Why is school so difficult for some?

[Spud]

Right now I'm back in school after about a year and a half break. Though I noticed as always that I cannot motivate myself for the life of me to do good. Im naturally intelligent but I just don't apply myself. I sit down to do homework and five minutes later I find myself playing MOHAA or thinking about my workout for that night. My attention span is worth dick, why does this have to be so damn difficult. I procrastinate like a mo-fo, but when it comes to lifting eating and anything physical, im on the ball dedicated to the bone. Why can't we get paid based on how healthy we are and how motivated we are towards bodybuilding . Anyway, anyone else have this problem, and if so how do you motivate yourself to do good in school? BTW, I don't have ADD.

 

[-SD-]

How old are you

 

[MFMan]

How old are you

lol! Don't know why I found this so funny. The question of the day.

 

[Spud]

I'm 23, does that matter?

 

[CYBERNIGG]

Must be the beans!

Honestly I had the same problem. Now I work a shit job and I don't get paid dick. Best of luck to ya. Sounds like you have a great future ahead of you.

 

[Warik]

Right now I'm back in school after about a year and a half break. Though I noticed as always that I cannot motivate myself for the life of me to do good. Im naturally intelligent but I just don't apply myself. I sit down to do homework and five minutes later I find myself playing MOHAA or thinking about my workout for that night. My attention span is worth dick, why does this have to be so damn difficult. I procrastinate like a mo-fo, but when it comes to lifting eating and anything physical, im on the ball dedicated to the bone. Why can't we get paid based on how healthy we are and how motivated we are towards bodybuilding . Anyway, anyone else have this problem, and if so how do you motivate yourself to do good in school? BTW, I don't have ADD.

From what I gather from your post, school is difficult for you because it is beneath you.

If you are naturally intelligent, then you find very little use in applying yourself to "learn" the impractical skills a university feels you will need to succeed.

I am in the same situation as you. I have one semester to get my BS after this semester, and the sole reason I am going to finish is because of a promise I made. If not for that, I would have dropped this shit a year ago.

The university system is nothing more than a poor litmus test of employment qualifications.

-Warik

 

[MFMan]

Re: Re: Why is school so difficult for some?

From what I gather from your post, school is difficult for you because it is beneath you.

If you are naturally intelligent, then you find very little use in applying yourself to "learn" the impractical skills a university feels you will need to succeed.

I am in the same situation as you. I have one semester to get my BS after this semester, and the sole reason I am going to finish is because of a promise I made. If not for that, I would have dropped this shit a year ago.

The university system is nothing more than a poor litmus test of employment qualifications.

-Warik

Spoken like a true gentleman. I agree. I don't think any college gets you ready for the real world. Maybe thats why I never finish. I always hated school because I found it pointless. Now that I'm older and still have no fucking idea what I want to do with my life I wish I had a bachelors in something because alot of jobs require that piece of paper for employment. Just heed this warning. Finish school unless you want to end up from one dead end shit job to the next just struggling like a motherfucker to make ends meet. Hence you have me.

 

[Bullit]

I think its becuase it can be boring as watching a pile turd bake in the sun. Its a whole bunch o' shit that you aren't that interested in. I was like you for most classes, but there were a couple that were really interesting and therefore I had no problem motivating myself in them.

 

[Warik]

Re: Re: Re: Why is school so difficult for some?

Just heed this warning. Finish school unless you want to end up from one dead end shit job to the next just struggling like a motherfucker to make ends meet. Hence you have me.

Or unless you want to end up telling an army of motherfuckers working a dead end shit job for the company you own. =) People talk about aspirations and dreams... dreams of becoming a doctor to save people's lives, or a lawyer to fight for one's legal rights, or a musician to bring beauty and harmony to the ears of many; then I'm told that I have no such dreams.

Want to know my dream? I have it every night.

My dream is, by my 30th birthday, to be the boss of someone who, if I believed in society's rules, would be my boss.

(The dream used to be by my 27th birthday... but I had to push it back 3 years because I had to waste some time in school. That was my first nightmare.)

They say life and success are about making money. Wrong. The meaning of life is to be happy, and one is only successful if he achieves happiness. A college degree won't bring anyone that.

-Warik

 

[Warik]

I think its becuase it can be boring as watching a pile turd bake in the sun. Its a whole bunch o' shit that you aren't that interested in. I was like you for most classes, but there were a couple that were really interesting and therefore I had no problem motivating myself in them.

Today in my Ethics in Computer Science class we learned what a virus is and how to keep them from spreading.

Ethics in Computer Science is a 3rd year Computer Science course.

Extra credit to the first person who raises his hand and explains to me why a 3rd year CS student would not know what a virus is.

-Warik

 

[PatsFan34]

Warik, you are the man bro, you are the man!!! I feel you just took every word out of my mouth!!! It seems to me that we've both followed similar paths, I hope they both turn out successful!! I'm 25 now, I hope to be well off by the time I'm 28, but finding a job fucking sucks, that's why I want to be my own boss...

 

[Bullit]

Today in my Ethics in Computer Science class we learned what a virus is and how to keep them from spreading.

Ethics in Computer Science is a 3rd year Computer Science course.

Extra credit to the first person who raises his hand and explains to me why a 3rd year CS student would not know what a virus is.

-Warik

See, now thats some RIVETING material.
How could you not be motivated?

 

[Warik]

See, now thats some RIVETING material.
How could you not be motivated?

The fact that the lecturer was blatantly anti-Microsoft and claimed that Microsoft Outlook was so bad that you could get a virus without even opening an e-mail was part of it. I felt like telling him he was so full of shit.

I have never had a virus scanner on my computers in almost a decade of using computers and I've never been infected by an e-mail virus.

Then he claimed that a laptop connected to the school network without its own personal firewall is likely to be hacked and have its files destroyed in under an hour.

I used to do work for my real job for 3 hours a day on my laptop connected to the school's network. Full of shit statement #2.

Then he started talking about how PGP works. The lecture went a little bit like this.

"You send an encrypted message to someone using his public key, then he decrypts it with his secret key!"

Wow. Could you please state something a little more obvious? I think I'm too fucking stupid for that tidbit of knowledge.

-Warik

 

[2Thick]

College teaches you to open your mind and think critically.

Learning to apply yourself, budget your time and making connections are other benefits.

What you learn is not as important as learning how to learn and how to express yourself efficiently.

That is why university is important.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I'm the same damn way. I'm 23, and I'm always thinking of something else besides school, even though I know I shouldn't be. I only do as much as I have to to pass the class, maybe get A or B if the class doesn't have much work. I don't have a passion for any type of major in school, so I'm just basically doing whatever to get some type of degree in something. My interests change from day to day, week to week. I'm all about the short term, looking ahead no further than the present week's weekend. I'm not lazy when I know what I have to do, but I lack direction career-wise. I always fantasized about writing screenplays and shit, procrastinating constantly, thinking I can do that with a miracle and not have to go to school, but it's a stretch.

I think I'm fucked in the head.

 

[Warik]

College teaches you to open your mind and think critically.

Learning to apply yourself, budget your time and making connections are other benefits.

What you learn is not as important as learning how to learn and how to express yourself efficiently.

That is why university is important.

lol.

EF has taught more more about everything you said than school.

My job has taught me more than EF and school combined.

If the function of university is to learn how to learn, then *I* could teach at the damn university.

-Warik

 

[Spud]

I'm the same damn way. I'm 23, and I'm always thinking of something else besides school, even though I know I shouldn't be. I only do as much as I have to to pass the class, maybe get A or B if the class doesn't have much work. I don't have a passion for any type of major in school, so I'm just basically doing whatever to get some type of degree in something. My interests change from day to day, week to week. I'm all about the short term, looking ahead no further than the present week's weekend. I'm not lazy when I know what I have to do, but I lack direction career-wise. I always fantasized about writing screenplays and shit, procrastinating constantly, thinking I can do that with a miracle and not have to go to school, but it's a stretch.

I think I'm fucked in the head.

Holy shit bro we must be related . For real, you and I are the exact same when it comes to education, and our take on our futures. I always saw myself as being something great, but in order to get there, you have to pass through some sort of University. That always turned me off and actually depressed me to the point where I didn't/don't do well in post highschool education. We are day dreamers, if only we could apply all those dreams! BTW, you're not fucked in the head. We just need to tough it out and prosper in the end. Hopefully I can abide by those words.

 

[Nathan]

Right now I'm back in school after about a year and a half break. Though I noticed as always that I cannot motivate myself for the life of me to do good. Im naturally intelligent but I just don't apply myself. I sit down to do homework and five minutes later I find myself playing MOHAA or thinking about my workout for that night. My attention span is worth dick, why does this have to be so damn difficult. I procrastinate like a mo-fo, but when it comes to lifting eating and anything physical, im on the ball dedicated to the bone. Why can't we get paid based on how healthy we are and how motivated we are towards bodybuilding . Anyway, anyone else have this problem, and if so how do you motivate yourself to do good in school? BTW, I don't have ADD.

It's, "do WELL in school." Just trying to help man.

 

[Spud]

Re: Re: Why is school so difficult for some?

It's, "do WELL in school." Just trying to help man.

Thanks, I'll make sure to take that into consideration Professor Nathan. J/K

 

[big_bad_buff]

I'm 23, does that matter?

man, you must be really stupid, for real!....J/K i'm the same way man, going back to school for the 3rd time this sem. and i agree with Warik....i was making $15-$20 buck an hour working construction, who makes this coming out of college? unless your a doc, or a lawyer? why pay $40k for a piece of paper? OH BUT there is a catch, you have to have this piece of paper to get almost any job now days, UNLESS YOU KNOW SOMEONE, then the golden rule changes...it's all BS, i know this, that's why it's so hard for me to spend time studying on BS that i dont need to know....it's interesting yes, but BS, i would rather be out making $15-$20 an hour.

 

[Optimus B]

Re: Re: Why is school so difficult for some?

From what I gather from your post, school is difficult for you because it is beneath you.

If you are naturally intelligent, then you find very little use in applying yourself to "learn" the impractical skills a university feels you will need to succeed.

I am in the same situation as you. I have one semester to get my BS after this semester, and the sole reason I am going to finish is because of a promise I made. If not for that, I would have dropped this shit a year ago.

The university system is nothing more than a poor litmus test of employment qualifications.

-Warik

that is the most beautiful thing i've read all day. i'm in the same situation as you as i will be getting my BSc in december and it isn't a day too soon. everyday i go to school and wonder what the hell i'm doing there, then i realize that i want to be a physician and that i still have 4 more years. but at least it isn't undergrad.

 

[Night Fly]

I have learned a lot in college...but I know I HAVE to go...because I sure as hell wouldn't be motivated to learn this stuff on my own. I am in nursing school and yes, it sucks...but if I didn't go...I wouldn't know how the stuff that I know today. University is essential for a lot of professions...and some its not.

I am with 2Thick, though...it is about learning how to critically think and learn. Very few people are gifted enough to know how to think critically. I knew...but have learned new things about it...and new ways to do it. You get out what you put into the whole experience.

 

[HulkRow]

i learnt more about life/people this year than i learnt about my study subjects.

man im in the real world now, all those years before i could just do what i want ,knowing i have to go back to school....but not anymore.

 

[VicTusDeuS]

There is 2 types of learning we do...In highschool our learning is simply memorization. The teacher tells you something, you memmorize it and thats all...

College is filled with many useless core classes that all students have to take. These classes instead of giving you the answer, gives you the tools you need to go out and find the answer. That way those skills can be applied to any problem, not just 1 that you memorize the answer to. College also strengthens your social skills and teaches you how to think out of the box and use team work to solve problems.

Without those extra four years of college, many people would be stuck in a paradigm with their thinking and accepting what they were told never asking why? Without the ability to question something we can always be spoon fed propaganda and believe it.

Another thing college does is teach you to work for someone else. I think it is out of necessity that people without a college degree must work extra hard to succeed since they cannot get jobs that people with degrees can. Because they go off on their own and work as hard as they can to survive, they have a drive that a person making a steady 50,000 doesn't. This is why there are so many millionaires out there who made it by starting their own businesses etc....thats just my theory from things I've noticed.

 

[KAYNE]

YOU DONT NEED ADD FOR ADDERALL TO HELP YOU. TRUST ME. I WAS THE MOST UNMOTIVATED PERSON I KNOW WHEN IT CAME TO SCHOOL WORK. NOW, POP A FEW ADDIES, STUDY ALL NIGHT. I JUST FINISHED STUDYING FROM 7PM. STOPPED AT 4AM. GOT A TEST SOON.




KAYNE

 

[epimetheus]

Some people go to college to make more money, some people go to college to chase a dream. I guess if you are interested in making 15-20 dollars an hour, that is cool. If you are a hardcore materialist and love money so much, you should go get a masters in business. You could with a bit of effort start a job at 80k a year with big fat bonus' every year. That is pretty close to 40 bucks an hour, without the bonus. Construction jobs usually top out at 25, unless it is a skilled job. Yearly raises and all usually just keep up with inflation. Having a lucrative career in business can mean big raises often, wide open chances to advance, switch companies and perhaps someday be a CEO of a major corporation.

Of course, there are those that just want to live, and money is immaterial. Like me. I want to write, and I know I wont make a lot of money doing that, but money doesn't mean anything to me. I am willing to spend 4-6 years of my life and 40k-80k to achieve that goal. Just depends on what your goals are.
Having a skill is very handy. Right now I have none, as I work in a factory. I get laid off, I am back to square one. Which is why I am going to go to college.


I think college is so hard for many because of the way the brain works. From birth, our learning processes create a pattern in our brain. This denotes how we think, how we memorize things, organize thoughts and often times feel about things. It also effects talent. Every thought, every imput changes this pattern ever so slightly, and what we learn growing up impacts it the most. It is when our thinking is more flexiable. If a person grows up without that flexiabilty, their brain can have difficulty in learning new things quickly. Neural patterns that are used to picking out patterns, memorizing things, or thinking outside the box excell. Those that are more rigid have more difficutly.

Of course, the brain is just like a muscle. The more you use it, the better you become at using it. The longer you don't use it, the harder it will be to get into a pattern of using it. Don't use it, it will atrophy and get flabby. Exercise for the mind can be just a challenging and rewarding as bodybuilding.

Of course the reason college has all of those "pointless" classes, is that a well rounded education allows for greater growth of neural connections, give us practice in learning, practicing in reasoning, and working our mind muscle. That and knowing things, even pointless things as so many say, can be rewarding. Think of it as isolation and compound exercises. The compound exercises may be what is important. But how many do just those, and no accessory work with isolation exercises?