20110928

上課,所為何事?

今年又輪到我坐上系內 personnel committee 的三個「寶座」之一,雖然不是當主席,也因此而多了不少工作,昨天就要到同事 Z 的堂上觀察他授課,然後寫評價報告。

我早十分鐘到達課室,坐在最後一行,一來方便看到大部份學生,二來又可避免後面有學生看到我在手提電腦上打的筆記。這是科學哲學,但不是哲學本科必修課,所以有不少學生都是其他學系的。Z 在這堂講的是 Karl Popper 的理論,主要是講科學和否證(falsification)的關係;Z 講得生動有趣,例子豐富,大部份學生都留心聽書,亦踴躍提問和參與討論。

然而,有兩個學生的行徑卻令我很看不過眼。兩人都坐在我前一行,兩人都開著手提電腦,由於距離近和角度容許,他們電腦屏幕上的東西我看得一清二楚。在這一堂的一小時十五分內,這兩個傢伙由始至終都只是注視自己的電腦屏幕和在鍵盤上敲打,沒有留意教授在講甚麼、同學在討論甚麼,甚至當教授在課室的大屏幕顯示一些有趣的例子和圖片時,他們也沒有抬頭一望!那麼,他們在自己的電腦上做甚麼呢?當然不是打課堂筆記了,而是瀏覽網頁、比較想購買的東西的價錢、閱讀和回答電郵、和跟人 chatting(其中一人竟在同一時間內開了三個 chat boxes!)。除非他們有超強的分心幾用能力,否則和沒上課根本沒有分別。

這兩個學生到來上課,應該只是因為 Z 每堂都點名,而出席率會影響他們的成績。因此,他們不是不重視自己的成績,他們不重視的,只是在課堂上學習到甚麼;他們要的只是學位,不是學識。

這樣的學生,相信到處都有,問題只是多少而已。不知香港的大學生有多少是這樣差勁的呢?

18 則留言:

  1. 師兄,香港大學都差唔多姐,每間大學都有好學生,都有壞學生。
    尤其o係手提電腦o既年代,個個上堂上facebook,唉!

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  2. 不吐不快:

    大專生之中真的很多﹗開學之後開始溫書只會引來同學的一句:「吓,你____ga?」去圖書館借書被同學見到就只會聽到「哇…洗唔洗咁ar…」

    我去過某大學上一科叫「World English」的學科,周圍的都是大學生。據我幾星期來的觀察,大多數的學生都是在用電腦、發白日夢、聞聊等等,聽老師授課的不足十人。

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  3. 香港八成的大學生都係咁,上堂玩facebook淘寶就梗架la! 最大問題係「好功利」! 與考試無關的野一概不理! 個個把口都識話讀大學係為求知識學問,但心裡只求「答案」過骨,讀什麼系將來揾幾多錢做邊份政府工......

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  4. 香港學生多數會選擇走堂...

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  5. //...開學之後開始溫書...// 之後?? I studied before 開學 when I was in college. But I wasn't in HK. I began about 3 days after the last day of final exams of the last quarter (to regroup). (Yes, got the textbooks ASAP.) The profs were very tough. The quarter system sucked too. Many times the profs crammed almost all the materials for a semester in a quarter. At times what left out from the semester materials (not enough time to cover), the students needed to do it on their own or when they got to higher level they would find a gap there. The profs also gave too much homework. Did they think we were problem solving robots? Where was the software for solving problems? Load it on, please. Ridiculous. (Ranting... borrowing Wong's space.) There were some classes (type C, see below) like this: students took a class C after a class A but there was not a class B offered (no such class on the catalog.) But there should have been one because class A wasn't a strong enough foundation for class C and a class in between was needed. Extreme case: I took only 7 credits in a certain quarter because of such missing link. I wasn't the only person. I knew some students took only 3 credits (just one class, that "class C") in that quarter. How big a gap we needed to fill!! Everyone except the prof looked sleep deprived (but not sleepy, couldn't afford it) in class. Red eyes (literally) and... Whew. That's one of the excuses why I am so lazy now. --zpdrmn

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  6. zpdrmn :

    Actually I studied something on my own during the semester-break... At that time I was thinking of "programme-transfer"; I planned to take Social Psychology once I succeeded. Then, I did succeed, but I found that there won't be Social Psychology in this semester! Generally, I can just say that I had prepared for Japanese Course in my holiday...

    Actually the lectures in my college are very "generous", because they are under pressure to conform to the complaints and requests from those academically incapable students... They pay the school-fees and go to work; they perform poorly and complain. I really can't understand this attitude.

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  7. 我經驗很少,幸好還沒遇過學生敢(公然)玩facebook,iPhone,筆記本的(開筆記本一般都會記筆記)。不過看著他們中大部分人一直對住書心不在焉,低著頭毫無表情,講下笑都冇反應,還有中途聲到唔聲突然“嘭”一下衝入嚟、走出去,真係好受打擊同煎熬。

    我覺得教師能做到完全唔介意以上,還照樣備課講嘢,實在需要很長時間修為。

    cyc

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  8. S,
    //They pay the school-fees and go to work; they perform poorly and complain. I really can't understand this attitude. //
    They probably won't understand (or should they) when they get a job after graduation why their salaries are so low. Ha Ha. Just kidding... (or no kidding.)

    It reminds me of someone, T, I know. T was given a chance to go to the USA to study English for TOFEL. If it went well and T got accepted by a US college, financial support would be there (an iron-clad promise.) T's study "technique" was the Perking Duck feeding style and T lacked the interest or tenacity to build up a strong foundation. T didn't stay in the US after several month and went back to HK. T took TOFEL and got a decent score. Then T took some courses in college in HK. I forgot if they were for some cert, dip, or an associate degree. But upon graduation T didn't use it to get a related job. Related jobs didn't really suit T. T got some short term PT job (really low paying and unsteady). Then T got in a university to get a bachelor degree (in another area) and graduated. T found a job (low paying) but not in related area. T was interested in getting a degree in the area related to the job. Getting such a related degree would get higher pay. Much higher, I guess. T went back to college to get a master degree in that area. Before T graduate T needed to pass an English exam. I wouldn't say the exam was similar to the TOFEL T took, but I would say the levels of the 2 exams were comparable. But T wasn't very confident. Gosh. T gave back the English learned in the US to the English teacher, (I guess). Don't even mention improvement. T's persistence to climb up the ladder is respectable. T's lack of interest in building a strong foundation isn't. Why did I write all this?? It beats me. --zpdrmn

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  9. zpdrmn

    True that T's persistence is respectable... T's story makes me think of this question: 求學,所為何事?

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  10. Yuen,

    //香港大學都差唔多姐,每間大學都有好學生,都有壞學生。
    尤其o係手提電腦o既年代,個個上堂上facebook,唉!//

    - 教授不阻止嗎?假如我發覺堂上有學生做這些事情,我是會叫他們停止的。

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  11. Andrew,

    //香港學生多數會選擇走堂...//

    - 有些教授會點名的吧。

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  12. cyc,

    //不過看著他們中大部分人一直對住書心不在焉,低著頭毫無表情,講下笑都冇反應,還有中途聲到唔聲突然“嘭”一下衝入嚟、走出去,真係好受打擊同煎熬。//

    - 所以教書要談笑風生,令學生留心。

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  13. 近期我有機會接觸一班比我小很多的學生(比我小十年左右),他們很多處事態度或待人接物的態度都令我十分不以為然,繼而慨嘆我已廉頗老矣。我想你們看這些動輙比你們年輕二三十年的學生,當中的差別大概更加大,「精神衝擊」更強烈吧。

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  14. 更差勁的,是社會只重視學位,不重視學識,機構只以學位做為聘用準則,有學識無學位,好難出來行。

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  15. 鄧景,

    //我想你們看這些動輙比你們年輕二三十年的學生,當中的差別大概更加大,「精神衝擊」更強烈吧。//

    - 香港的情況我不清楚,但在美國,即使是我教的這一間普通的州立大學,留心聽書、有學習興趣的學生仍很多。

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  16. karol,

    //更差勁的,是社會只重視學位,不重視學識,機構只以學位做為聘用準則,有學識無學位,好難出來行。//

    - 對,這是問題根源之一。

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  17. 想當年﹐返學的目的﹐當然就是等放學la(閃)

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  18. 文少,

    //想當年﹐返學的目的﹐當然就是等放學la(閃)//

    - 你就係個種「上堂頭愕愕,返學等放學」嘅學生!不過,依家都無穿無爛吖。

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