Academic attitude

[Syrobe]

Some students do not want to think for themselves, they want the professor to thell them the awnsers to their questions, see it all worked out in their books or they do not want to have any questions at all. They want all academic problems to be solvd and sorted out for them.

In my opinion, such students do not have an academic attitude and they should not be allowed to go to University (or they should be forced to leave in case they already are there...).

To me, a student with an academic attitude is a person who is curious, who wants to learn, who tries to form an opinion on all sorts of matters, tries to debate with others about those matters, asks questions and tries to find awnsers. The mind is open and and the brain is at work most of the time.

At University, I would like to see students with an academic attitude.

Those who do not have that attitude, should leave or be forced to leave University.

Do you agree or not and why?
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- power is gained through wisdom -

[Ragnarok]

On a similar note, however, I don't think professors who expect the students to figure out everything themselves are good at their job, either, especially in the introductory-level courses. In those, I think it's better for the professors to explain things as thoroughly as they can, since the material is all (or mostly) new, and the students often have little or no background in that area. In the more advanced courses, however, when the students already have some knowledge of the field and how things work, then it's reasonable to expect them to know enough to ask valid questions or figure out at least some of the material on their own.
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To win against an opponent stronger than yourself, you must not be weaker than that opponent. - Takamachi Nanoha

[Ahndeleck]

I would have to take a less harsh mode of your opinion. Partially that chances are I'd get thrown out when I'm on my last semester worth of classes. :P I tend to be the quiet one that won't ask questions nor give opinions or thoughts generally. But thats because i'm letting the pers I believe that have the knowledge spread it and I'l capture everything that I can.

Now for those students that go and expect to be spoon fed a degree, yes, let's get them out of there. Other students however seem to learn great deals from asking questions about things in lecture or homework. I think that anyone there that can learn and is willing to learn something should have a chance, even if that means they might have to struggle a little on the way. I know I sure have. My GPA will proove it. -_-
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Soar high,
Ahn

[Shadow Dragon]

That could all depend on the area of topic as well. If a student wanted to become a zoologist, they are generally going to be more enthusiastic about the courses they want to take, and then "going with the flow" for the courses required. It would be unfair to say kick them out if they are just sliding by for boring classes (in perspective to their opinion).

Of course, I do agree that those people trying to 'complete' their education with a piece of paper and title should not bother. And lets be honest, they wouldn't bother if their career paths didn't demand documentation. Oh well.
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Here I lay, my claws and tail at peace. I rest my eyes and begin to sleep. Dreams fill my visions as mankind has fallen and dragons rule again.

[Rayadragon]

The good news is that at least some of the students who fall into the "just give me the answer" mentality tend to leave for their own reasons, such as not getting the grades they need. In the process though they get to annoy their professors (and TAs...) and take up time that could be better spent helping those who truly want to learn (instead of having arguments about why you can't just give them the answer since you're not the one taking their tests).

Ragnarok's got a valid point in that, at least in America, it takes time to shift from the more public education role of spoonfeeding/rote (sp?) memorization all the information to a student to the more university education role of teaching students to think for themselves. Personally I'd rather see some of that independent thinking starting earlier, but at least initially in university some of the classes are going to have to focus on bridging that gap between book-learning and self directed-learning.

Shadow Dragon also has a point that, again in America (I'm not sure if the system is the same where you are Syrobe. I've gotten the impression before that course selection in Europe is a bit different than in America), students are often forced to take classes that they'd really, really rather not take. I don't think I would've ever forgiven my University if they hadn't let me test out of the English writing courses, where I could learn such important things as what nouns and adjectives were, and how to properly write a paper with an introduction, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion (no joke!!). Sometimes it really is just hard to be enthusiastic about topics you have no interest in taking, but are forced to take as part of a "well rounded" education.

As a bit of an offshoot of the original question, what role, if any, should a university have in rejecting a student who wants to learn, but they can't seem to quite make the grade? I had one good friend who desperatly wanted to be a marine biologist, except she could never manage anything above a "C" (average) in any of the biology classes. It was the same for her geology classes, which was her second choice. Another friend of mine wanted to do zoology, but he flat out failed his zoology course, and pretty much the only reason he didn't fail some of his other science courses was because I could help him out in them. They both had a genuine desire to learn, but I couldn't help but feel bad for them at the same time because the concepts just seemed to be beyond them. In many ways, I wish the university had done more to convince them that maybe higher education wasn't for them, rather than having them waste the time and money to study for a degree that they were never going to get.
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"People who are easily offended need to be offended more often."
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[Namhias]

I agree with Syrobe. If you chose a study, you should go for it. The ones who think that they're going to get the information an a silver dinner plate, should be given a cold shower to wake up. I think one of the main reasons why a person doesn't do anything, is because he is not really motivated. That could be the case because he either chose the wrong study, or because the teacher isn't motivating the students enough. If a teacher is serious about his job and makes funny comments now and then for instance, I would be much more motivated then when I had a teacher who is also serious about his job, but hasn't got the humor or is very strict in a bad way.

[Syrobe]

[Rayadragon]