Why I Hate College

I’m now in my third year of college, and faced with the time still to be spent there, I have begun to form a mental list of the things I absolutely detest concerning the way the academics are being taught to my generation.



1: There is a sense of required conformity that cannot be escaped without negative consequence.

I remember taking a class that involved writing papers on topics which would generate debate. They were controversial in subject matter, and they required the student to thoughtfully consider the problem at hand and give a solution. I enjoyed writing the papers but was surprised as, time and time again, I received low grades on my papers. When I approached my teacher, he told me, in plain speech, that he did not agree with my essays. I was not getting full credit because I wrote papers he did not agree with. He even went so far as to ridicule me in front of the class because I would not change to fit his own ideas.



2: Teachers are watering down their speeches so that they appear to disguise the truth and heaviness of what they are saying.

One teacher I had was explaining why the class I was taking was required for all students. She kept saying words like “government,” juxtaposed with “merge,” and I quickly realized what she was truly saying: They want to prepare us for a one world government. Why couldn’t she just say that? I understood why. If she just came out and said that, everyone would know. The school claims that they are only “introducing” us to the great varieties of culture worldwide. What they are really doing is preparing us for a time when we will be forced to be dependent on these cultures. She actually said this, but the way she spoke made it so that you would have no idea what she meant unless you knew how to listen for it. They are taking advantage of the current generations’ inability to think.



3: There is a hunger for spiritual food and nowhere to find it.

I attended a service, at one point, where I expected to at least find a desire to teach Christ. I was devastated to find a hollow service where Christian songs were sung, the Bible read, and Christian verse introduced, and yet there was not a moving of the Spirit. I’m not talking about feeling; I am telling you that I never once believed that anyone taught strengthening a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I felt starved when I should have been fed.



4: Students don’t really care about learning.

I have watched many students take naps through class, all out skip it, or finishing their homework five to ten minutes before. There is an inescapable feeling that they just don’t take time to bother about doing well. I’m not saying I expect them to enjoy the classes, but making an effort is important. After all, they are paying to attend classes, and the teachers are (usually) making an honest effort to teach them. It is completely disrespectful and lazy to not care about class.



5: Students place too much important in feeling accepted.

I have watched students fake a different sexual orientation, pretend to be religious, join certain clubs, etc., and all in the effort to feel accepted. This is, I think, more devastating than perhaps any other action they could take. Even the word “university” implies all kinds of individuals coming into one place, but that does not mean that a person should change who they are in order to fit in.



Ultimately, there is one, serious problem I have with colleges: No importance is placed on living a holy life. If there were, I believe all these problems I have mentioned would disappear. After all, Christians are taught to not conform to the things of this world. Diversity under the unity of Christ is the aim! Christians are also taught to think – or at least they are supposed to be. This is less true than it ever has been because, as C.S. Lewis so clearly wrote: “The Historical Point of View, put briefly, means that when a learned man is presented with a statement in an ancient author, the one question he never asks is whether it is true.” This tendency to never question or test what we are being taught is dangerous and, unfortunately, not realized by many Christians.

If there were an importance put on living holy lives, there would be more venues by which to be spiritually nourished. At present, there just aren’t enough opportunities for this – and partly because religions seem to have a problem with setting aside differences in doctrine to enjoy the company of fellow brothers and sisters. Not only is this crippling the church as a whole, it is starving people in their day to day lives.

Christians are also taught to be hard-working and honest in their work. Living holy lives would result in better students, period.

The last element – trying to please others – would, in due course, disappear. Christians know that ultimately the only person whom they need to please is Jesus Christ.



People are starving for God. The world is losing hope. Oh blessed day when Christ returns and this secular world is transformed into His quintessential Eden.