Meghan Sweeney

Throw all your previous notions out the window about how classes work, because they will not apply to this class at all.  This class will be different from others you have experienced, as far as, how its taught and what is expected of you.  Like most classes you have probably taken in your educational career, they are mostly lecture-based.  Often there is not much discussion-based aspects, unless the teacher wants a specific question answered.  However, in this class, tom will want to hear from you.  He will want your opinions and your ideas, and he will basically want your discussion to dictate where and how the class plays out that day.

This class will challenge how you are used to thinking and how you come to conclusions.  In other classes, you try to find the right answer and typically there will be a right or wrong answer.  You will learn that sometimes there is not always a right answer, that there is not always a clear-cut answer.  Like I mentioned, this class is more discussion based, everyone’s opinion matters, and no answer is ever entirely incorrect.

You must come into the class knowing that you will need to form your own opinions.  Do not come up with answers to problems and questions that you think tom will want to hear.  I made that mistake in the beginning.  I tried to give him answers that I thought he would like to hear from me.  Do not make the same mistake I did—he wants your completely original thoughts.  He does not want to hear something quoted from a textbook that you think he wants to hear.  The more you actively try to form your own opinions and ideas about topics, the more you will understand how the class works.  tom will give you guidance along the way and point you in the right direction about some ideas, but overall, he wants your ideas that come from his guidance to be all your own.

Another small bit of advice: talk in the discussions.  Bring in your ideas and talk, because if you do not talk in the class it will be awkward and boring.  There were classes in the beginning when people were uncomfortable, and no one would talk the entire time and class would seem like it would go on forever.  So, my advice to you, try your best to talk every class.  You most likely will have things to say about thing that you have read or just discussion in general.  Chances are that your ideas may be like other students, which will prompt more discussion or prompt questions from others.  Either way discussion is good and tom loves when the whole class gets involved.  Not that I am necessarily saying you must do it, because tom will like everyone’s participation, but it will be more beneficial for you as well.  Hearing other student’s ideas will help you to understand how others think in your class and most likely give you a better understanding of the topic you are discussing.

This class and tom’s style of teaching will take getting used to, because for much of your school career you have probably never experienced something completely like it.  However, you have the advantage of reading advice from his previous students.  I really would take the advice that we offer, because it will help you understand this new style of teaching you probably have not seen before.

I remember leaving tom’s class at the end of the semester and thinking how hard it was going to be to go back into the mindset of telling professors what they wanted to hear in papers and on various homework assignments.  I am not saying all professors are like that, but often there are classes and professors that are looking for one specific answer and in this class that is not the case.  Hopefully this class with make you realize that the more you work to form your own opinions and the less you try to give the teacher or professor the answer you think they want to hear, the better.