What's With The Dumb Assignments In College? (professors, average, students)
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This is my fourth class with yet another stupid assignment. It's a World Religions class and my assignment is to interview a local clergy member. I'm not comfortable doing that! Plus, I've left voice messages at three churches with no return calls. An assignment should NOT be dependent on something like this. Now, I get to get a B or C in this class, instead of an A. Granted this isn't as bad as some of the really over-the-top assignments I've read about in the news over the years. Teachers really don't get the real world at all.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 06-27-2013 at 04:04 PM..
Reason: removed inappropriate language
This is my fourth class with yet another stupid assignment. It's a World Religions class and my assignment is to interview a local clergy member. I'm not comfortable doing that! Plus, I've left voice messages at three churches with no return calls. An assignment should NOT be dependent on something like this. Now, I get to get a B or C in this class, instead of an A. Granted this isn't as bad as some of the really over-the-top assignments I've read about in the news over the years. Teachers really don't get the real world at all.
Unless it is a very small town with only a few churches/synagogues/mosques/ etc. and there are 100 students in your class I can't imagine the problem. Call some of the larger churches/etc. during their business hours and it should not be difficult to set up an appointment.
Adding a real life component to a college class usually is quite valuable in the long run. If you aren't comfortable talking with a clergy member just wait until you need to volunteer or interview people at the state locked mental health facility, state prison or someplace similar OR need to live in the "real world".
Last edited by toobusytoday; 06-27-2013 at 04:04 PM..
I decided I was an agnostic at 12. Why would anyone take a world's religions class? Which religion can prove there is a god? But I agree, an assignment should not depend on the behavior of someone other than the student.
This is my fourth class with yet another stupid assignment. It's a World Religions class and my assignment is to interview a local clergy member. I'm not comfortable doing that! Plus, I've left voice messages at three churches with no return calls. An assignment should NOT be dependent on something like this. Now, I get to get a B or C in this class, instead of an A. Granted this isn't as bad as some of the really over-the-top assignments I've read about in the news over the years. Teachers really don't get the real world at all.
Funny, I was a newspaper reporter for many years post-college. An assignment like this would have been VERY "real world" for me. Trying to reach people for interviews and figuring out what to do when you can't get the interview under deadline was a near-daily occurrence in my professional life.
Just because it's an assignment you don't like, or aren't comfortable with, that doesn't make it useless or stupid. It seems like a perfectly normal assignment with numerous practical applications, and having to do things outside your comfort zone is part of real life, FWIW.
I decided I was an agnostic at 12. Why would anyone take a world's religions class? Which religion can prove there is a god? But I agree, an assignment should not depend on the behavior of someone other than the student.
psik
It's not a class intended to convert you to one of those religions, genius.
By that logic, only a man who wants to be a woman should sign up for a Women's Studies class...
This is my fourth class with yet another stupid assignment. It's a World Religions class and my assignment is to interview a local clergy member. I'm not comfortable doing that! Plus, I've left voice messages at three churches with no return calls. An assignment should NOT be dependent on something like this. Now, I get to get a B or C in this class, instead of an A. Granted this isn't as bad as some of the really over-the-top assignments I've read about in the news over the years. Teachers really don't get the real world at all.
This is a strange assignment although I don't think it's that unreasonable. I will agree with your last sentence though. Lots of college professors have no concept of the real world.
I had to interview someone for a World Religions class. I interviewed a rabbi. This seems like a real world assignment to me. It's more real world than trying to get an average person's point of view from a textbook. In the real world, you have to deal with people of different religions, cultures, economic backgrounds, etc. Like another post said, unless you live in a really small town, you should have dozens to even thousands of clergy members to choose from.
I'm with TabulaRase, Just because this was out of your comfort zone does not make it a stupid or even unreasonable assignment. Interviewing a clergy member seems perfectly reasonable to me for a religion class. My son had to do something similar last semester plus attend a service. The more you get out of your comfort zone, the bigger your comfort zone becomes.
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