Class

Class time grows stranger and funnier to me, the more classes I take and the more I grow accustomed to moving around to different environments.  I think it's because class time can be used in so many different ways, and so often it is used in a very simple way: one person lecturing or leading a discussion where people take turns giving opinions and displaying knowledge.  Even though nothing really gets done outside the classroom in this way, our ways of socialization have produced this strange way of doing education.  It feels like getting educated then becomes putting in a lot of time and learning how to talk in a certain way with peers, yet there is not often collaboration or knowing much about the people you're talking with.  It's really a shame because the way class is normally done might be the most ineffective and least inspiring way.  This leads me to consider ways in which class time could be made more interesting and more effective.  Here's a start:

Time is open-ended; when we finish then we can simply leave, and we have 10 minute breaks every 40 minutes.

Every class involves some sort of activity in which small groups work together and report back to the class.  That way we get to talk with each other.

Do simple exercises which illustrate the concepts we are talking about.  In small classes, make sure everyone in class grasps the concept before moving on.

Limit the amount learned over the course of the class.  Focus on making people successful in the contrived environment of the classroom.  If they really love the concepts, they will go on to work creatively in the field.