I just signed up online for three general education credits through BYU Independent Study- surprise classes that BYU requires that the U of U did not. So instead of bogging down my senior year next year with horrible science classes, I'm taking them through Independent Study this Spring/Summer. (That's in addition to the 2 classes I'm already taking in person at school.)
The three courses are Biology 100, Physical Science 100, and History 220. I usually hate sciences and maths because generally the types of minds required to accel at them are usually non-conducive to being very great teachers. A good student can clearly see the instructor's mind is swimming with information, but then slumps with the realization that the instructor simply does not possess the powers of explanation to convey what could be fun and exciting concepts to a most willing student. I have often experienced that excitement, when upon asking for clarification on what I expect is a simple subject, to understand that this, another "science" class, is being taught by yes, a scientist, but not a teacher.
A couple years ago I was taking Meteorology at the University of Utah. The 'research professor' was lecturing on warm air versus cold, and which can have more water in it. He said two contradictory statements, so I raised my hand and asked for clarification- "So which can contain more water- hot air or cold?" and he looked at me like I was speaking French, and said, "What?" By now the class is paying attention, and I ask him again to clarify whether hot air or cold could contain more water, explaining that I had understood him to be saying two contradictory statements. He then scratched his head, and looked at me and said, "I'm not really sure."
Amazing.
(By the way, I looked up on the internet in about 5 seconds as soon as I got home which of warm and cold air can contain more water- of course it's warm, as now seems totally obvious.)
His scientific mind can comprehend the most vast of concepts, but his lack of skills in the communication department have rendered him not only unable to understand simple (as opposed to unnecessarily complicated) language, and therefore a poor teacher.
For the rest of the semester, I worked on a bi-weekly basis with the TA; again, a brilliant mind with very poor communication skills. I understood nothing, in fact, I counted my sessions with him as wasted time that I could have been studying on my own. By the end of the term, I had a D in the class, but throughout the whole semester I had been completing all 30 questions at the end of each chapter to help myself study, (as opposed to the three he picked out for us to answer and turn in), and was able to turn them all in for extra credit, and ended up receiving a B in the class.
All in all, a rewarding, fair academic experience, wouldn't you say? Ha. Nothing more than the typical, science and math type experiences I have been exposed to all my academic life. So its not that I "just don't like science and math", its that my teachers have usually had very poor communication and people skills, which led me to accel in arts, languages, and music, which according to right-brain, left-brained-ness, are usually made of up of people with at least average communication skills, if not above ordinary.
This is why I'm glad to be taking Biology and Physical Science independently. As evidenced by my 100% on my first assignment which I completed this morning, I felt re-validated as a sharp mind that can easily comprehend all subjects including science. The courses are written by actual writers, and are not just compilations of a professor's ideas (which I've had before, and know to be extremely confusing), and are quite easy to read and understand. Upon realizing that all it took for science to become clear was clear communication, I became inspired to write this blog. Done, and done.
