Why Do Professors Teach 1+1 and Then Ask You 19.8*76 in Exams?

Nik College, Learning, Life, Mental Health, Motivation, Quora, Willpower, Work

My accounting exam yesterday was like that. A meme comes to mind:

I knew all the material, I studied all the exercises, I even did 10 years (!) worth of exams by the same guy, but all to no avail.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Talking about German colleges, there are plenty of possible explanations:

  • The student didn’t spend enough time studying the material, let alone additional material (by far the most common one).
  • The professor decided to try something new.
  • The professor forgot to tell the students “Guys, you need to study more than just what I’m handing out here.”
  • The professor didn’t actually make the exam, because some poor subordinate has to do that.
  • The professor’s really there for research and hates the whole teaching part.
  • The professor thought they taught you everything you needed.
  • The professor’s actually a busy professional who sorta does this teaching gig in their spare time.
  • The professor wants you to fail, because ego (the least likely one, but it happens).
  • The professor’s a human and had a bunch of other things come up, like a vomiting baby, a new baby, a sick parent, a nasty divorce, a rough week, or a dead fly in their morning coffee.

It may sound like I’m trying to bash both students and professors, but what I really want to say is it’s not their fault.

College, much like life, isn’t designed to be fair. That’s the part of it that prepares you for the real world. Not the stupid tests or the stuff you learn.

What college really teaches you is that sometimes, in spite of your very best efforts, you’ll have to stomach a massive failure.

The way college is set up greatly exacerbates this problem. In most other aspects of life there’s usually a whole lot more you can do.

The important thing is to not forget that’s what’s happening.

Two kinds of people come out of college:

  1. Those, who believe the entire world is rigged and try to game life as best as they can.
  2. Those, who believe they’re in control most of the time and are glad they now get to exercise that power where it really matters.

I know it’s hard to see in the midst of things, but please, remember this:

College is not real life. College is just a training camp. Bear it with patience and you’ll come out stronger at the other end.

I hope you turn into the second kind.

PS: This is also why I wouldn’t recommend putting your entire career on your grade slip. Start a side project and see where it goes.

Nik

Niklas Göke writes for dreamers, doers, and unbroken optimists. A self-taught writer with more than a decade of experience, Nik has published over 2,000 articles. His work has attracted tens of millions of readers and been featured in places like Business Insider, CNBC, Lifehacker, and many others. Nik has self-published 2 books thus far, most recently 2-Minute Pep Talks. Outside of his day job and daily blog, Nik loves reading, video games, and pizza, which he eats plenty a slice of in Munich, Germany, where he resides.