The Finest Line
One problem that comes with studying Computer Science is the issue of collaborating. Or cheating. Or are they the same thing? Before I arrived at Carnegie Mellon University, I went to a school where all 400 juniors and seniors lived under one roof. Each student had a goal to succeed, and because of this shared interest, there was no stigma when it came to helping the person next to you. I personally enjoyed making sure that whoever needed help understood what I had learned and vice versa. For me, most learning happened outside the classroom where I could spend time to understand exactly what was going on with the aid of all other students in case I got stuck.
Once I arrived at CMU, I expected the same sort of vibe; however, I was a little shocked at the hesitant feeling that some people seemed to give off when I was asked for help. I‘m guessing it was a result of competitive high schools. It was either hesitancy or an almost insensitive attempt to make you leave. Maybe it’s just me and I’m still trying to assimilate into the real world, but nevertheless my level of helplessness has increased and my self-esteem, the opposite. Professors here encourage varying levels of collaboration, calling anything past their policy a breach of academic integrity. Does more collaboration truly help an individual? As a visual learner, I usually learn through examples and practice that guide me through difficult problems. Unfortunately, here I am subject to directly applying myself with using only information taught in lecture to complex problems.
Don’t mistake my opinions as complaints, but I am still unsure whether this truly is the way to encourage student’s to learn. I constantly feel that I’m on my own. For a class I’m taking right now, even my TA’s are instructed to give minimum help. I don’t know whether this is a standard that should be used to teach all students in the Computer Science program, or whether each student should be helped according to their learning style. Education has always been a side passion of mine, and I understand that I’m not in high school anymore. But even when I went to university for my junior and senior year, I never felt alienated. There is a great divide between students who have taken some classes before the rest of us who struggle with diving deep into concepts that have never been introduced to us. Those who are experienced rarely take the time to help those who need help. Once again, maybe this is just the real world that I’m seeing for the first time.
Things like this make me wonder whether I want to go into education after school. I sometimes truly feel like no one else wants to help me the way I do. When someone asks me for help, I genuinely feel a rush of excitement that nothing else has ever given me before. Maybe this is what passion is?
