Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 Fluke 8/7/84; site fluke.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!microsoft!fluke!moriarty
From: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Some rather disturbing figures
Message-ID: <1382@vax2.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 23-Sep-84 22:01:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: vax2.1382
Posted: Sun Sep 23 22:01:04 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 03:27:10 EDT
References: <1343@cbneb.UUCP>
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Everett, WA
Lines: 48

>This is frightening from the point of view that school educations *give* you
>the knowledge to work in the real world and that if you can't/don't pass
>the tests the instructor gives you in your Operating Systems class, then you
>don't have the knowledge to work with Operating Systems.
>
>I disagree that this view is correct.

No, no, no; I am not implying that the only way you get knowledge is through
the courses, or prove that you know it through the tests.  I disagree with
both strongly, as I believe I learned more about most subjects from
indepedent study.  What I AM saying is that this is no excuse for cheating.
If the Professor has been giving poor lectures, go out and dig up texts and
articles on your own.  Question the Professor one on one.  Yes, maybe you're
not able to get the instructor on a personal basis -- computer science
departments (and others) are notably understaffed -- but you should be able
to read up on it somewhere.  When one gets out in the "real world", one is
not going to have information spoon-fed; it's good experience to have to
root out information yourself (note: this is not used as an excuse for poor
teaching by schools -- one should ideally have both good instruction AND the
skills of self-instruction).  Secondly, and most importantly, if the test is
unfair or weird, and you're going to get a lesser grade on it, fine; do the
best you can, but DON'T CHEAT.  Anyone who, in an interview, judges you
mainly by your grades is not looking closely enough.  The interviews I
attended centered on what I had ATTEMPTED, what PROJECTS I had worked on,
and what fields my interests lay in (this is what made them so much fun).
Cheating is rationalizing that, yah, I know the material, but I can't do
well anyway -- I'll cheat.  Even if the test you are taking, and cheat on,
is "unfair", the next time one comes that may be difficult, it's easier to
rationalize that this, too, is unfair.  Hokey, Corney, and cliche as it may
sound, Cheating hurts yourself -- and others who are gonna have to work with
you later.  Geez, my grades weren't very hot, but I think I did very well
(taking graduate-level courses may lower your GPA, but the experience that
comes with it is worth it 100 times over).

The only problem with the above diatribe is that I sound like I'm forty
years old and a Republican...

		"Pfui.  More people saying what they believe would be a
		 great improvement.  Because I do I am unfit for common
		 intercourse"  -- Nero Wolfe, "Blood Will Tell"

					Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
					John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
UUCP:
 {cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \
    {allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty
ARPA:
	fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA