School is draining me
 

4 years of College/University study almost done. Just have 1 year left and I will graduate with 2 degrees but ATM I'm totally burned out. I'm finishing up on some of my upper level econ classes that get into a bunch of esoteric stuff that is clearly not applicable to the real world so I'm having trouble doing any of the work. Right now I'm writing a paper on Machiavelli and while it may be an interesting text, I'm really just dragging along the bottom right now. I really don't understand how reading this book or writing a paper about it will really do anything for me in real life when I have a real job. Anyone else ever feel like this? School should be more about preparing us for the real world, not about jumping through hoops to get grades.

This is an age old debate. A broad and general education allows a student to think beyond the scope of their degree.

You are assuming that the point of college is to get a better job. That might be your reason for going, but it is certainly not the only reason that they exist.

There is an adage, "The more you know, the more you know you don't know". This could not be more true. Learning anything, from carpentry to cooking, bagging groceries to tying fisherman's knots, can show you how much there is to know and allow you to appreciate those that are experts in each field.

If you wanted a job that shows you exactly what you will do in the workforce then you should have gone to vocational school.

Machiavelli at least has potential to be usefull, the garbage we are forced to read in our non-business management classes is completely useless.

We didn't even read Sun Tzu, which would be usefull.

People who don't love learning shouldn't be in higher education in the first place.

I love you but lets just be friends.

So you'd rather everyone to not try and be dumbasses?

I love to learn new things on things of my interest. It doesn't mean I must enjoy every single thing about my education.

Then very few would even bother with higher degrees. Most people do it for the job, not because it's fun.

Oh, no, that's not it necessarily. I've learned a lot about myself and my own abilities since entering college and getting involved. Some of my classes have been totally amazing and I wouldn't trade the experiences for anything. It's just a few bad apples that spoil the bunch. [thumbdown]

Nope. However, I'm an engineer, which is quite different when it comes to higher education than the humanities and social sciences. Every class I took was to prepare me for a higher understanding of how materials work, and they all fit in the jig saw puzzle in a particular place. I've been in "school" for 9 years now, and still feel great about being here, however like I said our school is quite different, as I really don't have anymore classes and am doing experimentation and manufacturing.