Postby Technomancer » Wed Aug 18, 2004 3:13 pm
I don't know if I'd say that my first year was easier in terms of material, but it was all stuff that I mostly interested in(well, except for drafting), and I at least knew that I was there because I wanted to be. However, one of the most important things to know is how to be self-motivating. The profs aren't going to to check your homework every class. You've got to make sure that you do it yourself, and that you stay on top of things. Keep up with the questions or the readings, and make sure that you ask for help if you need it. You can get behind faster than you think, and cramming is a poor substitute for studying.
Interestingly, I'll be a TA for one of the first year undergrad math classes. I don't know yet whether it'll be linear algebra or calculus. It's going to be tough semester since I've also got my own course work to do (convex optimization and finite elements analysis).
PS. Be sure and blow off some steam once and a while. Burnout can be a problem too for some people.
The scientific method," Thomas Henry Huxley once wrote, "is nothing but the normal working of the human mind." That is to say, when the mind is working; that is to say further, when it is engaged in corrrecting its mistakes. Taking this point of view, we may conclude that science is not physics, biology, or chemistry—is not even a "subject"—but a moral imperative drawn from a larger narrative whose purpose is to give perspective, balance, and humility to learning.
Neil Postman
(The End of Education)
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge
Isaac Aasimov