Small and Unique Classes
Alvin talks about a unique class he is taking at Carleton.
Alvin talks about a unique class he is taking at Carleton.
At a small school like Carleton, one of the biggest educational benefits is being able to take classes with very few students, allowing for a more interactive learning experience. I’m now in my 7th term at Carleton, and I think I’ve yet to take a class with more than 30 students. I believe that small classes have been very beneficial to my education, and although everyone is different, I personally thrive in a smaller learning environment. Along with small classes, Carleton offers a true liberal arts experience, and allows students to explore many different disciplines. This term, I’m taking a Chinese Literacy course, which is a very unique class, and I actually only have one other classmate! I think this may qualify for the smallest class at Carleton as I’d imagine anything smaller would be considered as independent studying.
Chinese Literacy is a course designed for fluent or near-fluent Mandarin speakers who have zero knowledge of reading or writing. I’ve found that most people at Carleton who speak Mandarin are either learning the entire language with no prior knowledge, or are already fluent at speaking as well as reading and writing. This is a fantastic class for those who fall in between these two groups of people, and greatly helps Mandarin speakers fulfill their language requirement at Carleton quickly (2 terms instead of 5).
Although at first I was a bit nervous about taking a class with only two people, but we’re now six weeks into the term, and I can confidently say it has been a great experience. It basically feels like a one-on-one learning session, I can ask as many questions as I want and professor has a very good understanding about my academic strengths and weaknesses, and how I like to learn. As a result, I’ve been able to pick up the material quickly and feel comfortable getting help when I need it.
While this may not be a class that many people have heard of, it is still offered every year and there are many other really cool, small classes that few people know/take. So for prospective and current Carleton students, I would highly encourage you to explore the full curriculum as much as you can! If you examine courses closely instead of rushing course selections, there can be a lot to take advantage of.
Alvin is a west coast kid at heart (coming from San Jose, California), but is loving his time in Minnesota. He plays for the soccer team here at Carleton and loves exercise. If he’s not on the soccer field, in the gym, or out on a bike ride during his free time, he can be found in one of the lounges playing Exploding Kittens, or in the music building playing piano. He is a Computer Science major with an interest in Economics and Statistics. Meet the other bloggers!