School

In this post, Ladies and Gentlemen, we discuss the New Zealand college system. I've had about two weeks of classes with difficulties ranging from freshman to senior, so I feel as if I've got a decent view of the system. This may be a boring post, but it makes me feel better to write it, so I'm damn well writing it. To spice it up, I'll sprinkle random pictures here and there for ya.

And I did say random.

Firstly, signing up for classes is a nightmare. There are different kinds of instruction that one must undergo for each class. In other words, rather than having interactive lectures, like in the US, you have a certain number of hours per week that one must show up to lectures, a certain number of hours that one must show up to tutorials, and a certain number of hours that one must show up to labs (if taking science classes). For example, my Maori language course requires that I show up to two hours of lecture per week, and one hour of tutorial. The end result of this is that the lectures and tutorials are not arranged in any logical fashion, no, they instead occur at different times and on different days. Again, for example, I have Post-Colonial literature lecture on Monday at 2, Tuesday at 4, and a tutorial on thursday at 1. In other words, if I wanted to take a class at any of these random times, I couldn't. So I didn't. Seriously, it took me over two hours to juggle these random class times, and when I couldn't find a fourth class that I actually wanted to take, I had to settle on Chinese Film because that totally applies to my majors in the states. Oh, and because the classes occur at random times, the final exam dates can conflict between classes, causing further heartache and sorrow. There. That felt good. I do so enjoy complaining to the internet.

Now for actual classes. Becaue they differentiate between lectures and tutorials, students don't often speak during lectures, even classes that are designed for discussion (See: english). Naturally, I have no problem with that, because I love to just sit quietly and listen to a professor speak for an hour without interuption. It rocks my socks. Tutorials, admittedly, are far more interactive. They split the class into approximately equal portions, and divide them amongst multiple tutorial times, which results in a far more intimate and favorable learning atmosphere. Guess which one I enjoy more? No Jim, not the lectures. Oh, and I was talking with Ben, and because he's trustworthy with this sort of information I trust him, apparently there's a cultural . . . thing in New Zealand where nobody really wants to differentiate him/herself from the herd. They don't like showboating, and apparently speaking up during lectures and asking difficult questions to the teacher counts, so there's a tangible hesitation in the classroom when the teacher asks a question. These are times during which the loud, obnoxious, and not-so-elusive American is heard to speak. . .

I have a few further observations: Learning in New Zealand is a personal thing. The teachers are not there to make sure that you're on track with the reading, they're not there to see that you actively engage with the material and learn, they're not there to hold your hand, they're there to speak, and if you don't like that, you don't have to come to class. Naturally, this is both a positive and negative thing. It's positive for students that are there to learn, the kinds of students that will go home every night and read the recommended materials. They will naturally flourish under this system. Unfortunately, this is a minority of college students anywhere. I have a belief that College is like a second childhood, unless you're a bitter-old-man like Ben, and in order to have the majority of college students succeed, it's necessary to have teachers give out weekly assignments, to force students to go home and remain engaged in the material. The New Zealand system requires that teachers give out assignments for the entire semester the first day of class; so naturally the teachers don't give out weekly homework, but maybe one or two essays for the course of the semester. This also forces the teachers to remain close to a previously taught section of the course, and effectively prohibits teachers from innovating and improving a course.

And now for a joke:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

~To get to the other side!

Sadly, I only recently understood that joke. I always thought it was just so obvious that it was dumb, "of course we cross a road to get to the other side." Ha Ha. But no, the joke is far more complex than that. A chicken is not necessarily the most intelligent of birds, so it will probably die crossing the road. So it goes to the "other side" . . . death. See, it's smart, isn't it?

I really just want to know how many of you actually got the whole joke before.