Classes shouldn't be "self-serve"

I can teach certain college courses. I'm not being arrogant when I say this. I know other students can teach university courses. I know this, because they and I have taught in place of the professor in some classes.

I have some wonderful professors who come prepared every single day with notes, personal experience, visual aids and a passionate desire to take their knowledge and put it into my brain.

There are also other classes where I show up and get to hear my peers teach me about a subject they know just about as much as I do. Maybe you have had the disappointment of paying to take one of these types of classes.

The students are given a textbook and the chapters are divided up amongst the students. Then, every class a student gives the lecture on his/her chapter, even providing the test questions for the teacher to use on future examinations.

You are essentially paying to be taught by a college kid like yourself and then paying to write the test you will eventually take over this information. Wait, why are we paying for this again?

It's close to the end of the semester, so my rant about a certain particular teaching method may seem past the point of effecting change for this year, but it is my reflection on the past weeks that has brought me to this conclusion.

College is a service industry. We pay for someone to instruct us in hopes of getting a higher education. Other service industries are slowly moving to a "serve yourself" mentality (think self-check out at grocery stores and buffet-style restaurants), but the university should avoid going this route.

I realize each individual is going to get out what they put into their education. This is why we do homework, read the literature and do projects to better understand the subject. I just don't want to spend my money for a professor who hands almost all of the responsibility of lessons to the class.

You know yourself how much work your average fellow peers put into their studies. Is it right to put your education in their hands?