We came to IIT with great hopes and expectations. This included many things in which the teaching quality, generally, among the top in the list. But all we got, on the first look, was the disappointment. Not because the teachers were bad (on the absolute scale) but our expectations were not fulfilled.
Lectures in the classes were boring
Most of the things were taught on the slides in the freshman year. The lectures were boring and yes bookish too! In the classroom most of the students just waited for the lecture to end (I have done the same during my freshman year) or felt sleepy during the lecture.
The thing is, if you use the blackboard then the majority of students pay attention. I got some teachers who hardly picked the chalk and delivered their whole lectures orally with the help of their slides (bookish). I didn’t understand anything in their entire class. I was extremely disappointed and frustrated. They just read their lecture slides and class was done.
I used to think that they will teach us the practical purposes of the things we were studying but again no! Only the bookish one. The teachers hardly interacted with the students in the class. It seemed that they were in the class to just tell the syllabus of the course. Uff! those days were frustrating.
Then I started watching YouTube lectures (MIT, Yale). Those lectures were extremely fantastic and I enjoyed learning from them.
Some brilliant teachers brought enjoyment back
While I was watching my entire expectations tearing down under the big name of IIT, slowly I came to know that, not all the teachers are bad. I found some brilliant teachers also. First time I felt that I can gain something in the class. I am a sophomore now.
The rigorous use of slides in most of the classes have ended, so I am enjoying most of the lectures now. I have some friends who like the teachers with whom I have had bad experiences. So, I start understanding that satisfying everyone is rather difficult.
Actually in any distribution, I remember something which is so obvious, this happens:
Which is – There will be smaller percentage of number (number of teachers in this case) having good or bad qualities and maximum percentage of number having average quality.
I also realized that, here, the primary goal of most of the teachers is not teaching but research. So I accepted this thing and moved on. The students who truly want to study, or whatever they find interesting, are putting huge efforts themselves in their field.
In IITs, one thing is for sure that you can meet more number of brilliant students than any other institutions in India (well, most of them) and you can learn things from them too. I have learned that being inquisitive and showing huge perseverance in anything can lead you to marvelous results.
I have learned many things here and the best one is:
IITs are all about good resources. The utilization of these resources completely depend on us.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is a personal experience of a student in a specific institute. In no way, it’s damaging IIT brand or discouraging aspiring students.
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