The Unexpected Part 1

Attending GMU this year has surprised me in many ways, both good and bad. These experiences have helped me develop what I think my ideal university would be. Firstly, I would modify the math placement exams students are required to take. For many of us, math was a struggle in high school but we powered through it to make it this far. Telling us we did or didn't remember it sufficiently enough is a hard hit on one's ego. Perhaps excluding math majors, certain students shouldn't be forced into Calculus I and II... is that really used in the real world apart from the teachers and professors that teach it? Just students excel one subject doesn't by default mean they succeed in another, example being science majors. Many people think math and science always go hand in hand, or that the various subjects of the humanities and liberal arts go hand in hand. This is not always true. Students have interests, and what interests us in one field does not mean we hold any interest in another; students are going to succeed in what holds their interest and keeps them thinking. And what if a student can just simply not pass the class? Professors have various methods of teaching; I have professors who simply lecture and give papers, some who give frequent quizzes, some who give no homework, and some who give me enough homework that takes a significant hit on sleep and social life. Perhaps if taught in a different method the student would succeed? I think the effort a student puts forth is sometimes a better gauge than a number or letter. Furthermore, the individual progress a student makes throughout a course is a better measure of a grade. Because afterall, we are all striving for progress, it is just that we are all starting it at different levels.
Not only should personal preferences and progress be assessed, but so should personal lives. As a full time student and part time employee, there are days when I feel like I just can't satisfy all the requirements needed fromme that day (or that week). The high-cost of tuition, housing, books, and other expenses can be hard hit on many families and it is up to the student to ensure they make it through all 4 years of college. How else can we compensate for the tuition loans don't cover and the $400 books we need (which we may only end up using twice the whole semester)? It is our professors jobs to provide us with the best education but we don't always have time or energy to satisfy all that is demanded from us. Exhausted students will not absorb the material at 3 am and oftentimes students begin to resent the professors that demand so much out of them. Of course not all students work and therefore can spend the extra time studying, but professors cannot count on this. We want to do well too! But we need to do it to the best of our abilities, not someone elses.
My ideal class would start at about 10:30am and would be no longer than 75 minutes, 2x a week. I'm majoring in Global and Environmental Change and aspire to go into work dealing with conservationism. This class would of course deal with that subject, and would involve field excursions so that students could experience it first hand rather than reading about it in a textbook. White cement walls and locked windows don't really do it for me!