[joshstrange]

> Anyone can learn the syntax of a language pretty quickly.

Agreed, I can become "dangerous" in a new language quickly but actually being good in a language takes practice and time.

> The value-add of college should be more (or at least different) than you can pick up from an O'Reilly book you buy at Barnes and Noble for $30.

And to be fair it is more and different, just not 1,000-10,000 times better (when the cost is). There is a ton of value in having a good teacher, unfortunately we pay most teachers at all levels peanuts but expect them all to be rock stars. I seriously considered teaching at one point in my life but couldn't stomach the crap they have to put up with for so little. The teaching/mentoring I've done in a professional capacity has always been incredibly rewarding.

[tombert]

Yep, there's a reason that I am no longer an adjunct professor. There were parts I liked about it, but it was a lot of work and even more of a time sink, for not much pay. It was immensely satisfying to teach students who wanted to be there and wanted to learn, it was less satisfying when students wouldn't show up to any classes start begging for more time to take the exam, or when students would cheat on tests.

I do recommend doing the adjunct thing for one semester if you're able to, it actually is something that I think has really helped me in a lot of ways (increased empathy for people struggling with math/CS concepts, slowing down my talking speed when speaking publicly, etc.). You might like it, you might hate it, you might not be sure what you feel about it (that's my case), but the worst case scenario is you don't do it next semester.