On more than one occasion Melanie has expressed views representative, I suppose, of a certain segment of the student population. The lack of depth in these views only goes to show that for many students University isn't proving a place where any real learning takes place.
Melanie does some wonderful upside-down thinking in this particular column. It's the sort of thinking in which you blame something or someone else for your failures.
Having told us that she has procrastinated to the extent that she's left it all too late to really study her subject (while berating those who are working hard), she then blames the exam system for her problems. If only she was able to be internally assessed, she cries, she'd be all right.
But she also tells us 'I have no idea why I'm putting myself through all this. I have no particular passion for my work and no long-term goal. I'm only really at university because I didn't know what else to do.'
Don't let me sound like a grumpy old grouch, but if you're wasting your time studying, Melanie, go get a job - in that same real world where hard-working people pass exams and achieve something.
You may not enjoy having to work, and the work might not be inspiring - it might not even be well-paid - but it will teach you a lot more about reality than fluffing around at Varsity will.
Melanie claims there's a fundamental evil in the exam system. It apparently gives too much credit to 'people who work hard and can memorise large quantities of knowledge.' Others may not consider this a crime, says Melanie, 'but it is.'
On the other hand, the advantages of internal assessment, for Melanie, are that there's no element of luck in regard to what questions will be asked. Sometimes the questions 'actually make you think a bit' - a good reason, one would suspect, for being at University in the first place.
Melanie tells us that internal assessment only brings time pressure to those, like her, who continually procrastinate, and then have to do their essay-writing in the wee hours of the morning the day before the essay is due.
Finally, you have 'access to spelling facilities.'
Let's consider Melanie's reasonings.
Firstly, there really isn't an element of luck in answering exam questions. If you've studied the course, then you'll know what the questions are about. It's simple, but it requires work.
While covering the course work, you'll have been required to think. That's pretty simple, too.
Yes, there is a time pressure in exams, but even that has a value. It requires the student to become accustomed to dealing with producing good answers in a short time. For many professionals, that's an absolute necessity in the real world.
And is there any real difference between trying to complete an essay on the day before it's due, when you're tired, and you may not have sufficient access to information about the subject, and doing the same kind of work in an exam room?
The advantage of the latter is that you'll be prepared. The disadvantage of the former is that you're likely to produce sub-standard work, through having left everything to the last minute.
As for having access to spelling facilities, I think learning to spell correctly is part and parcel of the learning process. Melanie asks in regard to the spelling issue, if she 'should be punished for the sins of my poor education?'
No, she shouldn't be punished, but if she wants to get past her 'poor education'
she should make some effort in this regard too. The quirks of English spelling
aren't as many and varied as
its
critics would like to make out. (Check out Steven Pinker in
The
Language Instinct for some detailed information on the subject.)
I have a (mature) friend who finds exams difficult and who would also prefer to have her work internally assessed. Nevertheless, she has consistently come out of her exams with results from B + and upwards.
The secret of her success is that she works hard all the time. She studies full-time, she runs a household, and is fully involved with her church.
I 'd suggest Melanie hasn't got hold of the fact that growing up is hard to do. It does require effort, a willingness to knuckle down and an attempt to put aside a preoccupation with instant gratification.
Who knows - if she actually put some effort in she might not only enjoy the course but find out where she's going.