University is much more than acquiring knowledge

Going to university is an opportunity that goes far beyond acquiring certain knowledge. Or should be. There are those who take it as a mere formality that must be passed in order to get to working life, or to improve it, but it can also be a vital experience, if you devote the necessary time and attention to it. If you have the opportunity to do so – having to combine a job with your studies can make it very complicated – going through university can be an important way of personal growth. Because it is not a place to go to memorize – that can be done at home – but a space dedicated exclusively to knowledge where you also learn, or above all, from debate and the exchange of ideas. And not just in the classroom: you can also learn a lot at events, talks, hallway conversations, student activism and even at the bar.

At a time when many people are struggling to find a way to improve themselves at the hands of self-help books and counselors of all kinds who dispense stereotyped formulas, college should be much more effective, if it takes full advantage of it. potential Yes, read a book, follow the advice of a supposed expert or listen to one influencer it is faster, requires less time and effort than studying a career and taking advantage of its full transformative potential, but the effects are not the same. Anyone who has fully lived through the university experience can remember and explain later how it marked them.

To get the most out of university, you have to live it: go to class and participate in campus life

But to get the most out of college, as long as it hasn’t been reduced to a mere business, you have to live it: go to class and participate as much as possible in campus life. And this seems to be happening less and less, according to professors and managers of the four main Catalan universities. The pandemic was a turning point from which the centers have not yet fully recovered. It is true that virtual campuses have made a great leap forward and have become a great tool for pursuing studies, but they are not comparable substitutes for a good teacher, nor can forums, chats or video conferences be compared to a good debate in the classroom. Nor were lists of recommended bibliography or photocopied notes before the Internet became widespread.

To avoid classrooms and campuses is to miss opportunities for learning and growth, and also, let’s not forget, to waste a portion of the public money that goes to finance university studies. That is why some centers have started to take measures to encourage attendance. However, if absenteeism continues or even increases, it will be necessary to study it more thoroughly: quantify it and devote resources to analyzing its causes and possible solutions. Teaching methods must continue to evolve, without lowering the demands of studies, this should never be the solution. We cannot let the university classrooms remain more and more empty, because then the future of the country will also be increasingly poor.

2024-04-28 18:53:44
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