Sunday, October 18, 2015

Taking Classes I Don't Want to Take... But Have to.

Sometimes I have to take a class I don’t want to take. Maybe I have to take a particular class as a prerequisite to a class that I want to take. Or perhaps I have to take a class because it’s a requirement for a certain degree or certificate. But either way, at some point I have to take a class that I don’t want to take, and that’s that. I know that I probably won’t find the class’s subject material interesting, and that I most likely will not look forward to doing the class assignments. This lack of interest has nothing do with anything other than the fact that I just don’t want to take the class. But I still have to take the class, whether I want to or not. And taking the class means doing the assignments and reading the textbooks.

When it comes to classes I want to take, although I sometimes don’t want to do my homework, I do enjoy doing my assignments and reading my textbooks, even if there’s something else I’d rather be doing other than homework. However, motivating myself to do homework for classes I don’t want to take is a whole different story. I procrastinate. I give myself “more important” things to do so that I don’t have to do my homework. I find myself thinking about other things when I’m reading my textbooks, even if I’m trying to focus. But somehow, after I finish a class I didn’t want to take, I wind up with a new body of knowledge, and ultimately, I feel good about what I’ve just done. By the end of the term, I’ve usually found something interesting about the subject that I initially had no interest in.

How does this happen?

I’ve often attributed this phenomenon to the class assignments. Even if my mind wanders while I’m reading the textbook, when I’m doing an assignment, I have to focus on what I’m doing and the subject at hand. Even if I’m not interested in the subject itself, I may still find some connection between it and something else that I am interested in. In which case, I have a thread that I can cling to for support. If the subject that I’m not interested in is in some way connected to something that I am interested in, then there could be even more connections between the two subjects that could deepen my interest in both.

However, if I don’t find any connections, doing assignments still forces me to focus on the material, and what it means to me. When I’m doing assignments, sometimes I can find a way to relate some part of the subject to my day-to-day life. The relationship between my life and the subject may be small or tenuous, but if I can find something, I have a greater chance of absorbing the material and making it interesting for myself.

Although I get something out of doing assignments because they make me explore material I might not have otherwise explored, there’s a lot to be said for textbook reading, too.

Textbooks don’t exactly force me to learn material like assignments do, but they can offer more opportunities for exploration of a subject. Given, every week I’m on a timeline to both complete assignments and read textbook material, so I don’t always read textbooks as thoroughly as I’d like to. Yet, when I do get the opportunity to really read textbooks, I enjoy reading the vast majority of them, even the ones for classes I don’t want to take.

After I finish a class I didn’t want to take, I often find I’ve developed an appreciation for the subject. I don’t necessarily want to pursue the subject further, but I’ve still found aspects of the topic that are interesting to me. I’m happy when the class is over and I’ve learned something new, but while the class is in session, I have a hard time coming to terms with the material, and finding any enjoyment in it at all.


So sometimes I have to take a class I don’t want to take - big deal. In the end I’m happy with what I learned and what I did. After all, sometimes I have to take a class I don’t find interesting to learn something new about something really interesting to me, or just to be able to move on to a higher level class in a subject that I enjoy. But either way, I’ll have just obtained a new body of information about something I wouldn’t have otherwise pursued. Who knows, someday it might come in handy.  




Lydian Shipp

Webzine Team Member

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