m talking about educational apathy. Colleges, whether public or private, have become filled with students uninterested in their educations; they have descended into a kind of “High School, Part II,” where students are more concerned with socializing than focusing on their chosen majors. I am not condemning socializing, nor do I think that the only role of college is to produce cookie-cutter academics. What I am strongly concerned with is the apparent lack of interest I see from students in classes. From not asking questions during or after class, to not reading assignments, to spurious excuses for skipping classes and talking and passing notes during lectures (or even worse, using their cell-phones), the amount of investment some students have made to their secondary education ends at their (or their parents’) checkbook.
What is even more depressing about this trend is that professors and departments make it so easy to succeed. They curve exams, drop low test-scores, offer extra-credit projects, change dates to fit scheduling conflicts, and publish lecture notes and videotape lectures for later use. They have extensive office hours – and when combined with T.A. office hours, students typically have at least 3-12 hours a week that they can receive additional instruction. Yet with all of this additional effort, there are still students out there who are content with a “C” in introductory level courses.
In much of America today, the attitude is that college is simply the thing you do after high school. The B.A. has become so devalued that students trying to get into graduate schools of any caliber need extensive recommendations, honors theses and fieldwork. Maybe the reason I am so upset about finding this level of educational disinterest at Washington University (a place filled with amazing professors, departments and opportunities) is that student attitudes are no different from state schools where you pay $3,000 a year to attend and are one of the “faceless many.” Was I a little apathetic at the University of Washington? Sure, but I was also paying for my education out of my own pocket. I had a sense that what I put into my degree was what I would get out; and as someone who wanted to go into a field with sparse job prospects, I had to be “on the ball.” What I see frequently at WU is, at best, a disinterest in the educational experience achieved during four years; and at worst, a sense of entitlement to a degree (“I am paying all this money for an education, so just give me the grades I want”).
I am not writing this to condemn college students, nor to chastise people for having fun. What I am trying to do is to challenge students on college campuses: take charge of your education. Getting your college degree should be an event filled with pride, not just because it adds something to your resume, but also because it was hard work.
You are paying for this experience (at least in terms of time), so take advantage of it. If you want more than just lectures, seek out the opportunities – they are there. Question your professors about their research. Question authority in general. Just so long as you are asking questions. Become empowered by your education. Recognize that as a college student, you are being afforded an opportunity that very few get, especially at a campus as prestigious as this one. Remember that college is supposed to be work, there are rewards for intellectually investing in your education, and that contrary to popular belief, after you leave college there will still be plenty of time to have a good time.
There are plenty of students on this campus that prove everything I said above wrong; let’s try to make them the majority.