Let's talk about how the Europeans do uni.
So universities here do things a lot differently than we do it at home, and there is only one thing here that I like more. This is going to be a rant. So....here we go.
First off, the schedules. When you sign up for classes (or modules, as they are known here), every single time slot that that module offers is put into your timetable. You then have to go through and separate everything and choose which lessons you can attend. But you have to make sure that nothing clashes (which is really difficult considering that some modules change halfway through the semester, so basically, halfway through you get screwed over because one module changes to the same time as another and you have to figure out what to do about it). So that is ridiculous. At the U, we choose the time that is best for us and we are signed up for that one and only that one. End of story. Simple. Easy.
Second, universities over here are "independent learning environments" so you essentially go to each class for two hours a week, learn nothing, and then have to go home and teach yourself. WHY do we pay so much to teach ourselves?? THAT MAKES NO SENSE. I go to school to have an "expert" in the subject teach me about that subject. At least that's what I was thinking was supposed to happen at school. I could be wrong. I could save a whole lot of money by just buying a textbook off of amazon and going through it myself.
For one of my modules (accounting), we have an hour lecture that we have to go to (which there are two to choose from) and then we have to choose a one hour tutorial session (out of seven, which, three are at the same time, in the same building, just on different floors. HOW DOES THAT HELP FIT ANYONE'S SCHEDULE???) to attend to get more one-on-one time with a tutor. Well, at the beginning of each of the lectures, the lecturer takes about 10 minutes to explain that an hour isn't that long and so we don't have much time to get through everything and then she tells us what we are going to go over and skip before actually getting to the freaking point of the whole lesson. We are taught (kind of. we are given a handout with most of the work already done (to save time!) so we don't actually get to put everything into practice much) the general idea of what should be going on. And she also walks through the auditorium to make sure people are understanding, which would be great if she didn't waste the first ten minutes emphasizing our lack of time. So then there is the tutorial. Last term I had a British tutor but then halfway through it changed to a middle eastern guy, who I am sure was really nice but I couldn't understand a word he was saying (I had made a friend in my tutorial so he told me what Ahmed was saying while I explained to him what that meant in accounting terms. One of my flatmates got him this term and had to change because he didn't have a clue what was going on. His accent is that bad). This term I have a good tutor. And it helps that there is never more than 5 of us in the tutorial (which isn't the case in all of the tutorials, but I'm glad I'm in a small one), so if we don't understand she stops and takes her time to help. But what I don't understand is that if the tutorial is the place where we learn the technical bits of the process and information, why don't we just have a two hour tutorial instead of a lecture and tutorial which are both too short??
Third thing: grading. I HATE how they grade things here. Seventy percent is an A. Now I know a lot of you will be thinking, "But that makes everything easier, you can get a lot wrong and still get good grades," but really, it makes me not want to even try. You don't have to try. You can get 30% of the assignment wrong and still have an A. You can get half of the assignment wrong and still be passing. I also have no freaking clue how my credits are going to transfer over and I can't even find someone that can explain it to me. The presentation that I did yesterday seemed to go really well. She only had to ask us one question and she said most of it was well researched. She sent us our presentation feedback and our report feedback this morning telling us everything that she "wanted to see" which made it sound like she wanted us to redo it. She gave us a 60%. That's like a B. This project was on ONE SENTENCE. We were only given a little tiny bit of guidance and then we were set off to figure out what the hell she wanted us to write about and present about for 20 minutes. If I had gotten a 60% at home, I would be failing.
I also don't like how they teach languages here. At home, even in the very very very beginner classes, they pretty much speak nothing but the language you are trying to learn (for me that was French). I was at a point where I could pretty much understand everything they were telling me to do in class. But here, my French professor hardly speaks any French. When he does speak in French I pretty much have no idea what he is saying.
The only thing I do like is the class trips. If you didn't know, I am going to Nice, France, with 17 other French students and one of my French professors in about three weeks. The school is paying for it. Well, everything except my food and the stuff that I want to bring back. Now that is awesome. I know the U can't really do that because where are we going to go? Canada? Mexico? But today I was talking to the professor that is chaperoning us (because since all the trains are screwed up, I wanted to know how I was going to manage to get myself to the Bristol airport in one piece) and he told me that the first day we are there, we will be going on a coach tour. So I will get to go to Monaco and Monte Carlo, which will be pretty cool. The second day, we will get to do pretty much what we want to do. And the third day we can do whatever, and that includes going on a little trip to Italy, which would be awesome. I will just have to make at least one friend that will go with me. I don't really want to go to Italy alone.
Well. I think that was all I was mad about. I can't remember now. I took a break halfway through writing this and calmed down a bit. On a side note, it was sunny when I was outside today. Doubt it is sunny now and I don't think it is going to be sunny when I am getting ready to go out shopping tonight. But you never know. Depending on what happens with my plane ticket, I might be home for two weeks in April instead of just one, which would be really good. I need to go buy University of Plymouth hoodies sometime.. I wish we had a big bookstore like we do at the U. But that kinda thing doesn't exist here. I think I am going to go take a nap before we go back to the mall.. I hope everyone is doing well.
<3 Jess
First off, the schedules. When you sign up for classes (or modules, as they are known here), every single time slot that that module offers is put into your timetable. You then have to go through and separate everything and choose which lessons you can attend. But you have to make sure that nothing clashes (which is really difficult considering that some modules change halfway through the semester, so basically, halfway through you get screwed over because one module changes to the same time as another and you have to figure out what to do about it). So that is ridiculous. At the U, we choose the time that is best for us and we are signed up for that one and only that one. End of story. Simple. Easy.
Second, universities over here are "independent learning environments" so you essentially go to each class for two hours a week, learn nothing, and then have to go home and teach yourself. WHY do we pay so much to teach ourselves?? THAT MAKES NO SENSE. I go to school to have an "expert" in the subject teach me about that subject. At least that's what I was thinking was supposed to happen at school. I could be wrong. I could save a whole lot of money by just buying a textbook off of amazon and going through it myself.
For one of my modules (accounting), we have an hour lecture that we have to go to (which there are two to choose from) and then we have to choose a one hour tutorial session (out of seven, which, three are at the same time, in the same building, just on different floors. HOW DOES THAT HELP FIT ANYONE'S SCHEDULE???) to attend to get more one-on-one time with a tutor. Well, at the beginning of each of the lectures, the lecturer takes about 10 minutes to explain that an hour isn't that long and so we don't have much time to get through everything and then she tells us what we are going to go over and skip before actually getting to the freaking point of the whole lesson. We are taught (kind of. we are given a handout with most of the work already done (to save time!) so we don't actually get to put everything into practice much) the general idea of what should be going on. And she also walks through the auditorium to make sure people are understanding, which would be great if she didn't waste the first ten minutes emphasizing our lack of time. So then there is the tutorial. Last term I had a British tutor but then halfway through it changed to a middle eastern guy, who I am sure was really nice but I couldn't understand a word he was saying (I had made a friend in my tutorial so he told me what Ahmed was saying while I explained to him what that meant in accounting terms. One of my flatmates got him this term and had to change because he didn't have a clue what was going on. His accent is that bad). This term I have a good tutor. And it helps that there is never more than 5 of us in the tutorial (which isn't the case in all of the tutorials, but I'm glad I'm in a small one), so if we don't understand she stops and takes her time to help. But what I don't understand is that if the tutorial is the place where we learn the technical bits of the process and information, why don't we just have a two hour tutorial instead of a lecture and tutorial which are both too short??
Third thing: grading. I HATE how they grade things here. Seventy percent is an A. Now I know a lot of you will be thinking, "But that makes everything easier, you can get a lot wrong and still get good grades," but really, it makes me not want to even try. You don't have to try. You can get 30% of the assignment wrong and still have an A. You can get half of the assignment wrong and still be passing. I also have no freaking clue how my credits are going to transfer over and I can't even find someone that can explain it to me. The presentation that I did yesterday seemed to go really well. She only had to ask us one question and she said most of it was well researched. She sent us our presentation feedback and our report feedback this morning telling us everything that she "wanted to see" which made it sound like she wanted us to redo it. She gave us a 60%. That's like a B. This project was on ONE SENTENCE. We were only given a little tiny bit of guidance and then we were set off to figure out what the hell she wanted us to write about and present about for 20 minutes. If I had gotten a 60% at home, I would be failing.
I also don't like how they teach languages here. At home, even in the very very very beginner classes, they pretty much speak nothing but the language you are trying to learn (for me that was French). I was at a point where I could pretty much understand everything they were telling me to do in class. But here, my French professor hardly speaks any French. When he does speak in French I pretty much have no idea what he is saying.
The only thing I do like is the class trips. If you didn't know, I am going to Nice, France, with 17 other French students and one of my French professors in about three weeks. The school is paying for it. Well, everything except my food and the stuff that I want to bring back. Now that is awesome. I know the U can't really do that because where are we going to go? Canada? Mexico? But today I was talking to the professor that is chaperoning us (because since all the trains are screwed up, I wanted to know how I was going to manage to get myself to the Bristol airport in one piece) and he told me that the first day we are there, we will be going on a coach tour. So I will get to go to Monaco and Monte Carlo, which will be pretty cool. The second day, we will get to do pretty much what we want to do. And the third day we can do whatever, and that includes going on a little trip to Italy, which would be awesome. I will just have to make at least one friend that will go with me. I don't really want to go to Italy alone.
Well. I think that was all I was mad about. I can't remember now. I took a break halfway through writing this and calmed down a bit. On a side note, it was sunny when I was outside today. Doubt it is sunny now and I don't think it is going to be sunny when I am getting ready to go out shopping tonight. But you never know. Depending on what happens with my plane ticket, I might be home for two weeks in April instead of just one, which would be really good. I need to go buy University of Plymouth hoodies sometime.. I wish we had a big bookstore like we do at the U. But that kinda thing doesn't exist here. I think I am going to go take a nap before we go back to the mall.. I hope everyone is doing well.
<3 Jess
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