Going to College

After graduating from high school in Cairo, Egypt and traveling around Europe for 6 weeks, I returned to the USA to work road construction before arriving at my college of choice to live in the dorms while attending classes.  My first semester, I was without a roommate, and my second semester I lived off-campus in a trailer.  I attended college for 5 semesters before dropping out.

For my first 5 semesters, I took a variety of Freshman and Sophomore classes that back in 1966 had been specifically designed to FLUNK NON SERIOUS STUDENTS OUT OF COLLEGE.  I don't think that happens anymore...  as colleges and universities liked generating revenues from student tuitions.  Nowadays, the first two years are designed to help keep you IN COLLEGE.

Not only were many of my first two year classes block classes (as they called them) but the final exams were FOUR HOURS LONG...  nowadays, you'd be lucky to take an exam that was 50 minutes in length.

Cafeteria food was OK if I were to be kind...  and, when I enlisted into the NAVY discovered that meals aboard ship were just as good as any nice restaurant MOST OF THE TIME, especially if we were out-to-sea...  but, in port, they were like college cafeteria food, simply OK.

Some of my Freshman classes had 150-200 students and took place in the auditorium with the professor standing behind a podium on the stage...  and, it was very easy to get bored and stop paying attention.  These were typically art and music appreciation courses and were composed of dull lectures and slides.

Breakfast in the cafeteria was not well attended but lunch and dinner had waiting lines during the 3 hour time period range that students could attend.  I tried going at the beginning, the middle time, and at the end and there were always lines....  with the wait time of 30-45 minutes...  and, then almost impossible to find a seat...  because students would hang around and talk after eating.   The administration had counted on people eating and leaving...  not staying.

Teachers HAD NO RESPECT for students until they reached their JUNIOR/SENIOR years...  and then, they were pushed towards graduate school for some reason...  other than more education for the sake of more education...  and, not necessarily to get a PhD so one could teach.  I did not understand the logic in that philosophy until I retired.

College for me was boring.  Not much more different than high school, memorizing meaningless facts that would never be used after one graduated.  NO PROFESSORS made learning enjoyable or interesting or challenging...  teaching as if they did not really want to be there...  but, had no other choice.

I wasted two years in college...

I wasted two years in the military...