Take control, hack your education

As college students, we’ve all been there: in the classroom, a plainly designed PowerPoint presentation flickering on the wall, a lecturer droning on and on about a subject you have no interest in from a boring textbook. Most of you reading this probably recalled an exact moment in time where this happened to you, in college or otherwise. These types of classroom experiences do not lead to information retention and rarely do they help us in the future. That is, unless that type of classroom experience is how you learn best.

I’ve heard several friends in all of my time as a student complain about how hard their classes are and how their teacher doesn’t meet their learning needs. They lament how they have failed and struggled in these classes. They bemoan the fact that these teachers don’t change their curriculums and strategies because they can’t figure out the subject matter.

However, none of these friends have tried anything other than suffering through lectures and textbooks hoping that, one day, the subject matter will click.

Recently, I watched a TedX Talk by 13-year-old Logan LaPlante, discussing the benefits of “hacking” your education to better suit your needs by recounting his personal experiences with non-traditional school settings.

When we think of hacking in a modern sense, we think of malicious people breaking their way into databases and personal devices. LaPlante, however, describes hackers as people who innovate as well as challenge and change the system.

I think that we, as college students, can apply that mentality to our own education in order to better succeed in our own rigorous school setting, instead of expecting the school system to adjust for us. It all starts with knowing how and where you learn best as well as what you want to learn. Even general education subjects can apply to your interests if you try hard enough, which then enables you to retain the information you gain better. There are loads of ways to control your own education and enable your own success.

For example, instead of griping about how certain subjects mean nothing to you when you’re forced to take classes, try to think about the subject at hand and apply it to your interests and your major. Better yet, when scheduling your general classes, try to take ones that you know will hold your interest instead of taking classes that you might fail because you’re not interested enough. It’s better to take a harder class for a subject you want to learn about rather than an easy class for a subject you care nothing for.

Don’t be afraid to ask your professors for help if their teaching style within the classroom isn’t quite working for you. Most professors, especially if you’re willing to talk to them, will do their best to accommodate your style of learning. If you learn better one-on-one, take advantage of your professor’s office hours and go speak to them. Our school also provides several other services that you could use, such as tutoring and the learning center. There are so many ways to obtain knowledge rather than just in the traditional classroom setting. And, if your professor is absolutely not considerate of your learning needs, the administration and deans are willing to hear your case and assist you.

You have to take your own initiative before you can blame other circumstances for failures. You’re not forced to try and survive your classes by making yourself learn one certain way. Your learning starts and ends with one person: you. By “hacking” your education for your own benefits, you will be able to survive college as well as other future opportunities that you may get in life.