It’s Wednesday, Sept. 29. Saul has three more classes to go before heading to Athens, Ga., for fall break. He’ll be a free man by noon.His first class of the day is history. The class is mind-numbingly boring. Hardly anyone bothers to attend on a regular basis, and today isn’t any different. By 8:40 a.m., the classroom in Lockett Hall is only a third full.Today’s topic has something to do with the Great Depression. It’s a topic everyone should probably care about — especially in light of today’s economic climate. Unfortunately, the professor is an old curmudgeon with absolutely no technological understanding. He even takes pride in the fact he doesn’t know what the devil this “Moodle” thing is. There’s no PowerPoint. No overhead. Just little old Mr. Magoo, droning away.Half the students are snoozing. The other half are surfing the Internet, either updating their Facebook statuses or watching the latest Youtube hit. And, of course, there’s the creepy guy in the back corner of the room, glaring at his laptop intently. His enormous headphones are sagged around his neck, and his right hand is conspicuously submerged within his tattered corduroy pants, tugging ever so gently.Even worse, the professor’s voice is about as flat as Paris Hilton’s chest. When Saul closes his eyes, he swears he’s listening to Ben Stein.Personally, he’d rather start his day off with a nice waterboarding. Evidently Saul’s history professor felt charitable today. He decides to dismiss class “early” at 9:36 a.m. Saul slowly awakens from his slumber and drags himself to his next class.At 9:49, after making the marathon walk from Lockett to Patrick F. Taylor, Saul walks into his accounting class. The professor is a young guy — probably a grad assistant. He’s the complete opposite of Saul’s last professor. A total tech geek. He even attempts to make a joke about Saul showing up late and walking right in front of the PowerPoint projector. A few brownnosers awkwardly chuckle.For the next 30 minutes, Saul’s accounting professor steamrolls through more than 59 extravagant PowerPoint slides without giving any sort of coherent explanation. Saul can tell the guy feels a bit embarrassed about his lack of teaching ability. He even tries to cover it up by making a few jokes at his own expense.But these self-deprecating jokes start getting a little depressing after a while. The insecurity is palpable. He might as well just ask, “Do you guys like me?”Finally, Saul makes his way into his last class of the day — biology. His professor is a middle-aged woman with a load of personality. But her PowerPoint prowess leaves a lot to be desired. And so does her explanatory skills. It’s obvious to Saul this professor was forced by her department to utilize PowerPoint, even though it’s way out of her comfort zone.As the last few seconds drain off the clock, Saul begins to reflect on what he’s learned today. The answer is a bit depressing — nothing. Absolutely nothing.Everyone in Saul’s family says he has to go to college to make it in the real world. But the very institution that’s supposed to foster growth and innovation can’t even keep up with the times. It’s also a bit troubling to see research showing how quickly America’s higher education system is declining, even despite massive federal grants and drastic technological advance.I’m sure there are plenty of great faculty members, Saul thinks. But many of them are either limited by insufficient resources or simply unmotivated.Similarly, many of his fellow students lack drive or inspiration. But it’s hard to blame them. They’re simply a result of the antiquated system in which they’re immersed.Unfortunately, the real world is progressing fast. And evidently his little college bubble just can’t keep up.Scott Burns is a 20-year-old business and history junior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter at TDR_sburns.—-Contact Scott Burns at [email protected]