I know its been a while since I've posted another entry, but I have a legitimate excuse this time! It's college time baby! Move in, classes, orgs, all that good stuff really fills up the time! But of course with all the good, it is still college. And with that, I've found yet another thing that makes me both angry and annoyed.
Now obviously one has to go ahead and find textbooks for their classes when required. For the most part required textbooks have cheaper options, whether it be a rental, used, or even a free online pdf. Yes the pricing of text books can be annoying, but at least it's understandable! Teachers have to provide the knowledge from somewhere, and textbooks are perfect. They contain all the general knowledge needed for the course and often have examples of course topics and even practice problems that assist you on exams. And in the end, teachers often need them to provide a point of reference that is needed badly by students, especially ones new to college or even the topic at hand.
Something that I can't understand, something whose need is just unfathomable to me however is the need for students to purchase online subscriptions to homework databases. Let me make this a little but clearer before I continue. In many classes, usually math ones, teachers will require students to purchase a subscription for an online service where kids complete and submit assignments for the class. This usually happens in large classes where a teacher is never going to take or really have the time to individually grade each student's assignment, and instead simply views their scores and work through the service. But why? There is absolutely no point. First off, its often expensive. As of right now I have had to sign up for three of these services, and two were $120 each! That's more expensive than the textbook.
When you think about it, there is no need for these services. Teachers could just assign problems and trust students to do it. Whether they do it or not is up to them and will more likely than not be reflected in their exam grades. For this online homework, completing it doesn't mean a student completed it. Many students cheat on these assignments by using the internet or/and their friends. You could argue this is the student's fault for cheating and not using the service properly. Sure. You could. But you could also blame the teacher for forcing students to shell out more money than is already being paid to the school rather than teaching properly in class and using the exams to grade students.
As always, keep in mind that this is my angry and annoyed opinion. I am sure teachers have convinced themselves there are good reasons for requiring these purchases, and I would love to hear them! But until then, I am going to continue believing I wasted money.
Now obviously one has to go ahead and find textbooks for their classes when required. For the most part required textbooks have cheaper options, whether it be a rental, used, or even a free online pdf. Yes the pricing of text books can be annoying, but at least it's understandable! Teachers have to provide the knowledge from somewhere, and textbooks are perfect. They contain all the general knowledge needed for the course and often have examples of course topics and even practice problems that assist you on exams. And in the end, teachers often need them to provide a point of reference that is needed badly by students, especially ones new to college or even the topic at hand.
Something that I can't understand, something whose need is just unfathomable to me however is the need for students to purchase online subscriptions to homework databases. Let me make this a little but clearer before I continue. In many classes, usually math ones, teachers will require students to purchase a subscription for an online service where kids complete and submit assignments for the class. This usually happens in large classes where a teacher is never going to take or really have the time to individually grade each student's assignment, and instead simply views their scores and work through the service. But why? There is absolutely no point. First off, its often expensive. As of right now I have had to sign up for three of these services, and two were $120 each! That's more expensive than the textbook.
When you think about it, there is no need for these services. Teachers could just assign problems and trust students to do it. Whether they do it or not is up to them and will more likely than not be reflected in their exam grades. For this online homework, completing it doesn't mean a student completed it. Many students cheat on these assignments by using the internet or/and their friends. You could argue this is the student's fault for cheating and not using the service properly. Sure. You could. But you could also blame the teacher for forcing students to shell out more money than is already being paid to the school rather than teaching properly in class and using the exams to grade students.
As always, keep in mind that this is my angry and annoyed opinion. I am sure teachers have convinced themselves there are good reasons for requiring these purchases, and I would love to hear them! But until then, I am going to continue believing I wasted money.
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