This term has been a learning experience in more ways than one. Taking a course load with one more than required has made me a very busy person but I don't regret taking hydraulics. It's not something I'm going to commit to as a profession and neither is it a bird course, but it's the most interesting and out there so far. Provided that the extra education is free and that I can maintain decent marks, I don't see why I shouldn't try it out.
The engineering discussions course that I got admitted to is not what I had expected at all. Well not necessarily, I expected it to be a lot of mayhem and time stumbling trying to get its feet. A quick summary is that the class has basically been about designing a new university, what we'd focus on, what's the target group of students, how we'd hope for it to succeed. This was an idea of the prof's that we went along with, it seems a little random and we haven't done the best job at it really, though it's an overwhelming task to try and tackle. I've felt a bit odd that my ideas get shot down a lot when I try and suggest very out-of-the-box topics to discuss in relation to this new university project. The first day I stated my intention to learn more about the engineering society and try and find whether it is an honest group of people or if the problems in engineering are rooted in a flawed system. This was soon dismissed by the prof and I feel a bit rejected in that sense.
I did enjoy presenting bill C-32 about the Copyright Modernization Act that I felt tied into this university project's intellectual property (somehow) and I was able to expose the class to some vital information that I feel would benefit them to know. There was a coo in the second or third week of the class because there was no progression or direction, I think since then it's been better but I feel it spreading very wide now, by now I'm just watching to see what happens with this course, some people are being ridiculously committed to the course. This course is in replacement of a non-science course, which does not tend to impede on homework time. Though I commend people on being proactive, it's a bit much since the main focus of the course is to improve communication skills.
Another thing is that a lot of these students like to talk, I am convinced some enjoy hearing themselves talk, which is fine and dandy for them, but leaves little time for the rest of the students. I prefer to sit back and think for a bit so that I don't say something silly, but this course's marking would suggest that I need to speak up right away. Doesn't entirely make sense to me.
Therefore in summary, my protesting is being squashed, though I get some interesting comments in the conversations on rare occasions. We'll see how this course concludes, it seems its on the course calendar for next year.
