I'm a 2nd year CS student. I failed the Data Structures course. Am I not suitable for writing code?
I teach data structures. Sadly, every semester, some students fail. When I look at the grade-book, what do you think I see for the students who fail? Lots of zeros. When I talk to the students, what do you think they say about when they start work? Often last minute.
I'm so far down the rabbit hole of data structures that I can't tell you if it's a hard class or not. Some days I see it as very difficult, and others as simple. Some days I see the amount of material we teach as at the very edge of reason, and other days I think, "we should be covering more".
So, rather than talk about data structures as a hard course, let's speak about data structures as a challenge to maturity. I've written many times that I was not a mature student when I started college, and I had no study skills, no time management skills, and little ability to focus. Many years later, I still want to improve in those areas. The vast majority of my students who struggle have significant problems in all of those areas.
One thing about maturing is realizing why your parents told you "life isn't fair". It's not that they didn't care; they just realize that you will need to develop the ability to get back up when you've been knocked down, because trust me, life is going to knock you down over and over again. You've been dealt a blow. It's not fun. Are you strong enough to face up to the challenge?
Comments
Post a Comment