E
ngineering
education,
as I have experienced it,
has a singular obsession
with theory. This obsession
brings
irreparable
change
to a student’s mentality and,
inevitably, the industry they
enter. I make the presumption
throughout this column that
engineering
students
enter
college with a desire to create
or change things for the better
in some way. This fundamental
desire is not catered to when
students enter the classroom;
it is even discouraged. This
is not to say that all ability
to
achieve
great
things
is
completely limited by years of
classroom experience. The point
is to highlight how engineering
education falls short of the
inspiring experience it could be.
A staunch focus on theory
without an application element
divorces theory and application.
If the purpose of coming to
school is to ultimately create or
change one’s environment, from
the beginning, school and the
purpose have been separated.
The mentality is then created
and widely accepted that the
classroom is for learning theory,
and external projects, teams
or jobs exist for learning the
application of those theories.
This likely sounds acceptable
at first, but invaluable first-
hand experience that would
solidify and bring meaning
to the theory in one’s mind at
the time of learning is lost.
Learning in the classroom
is vitally important, but its
own singular focus on theory
prevents
it
from
getting
through to students and giving
them the information they
need to succeed.
I, and surely many others,
feel as though they are trudging
through the school portion of their
day to go work on a project team,
personal project or something of
the like. This mentality is awful
for thoroughly learning material
instead of trying to improve
relentlessly — the student just tires
to get through. By trying to drill
the theory into students’ minds
with lectures and homework
that simply reinforce the theory,
the opposite effect is achieved by
misplacing students’ motivation.
Class treats itself as a bother to
be quickly worked through and
brushed aside instead of a skill
to be fleshed out and thoroughly
learned.
Over time, treating classroom
learning as something that must
be gotten through simply to get
a degree to get a job takes a toll
on students. What was once
seen as a real chance to change
things for the better becomes
something they do just to get
by. The original passion for
their subject of study is lost in
the push to meet one deadline.
The loss of passion reduces the
quality of engineering work
put out into society and, as a
result, the main objective of
learning in the classroom has,
instead of improving society,
done it a disservice. Obviously,
the loss of passion does not
occur in all cases, but it does
occur in a significant number.
Many people I know, including
myself, have fallen victim to
this effect and it is simply
depressing
to
watch
such
potential be squandered.
In a more ideal system,
colleges
would
remove
the
current
degree
of
separation and marry their
discussion
of
theory
with
first-hand
construction
and
demonstration.
Students
would not learn the theory by
spending unnecessary hours
being lectured and completing
arbitrary
problems
to
demonstrate their knowledge.
Instead, the students would
be required to design and/
or build a single device by the
end of college encompassing
all knowledge attained. Design
based on the theories covered
in class would be the primary
focus
instead
of
constant
problems. This should both
engrain the ideas in students’
minds and show them how they
may be used. Something like this
already happens in introductory
level and some higher-level
engineering classes but gaining
first-hand experience in only a
small portion of classes is not
enough to counteract the effects
of the remainder of classes
described above.
Obviously, reconciling this
ideal with the current system
would be impossible in any
short period of time. However,
this system where engineering
students work on a project
that encompasses everything
they have learned may be
implemented
alongside
the
current system relatively easily.
The approach to this project
could not be one similar to
the introductory engineering
classes where the performance
of the project is irrelevant; this
practically defeats the purpose
of the project in students’
minds and makes it a time-
consuming
chore.
Instead,
the students should use the
concepts they have learned to
make a well-functioning device
of their choosing over their
time in college. Whatever they
have made or designed could
also be shown to employers and
serve as a relatively tangible
display
of
design
and/or
construction capability. With
this, perhaps a realignment of
motivations will be brought
back to engineering education
and give the education itself
some meaning.
F
amous novelist Thomas
Berger once said, “The
art and science of asking
questions is the source of all
knowledge.”
When we are young, we
always ask questions; questions
that
sometimes
make
our
parents uncomfortable because
of the answers. As children, we
are curious about everything,
why the sky is blue and how we
came to enter this world. Before
we can talk, we use our senses
to investigate something we
are confused upon. As we grow
up, we express these thoughts
through questions. This
is
basic human nature.
Why is it then as we grow up
we are conditioned to not be as
curious as we once were; we are
shut down by authority figures,
parents and peers, who tell us
to “stop being so annoying”
and say things like “why did
you ask that? The answer was
obvious.”
The stigma around asking
questions in a classroom is
negative. From my experience
of being a student, asking
a question indicates a lack
of intellectual ability. Fear
of asking questions in large
classroom settings discourages
students from gaining help
when they need it. This fear
comes
from
embarrassment
students may feel by making
themselves vulnerable about
not being perfect. The types
and number of students in a
class build an environment
that has a direct correlation to
how comfortable students feel
asking questions.
If someone is not interested
in the information they seek,
they will not ask questions
and cannot expand upon their
knowledge. Furthermore, they
cannot attain any knowledge if
they do not first inquire about it.
It is part of human nature to ask
questions when confused. Then
why is it that we shame this way
of thinking in many classrooms?
I observed a student in my
class last semester who was
told by the teacher he was
only allowed to speak twice a
class period, because he had
asked too many questions.
Asking questions is a symbol
for knowledge, but our own
professors are putting down
people because of their ability
to speak their mind and ask
thought-provoking
questions
about
which
their
fellow
classmates might also wonder.
It could be argued that
teachers
or
persons
of
authority
feel
the
most
challenged by these questions,
which then speaks to the
depth of their knowledge of
the subject. If a teacher cannot
answer a question provided
to them by the student, then
how do they expect their
student to learn a topic so the
message resonates with them
personally?
Understanding
something on a personal level
will give a student the tools to
delve into the topic and grasp a
relationship with the material
in a way that resonates.
Each student is different.
The way individuals learn is
unique to their own individual
intellectual
makeup
and
how they digest these large
concepts in their brains.
However,
teachers
and
other students may see asking
questions as a weakness. Other
students who see an individual
asking a question they do not
have find the asker slow, out of
place and a disruption to their
own learning. Empathy about
what learning looks like for
others on the part of students
who are frustrated by it would
benefit classroom culture and
the students themselves. There
is no harm in being curious;
when curiosity ceases is when
all learning ends.
In a world that is growing to
be more accepting of others and
acknowledges diversity, one
would think teachers would
encourage an environment of
being curious and accepting so
that the class as a whole could
benefit.
Every student who attends
this university is seeking to
learn information beyond rote
memorization. So why then
do we as students discourage
asking questions and speaking
out when confused? The lessons
we learn from our university
experience help us to provoke
our interests and apply these
deep lessons we learn to our
everyday life beyond schooling.
University-level learning is
supposed to be enriching and
fulfilling in whatever subject one
chooses to learn. The negative
stigma surrounding the ability
to ask questions diminishes
the confidence of students. It is
kind of ironic, that at a learning
institution, other students are
not encouraging students to ask
questions and therefore does not
promote learning as it should.
I too have a question for this
university: why?
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, January 9, 2017
Achieveable New Year’s resolutions
MICHAEL SUGERMAN | COLUMN
N
ew
Year’s
resolutions
tend to be notoriously
vague
and
breakable.
According to Nielsen, some of
the top resolutions
include staying fit
and healthy, losing
weight, enjoying life
to the fullest, getting
organized
and
traveling more.
Well folks, I’m a
fan of specificity, and
in the spirit of this,
here is a list of New
Year’s
resolutions
that I hope you’ll find
both unambiguous and feasible.
***
Wash my underwear before I
run out of it and have to either: A.
Go commando, or B. Order more
via Amazon Prime. This also
applies to socks.
Host dinner at my house once
a month, followed by drinks
and board games. Convening
friends is important. So is
competitive Scrabble.
Cancel my New York gym
membership from the summer.
Plan
to
start
going
to
the
Intramural Sports Building to
work out — it’s a lot closer than
Manhattan and better for hanging
out with friends.
At long last, sell back my
freshman (also: sophomore and
junior) year textbooks to Ulrich’s.
It’s only fair that Paul Krugman’s
“Microeconomics” book has the
opportunity to frustrate another
innocent soul.
Apply for jobs. Get a job. Learn
about
401(k)
benefits.
Build
my credit. Watch instructional
YouTube videos about how to
execute more difficult styles of tie
knots. Update my email signature.
Trim my nails more regularly.
Listen to those voicemails from a
year ago and finally delete them.
You know — adult stuff.
Use the events.umich.edu site to
identify cool speakers and attend
their guest lectures. Go to at least
two University Musical Society
performances. Go see some a
cappella shows, or some student
improv. Take advantage of the
resources our school offers.
Similarly,
research
events
hosted by student organizations
that focus on dialogue around
issues of diversity and attend at least
one of them. Listen. Ask questions.
Learn.
Make
a
commitment
to
understanding
perspectives
different
from
my
own
and
encourage others to do
the same.
Stop binge watching
“The Office” on Netflix
for the umpteenth time
and forcibly re-discover
my love for reading.
More realistically, just
pick a new show.
Go to sleep at a
reasonable hour. One of my
roommates, a nursing student,
frequently
reminds
me
the
importance of being in touch with
my circadian rhythm. Google
“circadian rhythm.”
Write more for recreation (read:
start a journal). Writing for an
audience is great, but so is writing
for oneself.
Explore the Ann Arbor bar
scene in more depth than the
notorious lineup of South U
spots. Subsequently discover that
there may be more to life than
Rick’s “Mindprobes.”
Take a long weekend and road
trip to the Upper Peninsula. I’ve
heard wonderful things about
Mackinac; I’ve also been told that
it’s actually pronounced “mack-
ih-naw.” Find out if the rumors
are true. Potentially lose myself
in fudge.
Scour The New York Times’
cooking site for interesting recipes.
Glean inspiration from one of those
addicting Buzzfeed Tasty videos.
Diversify dinner, even though
I’d be content to defrost chicken
breasts, something starchy and
something green for all eternity.
Take less than a week to clean up
the pots and pans. Eh, maybe less
than two weeks.
Finish unpacking my clothes
from Winter Break. Fold the
clothes from my most-recent
laundry run and put them away
in the right drawers. At the very
least, throw them in the drawers.
All right, just toss them on a
chair — at least it’s a step in the
right direction.
Continue regular Arb walks
once the temperature ascends
above 30 degrees. Plan a small
event in the Arb’s amphitheater
after the snow melts. Achieve
oneness
with
nature
…
or
something.
Buy a planner that isn’t an
MPlanner. Use it. Wind up settling
for Google Calendar. Use it.
Stop
perpetuating
2016
fads non-ironically. New year,
new me, less dabbing. We can
all benefit from less dabbing
#EndDabbing2K17.
Stop
using
hashtags conversationally. Stop
using acronyms conversationally.
Saying “lol” is clearly not the same
as laughing out loud.
Subscribe to at least one major
newspaper’s daily newsletter and
read it every morning. Choose at
least one interesting podcast, and
carve out time to listen to it weekly.
Stay informed and think critically.
Do not compromise on this.
***
Perhaps
some
additional
retrospection is due.
There is no denying that 2016
was fraught with a plethora of
conflict. From individual struggles,
to the ongoing campus discussions
about all facets of identity, to
domestic politics, to the deaths of
pop culture icons, to international
diplomacy, one might understand
why so many were ready for the
last year to end.
But know this: The New Year
is not a reset button, and time
is continuous. As easy as it is to
celebrate the end of 2016, we need
to recognize that all the problems
that bubbled to the surface are
just as salient in 2017 as they were
before. Let’s also acknowledge
that it wasn’t all bad. Appreciate
the moments, whether there were
many or few, that made you smile.
So above all, this year, be kind
to one another. Have fun when
you can. Don’t shy away from the
hard discussions when they arise.
Let’s be resolute in our efforts to
be the best we can be individually
and to make others the best they
can be collectively.
I believe in our ability to do
that just as much as I believe in
my ability to wash my underwear
more regularly. Happy New Year.
REBECCA LERNER
Managing Editor
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
EMMA KINERY
Editor in Chief
ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY
and REBECCA TARNOPOL
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Carolyn Ayaub
Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan
Max Lubell
Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy
Jason Rowland
Ali Safawi
Kevin Sweitzer
Rebecca Tarnopol
Ashley Tjhung
Stephanie Trierweiler
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Michael Sugerman can be reached
at mrsugs@umich.edu.
The stigma of curiosity
MICHELLE PHILLIPS | COLUMN
MICHAEL
SUGERMAN
Engineering education has a problem
MILES MCGRUDER | COLUMN
Miles McGruder can be reached at
mmcgrude@umich.edu.
FRANNIE MILLER | CONTACT FRANNIE AT FRMILLER@UMICH.EDU
Michelle Phillips can be reached at
mphi@umich.edu.
MILES MCGRUDER
“Winter Migration”
MICHELLE PHILLIPS