Who Needs Lectures?

It is Monday night, and I have an important law test tomorrow, but I am stressing because I haven't had a chance to study for it today. I woke up at 7, ready to turn a new leaf and actually go to my psychology lecture, only to fall asleep because the monotonous tone of the lecturer is too great to cope. Next is sociology, and the lecturer reads from the slides, believe it or not something I am more than capable of doing, and she brings up the occasional 'valuable' points that I can figure out for myself anyway. Next is journalism, a lecture dedicated to the assignment we have to do the next day. I would much rather just get it done in good time than listen amongst the rubble of noise about something once again, already on the slides. At the end of the day, it leaves me wondering, why did I choose this over studying for what really counts?

We pay R75 a lecture. When you look at it that way, you would think that missing a lecture would be unthinkable. But the reality is, missing lectures really isn't the end of the world. In fact, going to lectures is often a waste of time, when you could be completing an assignment or studying for a test in the precious hours that you have.

I did a bit of research on the importance of attending lectures, but what I found was a quote saying "a lot of students do this (miss lectures) and just study a lot before the exam and end up with 80%, moderate grades." Moderate grades? I couldn't be happier if I got 80% for all my grades. For the last psychology module, I did crack a first for the test, without attending a single lecture. So why should I bother going to lectures if I can get respectable grades? Some students want to excel in their academics, but after all, we are here to pass, especially as first years. Another site I found talks about all the steps one should take before, during and after lectures. Is it really necessary to "evaluate the lecturers style" and "listen for intonation to know when ideas have been completed?" I know that if I tried to do that, I would have too much on my mind to focus on what really matters, the tests, assignments and then exams. You can participate and take down as much notes as you want, but if you don't complete your assignments or pass your exams, you get thrown out of the university. Simple as that.

In fairness to lectures, if you pay full attention, and take down a lot of notes, you are more likely to have a greater capacity to perform in tests and assignments. But with all the other issues going on in one's life, including that 2000 word assignment that is due for midnight on that very day, it is a lot to ask of oneself. Missing lectures can affect your conscience, leaving you pondering on whether you missed out on something important, and whether your friends who did go, are a step ahead of you. I can't speak on behalf of everyone, but I've found that more times than not, I haven't missed out on anything. The typical response to me asking "How was the lecture?" is "Ah, same old same old. Boring and pointless."

On the day of the law test, I decided to miss all my lectures. Luckily, the test was only at 7 that night, leaving me with ample time to study during the day. I studied effectively, and felt calm and ready for the once dreaded occasion. After the test, I asked my friend how he did. "I struggled hey, I didn't study hard enough." "How were your lectures today?" I asked him, knowing that he was a regular attender. Boring, fell asleep and useless were words I picked up in his response. And how did I do in that test? Watch this space.