Lost all desire to learn

Hey all. I've been a university student for a few years and I've honestly lost my desire to learn, or at least in that setting. I find that my uni focuses greatly on teaching syntax while leaving out semantics. The name that I've given their java assignments are "fill in the methods." The reason for this is that the professors type up an outline of a class and you, the student, fills in the blanks. It is a form of teaching that rapes creativity. I hate it.

I'm working on a homework assignment meant to teach recursion. Its just another fill in the methods assignment. I don't understand why the class can't be given a problem to solve like the tower of hanoi. This would give the student the freedom to code as he sees fit.

Even though I say I've lost my desire to learn I like downloading from MIT's opencourseware. I'm watching a lecture on SICP that's from the 80s. Its pretty sad that a lecture from the 80s can capture my attention better than my professor can. I don't know, maybe its me. I enjoy programming and solving problems in general but the way I'm being taught just sucks.

I don't know where I'm going this but long story short I'm thinking of going to a different university. I've heard good things about Western Governor's University. All online so I'll have more freedom. Although I can't guarantee that I'll be filling in the methods there too. I'm still waiting to talk to a guy that is actually enrolled in their computer science program.

/rant

Today's students are retards. Deal with it.

>>2
Believe me, I know. I had an English class and a lot of the students could barely read.

I don't think that its the students' fault, though. Look at the way they're being taught.

Today's programming languages are about syntax, all the currently widespread programming languages are just C/C++ with different syntax, type system and ``features''. Today, programs are mere arrangements of import statements and application of library functions/classes, just look at Python.

Also, >>2. Just teach yourself the interesting things (and learn at least one between Lisp, Smalltalk, Forth), and do your retarded homeworks just because, there's nothing you can do about it, the world has gone retarded about 20 years ago:

Today:
Python
Ruby
Java
C#
VB.NET
10~20 years ago:
Java
C++
C
COBOL
VB
30~50 years ago:
Lisp
Smalltalk
FORTRAN
FORTH
ALGOL

Oh look, another lack-of-syntax advofaggot.

>>1,3
Ignore >>5. He's a spammer. Thank you.

>>1,3
Ignore >>4,6. He's a faggot. Thank you.

Well it isn't as if I'm completely new to 4chan.
I'm not advocating lack of syntax.
My disappointment stems from the way programming is taught.

>>8
Students aren't willing to do shit on their own because they are too busy smoking weed or playing video games, so professors water down the course until the average is over 60% instead of letting them little motherfuckers flunk. Naturally, this means the course is easy as fuck and therefore bright students who are actually interesting in programming must resort to learning at home, which completely beats the purpose of having a university (or college) course about it in the first place.

>>8
*interested in programming

Hahahahahha. That sounds like the undergraduate Computer Science program at San Francisco State University.

Yes I'm a CS major at San Francisco State. I go there because I don't have the IQ to get into a real school. With that, the CS department here decided to teach Java in the introductory CS classes because they heard that both MIT and UC Berkeley teach it to undergrads.

Now the TA who teaches us told our class "We should now be aligned with the major universities." BTW, the TA who graduates this semester, has given up trying to pursue his Ph.D in Computer Science since just about every major University declined him admissions.

>>1

I agree 100%, they teach you syntax, and then never elaborate to the extent of creating programs that give you any indication of what you'll be doing when out actually working.

From what I've heard, you learn more in your first year doing the job than you did all 4 years of college "learning" to program.

You should complain to the department. It probably won't do anything, but you never know.

The introductory classes are usually meant to teach syntax. The higher level classes are guaranteed to be more interesting. However, the university I went to did teach the semantics using some interesting problems.

>>15

Hardly. I've taken everything from VB to Java, C++, C# etc. It's all the same shit. My current AI class is more theory than anything else...we don't learn any methods for coding AI or anything... we simply get a problem and can solve it however the fuck we want as long as the program comes up with the right answer....some fucking AI class.

Seems like everyone taking AI is butthurt about java.
>>16
do you go to liverpool?

I'm thinking of going to a different university
MIT. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Get a brain moran

Just hold on till the retards drop out.

Western Governor's University
I can't believe that's a real place.

>>1
Your and moran. I hope you drop out, then spend the rest of your life coding web-sights in PHP.

In case you refuse to drop out: you should be able to complete the "fill-in the blanks" assignments in under fifteen minutes each, then study the things that interest you, on your own.

1) Since it bothers you, obviously you are not able to complete the fill-in-the blanks assignments in under fifteen minutes, which means that your technique sucks and you should do dumb fill-in the blanks assignments until it improves. Maybe, just maybe your professors know better than you think, and will begin to give you more interesting assignments after that. Until then your complaints are ridiculous, you're like a wannabe painter who can't properly mix colors and complains that training to mix colors is boring and "rapes creativity". You know what else rapes creativity? Being an entitled inept dumbfuck, that's what.

2) In fact it's impossible to "teach creativity". So the farther your assignments will deviate from the fill-in the blanks kind, the less they will look like assignments, e.g. the less tightly your progress will be controlled, monitored and graded, up until the point where you only have to make a program that produces the right answer and everything else is up to you. It's called fucking creativity for a reason, retard. Also, you're expected to be progressively more self-taught as time goes, with your Uni providing convenient housing and maybe some advice. Again, your complaints are ridiculous, "why don't you spoonfeed me creativity?", lol.

>>22
go fuck a goat you cock sucking faggot

>>22
1) Watches SICP. Invalidets your argument.
2) Only fill in the blanks is not good. Mixing paint is not all there is to art,
IHBT

>>24
Watches SICP. Invalidets your argument.
Failes too pares.
Only fill in the blanks is not good. Mixing paint is not all there is to art,
You can't into art until you mastered the technique. Unless you consider using enema to spray paint out of your anus on a canvas, "art".

In fact with OP's attitude and capabilities watching SICP would do more harm than good. Because I can bet the golden teeth of my deceased grandmother that he wouldn't do the easy exercises because they are boring, then he wouldn't do the more complex exercises because he "understands how they should be done, generally" (not at all because he can't, having skipped the easy ones, haha), then he would gape in awe at the metacircular evaluator without understanding a single line for some time, then he would drop out of the university and go flip burgers or clean carpets or whatever.

Hey OP, I'm also a CSC student.  Whenever I get a fill in the blank sort of problem I usually just finish it up and show the instructor, but then I start the project from scratch when I'm home and see what if i could've made it on my own, if I can make it more efficient, ways I could improve or change it, etc.  Try doing a little more on your own free time with your programs and you'd be amazed at the results.  Good Luck!