Diversify your classes
Published: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, October 28, 2009
 "Photo: © 2009 NCSU Student Media")
© 2009 NCSU Student Media
In choosing classes for spring semester, try something different. I'm speaking to everyone here, but especially students.
Choose classes that happen three or more days a week or late in the day. Choose classes your friends told you are great or those that are ultra-specialized. That is, you should specialize your classes.
We're not running out of space, and it's not OK to cram into classes with 250 or more students. The only occasion where it should be OK is when it's mass-engineered food for thought.
We might consider an analogy to food: it's OK to eat fast food once a month or once a week but it’s unhealthy to eat the stuff every day. It is not OK to be in large, packed, classes for four years in a row. These classes are watered down with little professor interaction. They do not have any checks and balances.
For these courses, professors absolve themselves from responsibility in the same way students do. Someone else beside us is doing the work (hopefully).
Make sure you do not get caught in the cracks. You want your professors to know you and be able to talk with you, not awkward anonymity. Speak loud and often in class. Be able to complain. At least there is dignity in complaining. Anonymity has no dignity whatsoever; it's a farce and a sham we tell ourselves.
One way to slim down class sizes is to choose classes that are ultra-specialized. The reason for this is because everyone is different and there is a ton of intermingling that could be happening that fails to occur. Ask your professors, friends and teacher assistants what classes they think you would enjoy. There are half a dozen N.C. State class raters that can tell you good professors and classes on campus. My Pack provides students the opportunity to see past grade distributions.
Not all classes beneficial to your career have to be taken for credit. For a specific example, people looking into law school might consider the Logic-225 or -335 courses taken for audit only (where you simply go to the class without any grades) or pass-fail. Engineering and math students might consider taking a graduate level course on these subjects. Another elephant in the kitchen is that these prospective courses are fun in the way that careers are supposed to be fun.
You could take an entire course seriously without wasting a grade and then take the class for the grade and get better scores.
Likewise, if you're going to have a professor you have not had previously, go audit one of his or her classes this semester; see what it is like. I recommend this in addition to asking other students about the course.
Specialize your classes. If you are in an obscure class, it will be a smaller class size because the course most likely limits students’ ability to take it.
A final word could be said to those of us in gigantic classes right now: don't let the professors or the teacher assistants off the hook. But most of all: don't let yourself off the hook.
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