Sabryn McDonaldOne week is all we have to make the greatest or worst decision we can to start out the semester: the class add/drop week.
As a second-semester sophomore, I have come to realize that the one week N.C. Central University students get to decide a teacher is right for them and their learning style is simply not enough.
The first week of school is always the same: read the syllabus, go over class expectations, blah blah blah. It’s not until the next week that teachers finally start teaching. By then, I’m looking at the teacher in complete confusion because I can’t understand anything they are saying. One plus one does not equal two and I start to wish I would’ve went to my advisor before this.
In the school’s defense, we now have the option to drop a class without much punishment. We can also go to the teacher’s office hours or tutoring and ask for help, but sometimes those things just don’t.
Going to office hours can be a waste of time because if you don’t understand the teacher in class, there’s a chance you won’t understand them one-on-one. Tutoring requires you to have some type of foundation to help you move forward. Dropping the class might work, but what if you really need the credit from the class for a prerequisite or graduation? Then you might be trapped with the one instructor who teaches it.
Now this is not all teachers — or even every department — but other students around campus feel the same.
Business sophomore Taylor Powell says that the “feel” of the class isn’t determined until after the syllabus has been read.
“The first week doesn’t tell you how the professor runs their class on a day-to-day basis or if they tend to give the class online assignments,” she says. “Knowing if we really need the book for class and not wasting money on it is a big deal for me.”
Physical education sophomore Antwane Parker believes that the add/drop period should be extended to at least two weeks into the semester.
“Nothing is being taught and no work is being passed out and completed,” Parker explains. “By making the add/drop period longer, you can talk to other teachers and students and see how they feel about the course curriculum and professor.”
Students have already been fortunate enough to have the attendance policy changed, but extending this grace period to us would be an even bigger help. We wouldn’t have to suffer through a class that isn’t our best fit.
