4 ms·

Im 16 and I dropped out of school to go learn CS at a university (tau.ac.il). 1. Some of the professors are not interested in teaching- they do it because they

by quilby 18y ago

Im 16 and I dropped out of school to go learn CS at a university (tau.ac.il). 1. Some of the professors are not interested in teaching- they do it because they have to. They rarely answer questions and go way to fast over the material. 2. We have to take many math courses. I was very interested in math until I got to university. Why? Because if you have a bad teacher you cant learn a lot. 3. Out of the about 300 people that learn with me in various courses there are probably less than 10 who are actually interested in CS (ie. program outside of school...). 4. Because of (1.) it is actually easier to learn from a book and much more efficient. You just need someone to answer the questions that you get here and there. The whole thing just isnt fun at all... not even close. I really dont know what to do.

msie 18y ago
In university I made a lot of friends in the CS common room (and unfortunately played too many card games) and that helped me a lot. I became friends with some older CS students and they were sort of mentors to me.
timr 18y ago
I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that you're in your first year. Stick it out -- the first year is the worst. The classes are large, the students are just exploring (and aren't "interested"), the professors are teaching boring introductory courses, and no one is particularly inspired. Stick through this part, and you'll find that things rapidly become more challenging and interesting.
- quilby 18y ago
  Thats right- Im in my first year. I really hope you are right.
  - timr 18y ago
    Trust me...the professors don't like the first-year courses any more than you do. They're a necessary evil. Once you've selected a major, the coursework becomes much more interesting and difficult. There will be plenty to challenge you.
markessien 18y ago
Do the following: 1. Find one person who is moderately competent. When you study, study with him. You both study a topic or chapter seated beside each other. Then you discuss the chapter to see if you both understood it the same way. If yes, proceed to the next chapter. If no, discuss some more and try to work out what the prof meant. If you do not understand it, skip the chapter and move on. Sometimes it gets clearer later. 2. For some subjects, it's better to read material that is not specific to the subject. For example, let's say you want to understand electronics. If you buy an electronics book, you will have to go through 100 pages of theoretical stuff that is difficult to understand. You will lose interest and you cannot learn it well. A solution would be to buy a physics book that uses electronics as an example (Physics for Electrical Engineers, for example). This book will explain the electronics as quickly and as efficiently as possible, so that they can focus on physics. This gives you a high level understanding that you can then use to understand the denser material. 3. If you have an exam that you have to pass in a short amount of time, work backwards. Take the old exam questions, and study the theory for each question till you understand enough to solve and understand the problem correctly. Do this for a wide range of questions, and this fills in your theoretical knowledge piece by piece, like a crossword puzzle. It's not a good way to learn, but it's an efficient way of passing and exam. The best way of succeeding in school is by hanging out with the people who want to succeed at school.
jacoblyles 18y ago
One of the first skills that I developed in grad school was how to learn the material even when the professor hates teaching or has no talent for it. Teaching yourself things outside of school, where there are no professors, is even harder. Be grateful for the good teachers you have, but don't let the bad ones slow you down. You can be successful despite them.

by quilby 18y ago

msie 18y ago

In university I made a lot of friends in the CS common room (and unfortunately played too many card games) and that helped me a lot. I became friends with some older CS students and they were sort of mentors to me.

timr 18y ago

I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that you're in your first year. Stick it out -- the first year is the worst. The classes are large, the students are just exploring (and aren't "interested"), the professors are teaching boring introductory courses, and no one is particularly inspired. Stick through this part, and you'll find that things rapidly become more challenging and interesting.

quilby 18y ago
Thats right- Im in my first year. I really hope you are right.
- timr 18y ago
  Trust me...the professors don't like the first-year courses any more than you do. They're a necessary evil. Once you've selected a major, the coursework becomes much more interesting and difficult. There will be plenty to challenge you.

markessien 18y ago

Do the following: 1. Find one person who is moderately competent. When you study, study with him. You both study a topic or chapter seated beside each other. Then you discuss the chapter to see if you both understood it the same way. If yes, proceed to the next chapter. If no, discuss some more and try to work out what the prof meant. If you do not understand it, skip the chapter and move on. Sometimes it gets clearer later. 2. For some subjects, it's better to read material that is not specific to the subject. For example, let's say you want to understand electronics. If you buy an electronics book, you will have to go through 100 pages of theoretical stuff that is difficult to understand. You will lose interest and you cannot learn it well. A solution would be to buy a physics book that uses electronics as an example (Physics for Electrical Engineers, for example). This book will explain the electronics as quickly and as efficiently as possible, so that they can focus on physics. This gives you a high level understanding that you can then use to understand the denser material. 3. If you have an exam that you have to pass in a short amount of time, work backwards. Take the old exam questions, and study the theory for each question till you understand enough to solve and understand the problem correctly. Do this for a wide range of questions, and this fills in your theoretical knowledge piece by piece, like a crossword puzzle. It's not a good way to learn, but it's an efficient way of passing and exam. The best way of succeeding in school is by hanging out with the people who want to succeed at school.

jacoblyles 18y ago

One of the first skills that I developed in grad school was how to learn the material even when the professor hates teaching or has no talent for it. Teaching yourself things outside of school, where there are no professors, is even harder. Be grateful for the good teachers you have, but don't let the bad ones slow you down. You can be successful despite them.