To Be Honest or Just Ignore the Problem

Post Reply New Topic

That is the question.

See, I have an English class (English 210) that I find mentally stultifying to the nth degree; it isn't covering anything new, and what is covered may be fascinating to the professor teaching the course, but I really do not see the need to analyze news articles for various forms of argument. I just don't see the point. I had an assignment due a month ago that I didn't turn in or, actually, even bother to do because it was so completely chock full of busy work that I figured I had better things to do. I come to find out today that it is worth 58% of my grade. Not that I have ever cared about grades.

I knew when I didn't do the assignment that after a certain amount of days, the grade would be a zero. (Actually, he said it would drop one letter grade each day it was late.) It is now 12 class days since this assignment was due and he told me that even if it was late, some points are better than no points. The logic is faulty. It should be worth zero points already. Now, my strong-willed sense of justice is telling me that by him allowing me the opportunity to turn something in, I am breaking his rule AND failing to take the consequences of my actions. My parents are telling me to just suck it up and do it already. And another part of me is angry that I should even have to do stupid bull**** assignments like that in the first place.

And I guess I have kind of made up my mind to not turn it in, hence my question: should I just ignore him and not turn it in and repeat the class with another teacher another semester, or should I tell him exactly why I didn't do the assignment and why I feel it is a diservice to allow me the opportunity to make up some extra points by turning it in late?

That was a mistake on your part. The harsh reality is that college coursework needs to be done whether you enjoy doing it or not. Telling your professor that you didn't do the assignment becase you "didn't see the need, and had better things to do" won't help you; it'll just make the professor think you're lazy. The only option, in my opinion, is to repeat the course with a different instuctor, and hope that he/she will have assignments that you'll find more enjoyable (or tolerable, at least). But don't forget that you must do all the assigned work, even if it seems like busywork.

Yes, yes, this I know. I am going to repeat the course. And I am probably just not going to talk to the professor at all. It will be fine. I guess I was just really debating about whether or not to explain to him exactly how ridiculous the assignment was in the first place, but you answered that question, too. Thanks.

If you're studying at college/university level you need to complete that assignment and hand it in regardless of your opinion on the value of the work.
At the end of the day you will eventually hit the world of paid work. Newsflash: working for a living is not mentally stimulating for the most part. If it is, you are very lucky. This is a sad reality. If you got a job with the education you're receiving now and were assigned a project or task that you found boring and didn't bother to do it on those grounds and thus received no income for that month and couldn't pay the bills that month, how would your utility company/landlord/supermarket feel about your lack of funds? Answer: They wouldn't feel anything, they would simply deny service/goods.

The logic of doing a boring task for your studies is as follows:
* It prepares you for the real world where boring things do indeed exist.
* The repetition of material you have already learned enforces the pathways in your mind making it much easier each time, and you will become faster with that task. The few weeks you spend now will free up months and years in the future (honestly!)
* Within each boring task there will be one or two small important points that will be required for the next task. The skills are compounded over the course of your studies and will form a comprehensive approach to future tasks. If you are building a house but missed the lesson on installing light switches - a seemingly small, insignificant feature - you will need to spend a week learning about it half way through the house project and delay completion. It will cause undue frustration and stress at the time, bad things.

My advice is to focus on speed rather than preference when it comes to tasks you deem to be beneath you. Break it into little bits, knock them over quickly and efficiently and move on ASAP. You won't miss the tiny important pieces of the puzzle which will require catch-up later, and you won't be penalised or branded for not turning things in.
I've done exactly the same thing you have in the past and suffered for it. You've gotta suck it up and get it out of the way, that's what an education is.

Example from a movie: The Karate Kid or Kill Bill 2.
When the person who has excellent skills by the end of the film is just starting to learn the skills at the start, they hate it. The guy in TKK is made to paint fences and wax cars, the lady in KB2 is carrying heavy water buckets up and down huge stone stairs. It sucks. They hate it. They can't see the point. But by the end of the film you see just how those crappy tasks worked in their favour.

If you do not care about grades just do the assignment. If you do, drop the class and take it next semester. Its just one assignment, not much point in contending one assignment on the principle that it is pointless. If you do not get used to doing pointless s**t people in positions of power tell you to do, then you are going to have quite a few problems quite often.