Should College Students Leave the Lecture Theater Behind?
I read books because it tamed my wild side, you told your coursemate. He didn't counter it, as he noticed that panic would bring out the best in you. It was a compliment, as you procrastinated on your essays a number of times (and managed to beat the deadline). You didn't ask your mate if he could do the same thing, as he changed the topic (of conversation) right away. Did you miss remote learning? Were you excited to meet your coursemates again?
You didn't tell your tutor that you weren't focused on the recorded lectures all the time. You haven't got over the previous chat with your best buddy, a dinosaur geek. He wagered his week-long allowance that everybody would have a favorite dinosaur. (His was Anchiornis huxleyi. You asked him if that reptile made a cameo appearance in "Jurassic World" or its sequel. He glared at you, as if you didn't listen to what he was saying.) It took you a few months to realize that remote learning won't be for everyone, and the pandemic forced you to act responsibly. In other words, you wanted to prove to your mother that you could study on your own. There were lots of curveballs, which kept you from finishing your assignments ahead of the deadlines. But you don't want to blame your coursemates.
One of your coursemates, a film geek, excitedly told you that Paramount Pictures bought the rights to "Aru Shah and the End of Time". And he saw you reading "Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes", the sequel to "Aru Shah and the Song of Death", which was the sequel to "Aru Shah and the End of Time". You shuddered at the news, as you imagined the film adaptation to be the Oriental version of Dora the Explorer. As a matter of fact, (author) Roshani Chokshi reimagined "The Lord of the Rings", starring three girls and a boy. (Aru, Mini and Brynne don't call Aiden by his first name. It was WIFEY. Your coursemate looked confused, but you promised him to explain it at another time.) Chokshi could be a great storyteller OR Hindu mythology is more interesting than Greek myth. And you could relate to many things that were described in the book. (You couldn't empathize with rich-people problems.) The quartet encountered Yamuna, the goddess of the river, who asked them what was the heaviest thing that they carried. Guilt? The answer proved that they were wiser beyond their (younger) years. And it brought you back to the moment. Did you have mixed feelings about the semester?
Have You Read Those Reddit Threads? LOL. No
The cat is out of the bag. Many students, not from your department, find it odd to return to the lecture theater. (It was your coursemate who told you about this tidbit.) The pandemic had given learning a huge shove towards the virtual, and it won't return to the way it was. Your other coursemate, a worrywart, didn't like it all. Covid highlighted the social aspect of learning, he pointed out. He was right, but your chats with your other mates were a chance to know them a bit more. (Your other coursemate read Emily Dickinson's poems during her free time. Her cheeks reddened after your other mate remarked that poems kept her from loneliness.) Was the pandemic an opportunity to overhaul (tertiary) education? You might know the answer next year, if not before the end of winter. Are you impatient to return to pre-pandemic times? You can't tell at the moment.
Education needs to be more adventurous and captivating - and, above all, flexible. Your buddy asked you what prompted you to read a Young-adult series on Hindu mythology. You were envious of your uncle, who spent five months in the Orient. And he swore that gold was a ubiquitous sight in Mandalay, the second-largest city in Burma. He might be referring to the Golden City of Lanka, which Chokshi described in the fourth book of her series. You were tempted to ask your tutor about the chance to write an essay on Indian literature, but something held you back. You haven't traveled beyond the mainland. It won't be a major issue at all. (You read too many novels.) You must abide by the rules set by your professors, and one of which would be reading all the titles (in the reading list). You tried a different mindset (while reading Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"). It seemed to work, as you won't procrastinate on your assignment (again). It reminded you of what your high school teacher said, about postgraduate studies. Is this where education is heading?
Can you really acquire knowledge at speed? LOL. No. Woody Allen once joked that he completed Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" in 20 minutes (or your buddy thought). It took you a week (to complete it), and you could compare it to a recorded lecture. Your coursemate once confessed that he routinely accelerated your lectures (on Modern literature) when learning offline - often by 1.5 times, sometimes by more. You don't want to admit that you did the same thing. (You couldn't tell everyone that you haven't been to Florida after they talked about their holiday in the Sunshine State.) Speed learning may not be for everyone, but it won't be the last time that you would see it.
Isn't This... a Bit Much?
You felt stung after you told your family about your chat (with your coursemates). You've been overthinking, your old man suspected. Your mother imagined you inviting your friends to Thanksgiving dinner (sans the face masks). Your sister had some bad news for you: "Supply chain devastation" would spread to bookstores as the big holiday season would draw near. Waiting won't be a good move this year, she added. You were bummed, as you couldn't add a new title to your fictional escapes sooner. You looked at your parents. If they really love you, then...
