I was indeed. I was given class on different subjects and I was expected to be able to put all those bits of information together to build up a global and comprehensive view that would allow me to approach a problem from different points of view to create a new solution to it, all by myself, using my own resources and deductive skills.
After college I went to flight school where my class hours were higher but my grey matter usage was almost nil. No bigger picture, no global view, no scenarios, no putting together all that information to build up a criteria, just pass the mark and off you go. I even remember asking questions in the subjects I liked the most and being blasted by my colleagues there because it didn't help the exam. I know that OAA, CTC and a couple more produce some switched on young guys that are very capable, but sadly everywhere else is as I just described.
I am pulling my hairs in the cockpit with the kids I am flying with. They only know tiny bites of things and they throw it to you at the worse times possible because they don't know how to put it together. Can't blame them as they haven't been asked more than that but the worde of it is the total lack of curiosity when I give them a hint of a page in the book they may have not turned yet. They follow what I say as if I were an annoyance - and that is exactly what I am for them - just to pass the day. Guess what is happening once these guys are getting the upgrade!
Call me old school, but what if we get the reputation of the industry where it was by rising the bar, watching over the quality of teaching and avoiding zero hours at the controls of a medium jet - like the americans- instead of giving away master degree certificates with the kid's meal at BK?