I’ve been getting into the swing of things for community college. It’s been surprisingly simple and even easy. I haven’t really made any friends yet, but I have found spaces to exist and people to interact with. I like nearly all of my classes and professors for this semester.
The only caveat with it being so easy, is that I feel really out of place in my introductory Computer Science classes. At this point in time, I usually already know the answers to the questions to professors ask aloud to the class. I have to catch myself and not answer every question to avoid look like a teacher’s pet or whatever. I find the actual assignments to be somewhat boring or unengaging, but that’s not to say I haven’t learned anything.
For instance, in Intro to Web Programming, our first HTML+CSS assignment was to make a basic resume page with the couple of tags we were shown in class. I finished early, and I wanted to have a little fun, so I looked up the syntax for CSS animations on w3schools. I made certain text in my HTML file slowly change size, color, and indentation. I replicated this below.
Experienced programmer ready to divide by zero
My professor saw the page in-browser on my laptop, and basically said “don’t do that, that’s too advanced”. I have mixed feelings about this. Like, in the moment, it was funny, but I was also confused on why I was being discouraged from exploring the features of CSS. Obviously, it wasn’t part of the assignment, but I had already completed it and was teaching myself something different for fun.
Edit 1/30/24: On second thought, I probably misread and overthought that situation. Discouraging me from doing learning that was probably not his intent.
I realize this won’t be a problem for long (especially with regards to web programming – despite owning this website, I am unfamiliar with a lot of HTML tags and CSS features. WordPress and free plugins are the bulk of this website’s structure). What bothers me is the social sense of isolation. I can and have discussed the material with students, but until I share in their misunderstandings, I feel more like a teacher than a student. I want them to have the right ideas about the material, but I also don’t want to look like a know-it-all. It’s a weird balance, to have to consciously choose between telling a fellow student that their assumption about the <ul> and <ol> tags are incorrect and not saying anything.
I am very fortunate that the city is paying for my classes. I would not be able to get over the fact that I would be paying to sit in classes where I am being taught things I already know. I would be overpowered with dissatisfaction were this the case, and would not be able to motivate myself to attend my classes. I’m grateful for the opportunity (which apparently arose from a post-Covid fund).
I’m glad that my community college has a dedicated queer room. Like, I don’t have a problem doing my homework anywhere else, but it’s nice to be surrounded by likeminded people sharing good vibes. Again I haven’t quite made friends, but I will get there.
We also have an esports “program” and dedicated room, but to my disappointment, the program is in its infancy. All it is, as of writing, is a room with Alienware PCs that you can log into Steam to play certain FPSes on. And Roblox for some reason. No tournaments, no bring-your-own-console, no fighting games to be heard of – nuthin’. The best answers I can get regarding if those things could happen in the future are all maybes.
I think the only one of my classes that I don’t like is my “Learning Framework” class. It’s the mandatory “how to be a good student” class. Most of the content of the course is about the psychology of learning, which is fine and even helpful to know, but a not insignificant part of the text is rather… self-serving and uncritical.
The textbok was written by the faculty, and it contains a lot of “college is worth your time, effort, and money”. I mean, I would expect it to – and I’m not refuting how degreeholders tend to have better outcomes. I just don’t particularly agree with the justifications it uses. For example, it cites the fact that college graduates tend to have better health than non-graduates. This isn’t particularly motivating for me, as someone who is only going to community college to get a piece of paper, that believes that just because someone didn’t go to college doesn’t mean that they should have less access to healthcare. College is unviable for a lot of people. It certainly would be for me had it not been for the opportunity the city has given me. Do we as a society really deem people who haven’t gone to college to be unworthy of proper healthcare?
That’s not the point of the text, sure, but I just don’t get motivated by the idea of having the privilege to not suffer. Again… I’m very lucky and not paying for community college. Had that not happened for me, would I be screwed? It’s not a productive thought, but it’s one that I have when reading the text.
Also there are cats around campus <3 I just wish they could live inside the buildings…