Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-ncis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!labrea!rutgers!njin!princeton!phoenix!dykimber
From: dykimber@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel Yaron Kimberg)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Student preparedness
Message-ID: <5191@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 6 Jan 89 22:29:04 GMT
References: <52767@pyramid.pyramid.com> <5053@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <56@rpi.edu> <9252@ut-emx.UUCP> <556@mccc.UUCP>
Reply-To: dykimber@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Daniel Yaron Kimberg)
Organization: Princeton University, NJ
Lines: 25

In article <556@mccc.UUCP> pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) writes:
><sigh>  If we could only getthem to read the text BEFORE they came to
>class!  Then notes could be taken on what they didn't understand when
>they read it, and they would actually learn a lot more.

I guess, maybe, but it works the other way, too.  The textbook would make a
lot more sense (since it's such a lousy book) if the professor touched on a
few of the major points in lecture first.  I'm not arguing either side,
actually.  But I wish more professors had a little more sense (and were
willing to tell the class) about the readings.  For instance, telling the
class that something is extremely important, or that something is going to
be tremendously confusing because the author can't write for his life, or
that something is considered a classic, but that the back half of the paper
is redundant, or that it's not always necessary to read through certain
parts of papers...these are the sorts of things that would make life easier
for students.  Usually it takes about four years to get it all figured out.
On the other hand, to save time and effort, the original authors could
provide these things with their works.  ("Preface.  I am a very famous
researcher.  This book represents one of my most important works.  Although
at the time I wrote this, I couldn't write to save my life, the ideas are very
important.  For best results, read as much as you can take, making sure you
hit at least one of the chapters of hand-waving (5, 12, and 17) and then find
yourself a well written review article.  Thank you.")

                                                 -Dan