Learning

I just took a survey for seniors about to graduate from BYU. The final question, or one of the final questions, asked for me to describe an experience at BYU that significantly affected how I think about learning. I chose the lab I did last month for my geology class which involved drawing a few lines and coloring, and then counting up sections in which I'd colored both yellow and red. It was a total waste of time, but it got me thinking about how little I've learned in so many classes compared to what I could have learned. I think it comes down to the fact that learning in a university setting is often motivated only by the desire to fulfill a requirement - get a good grade on a lab and in a class, graduate, get into grad/med school, or get a good job. I'm afraid that more often than not, that's why we do assignments and why we go to school. So in the survey I described this and said that if I were to create a university, its mode of operation would be fundamentally different than that of BYU. And that more learning would take place. I'm pretty sure this is true.

I'm not sure that this is exactly the kind of response they had in mind. I hope it is.

I also hope that they give out free hot dogs to encourage me to donate to BYU.