University of Southern Mississippi - Southerner Yearbook (Hattiesburg, MS)

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Classes Classes become a daily rou- tine and can become boring if the student is not careful. Eight O'clock classes should be avoided if the student is inter- ested in learning. In most cases, an 8:00 class is just an ex- tra hour of sleep before the day gets going. Core requirements are, in general, the classes a student least wants to take. Although they can be interesting, he is usually ready to move on to his major and leave the other courses behind. Some schools use the bait and switch method in getting students to sign up for courses. They lure the students to a course with an easy teacher and then change the teacher on the day after registration. An- other method is to simply put staff instead of specifying the teacher, leading a student to think he will get an easy teacher. Finding the right teacher is sometimes hard to do. Some students may think one teacher is particularly good, while oth- ers don't, so students never really know what they're get- ting into. The testing methods of teachers could easily take up a whole book in themselves. There are basically three types of tests: 11 short answer, 23 multiple choice and True-False, and 35 discussion. Most teach- ers will use a combination of these. The problems arise in the grading system and amount of material being cov- ered. Some teachers ask only the most obvious facts, but there is at least one teacher in every department who will ask anything from footnotes to page numbers. These are the ones to look out for. 26

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Invariably after preparing for what the teacher is sure to ask, tests are passed out, and the 75 point question is on the footnote on page 183 and the 15 point question is on the obvious fact. The only thing for a stu- dent to do on a test like this is to say a lot without ever com- mitting himself to any hard facts. Some teachers seem to think that how much is said is more important than what is said. This doesn't always work, but it certainly can't hurt. The size of a class has a lot to do with how much enjoyment is gotten out of it. The smaller the class, the more involvement required, so naturally more in- terest is evoked. In larger classes, the teacher tends to spend mor-e time lecturing, so less class participation is in- volved and therefore less inter- est is aroused from class members. Both Monday-Wednesday- Friday classes and Tuesday- Thursday classes have their ad- vantages and disadvantages. If a lot of time is needed for class- work, then Tuesday-Thursday classes can be the most benefi- cial. If the class is mostly lec- tures, then Monday-Wednes- day-Friday classes may be better because they require a shorter attention span. When it comes right down to it, classes depend on the stu- dents. If they go into a class ex- pecting to learn and to enjoy it, chances are they will. 28