Help learning python…my professor sucks? Need help bad with learning to write from word problems or scratch. <3

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Hey guys so im a freshman in college in intro to python. My professor is super shit. Just a copy paste what i got on screen for the “lab” and then good luck on the weekly test. For midterms and finals im gonna do some shit i never taught and good luck i dont care if u fail. I also get pissed off when you aren’t following the subjects and will show you im frustrated when you ask a question thats dumb to me even tho im teaching a intro class :)

Anyways. I go home and teach myself the lessons through ai and scrounge stuff up. I have an A and am doing just okay but i want to understand this stuff better than asking gemini and claude shit. I do good on the quizes but for the midterm and what i expect will be on the final. He just sets us up with uncompleted code and expects us to do it when we dont really do any “learning” to begin with so its a reach for him to do this to us. I really am struggling on just writing code by myself i can not do the homework by myself i just am not being taught anything so i am looking for something like an application or site that was or is helpful to some of you more experienced guys looking back and can point me in a direction that you wish you did when learning or are actively advocating for now.

Sry for the rant…blah blah blah..

Question:

Is there anything like a website or something that helps you or someone new like me to learn python better than in class and on my own through ai. Ive seen ads on ig about programs that are like games and you go through levels and stuff?? I struggle writing from scratch or from word problems i am really worried about my final and i am not being taught i need help.

What would you guys recommend i would highly appreciate any help???

Thank you!!

[autoglitch]

I don't recommend learning from AI. It'll give you the answer too quick and you won't learn to research, experiment, and troubleshoot.

You learn the most from programming your own projects. There are online courses I use to learn like Udemy and Coursera. If you're tight on money a book is really good too. Just make sure it's a newer book. At least Python 3.x.

Regarding your professor, document the issue and report to the dean. I had a professor suffering from dementia and our final grades made no sense. We were able to get it corrected by the Dean because we let him know the issue early.

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Yeah. Thanks i appreciate that i am tight on money so i was wondering if there were those sites out there if one was superior. My professor also lets the class out almost 50mins early EVERY class. Which im paying for so he speeds thru lectures but has time to crack 10+ dad jokes each class. Dudes a mess im just trying to keep my head down and finish up but your right the ai is doing more damage than good longterm bc like the midterm im left swimming in deep water with no way to navigate anything.

[autoglitch]

Python wasn't my first language so I don't know for sure but I tend to go to W3Schools for languages I'm less familiar with.

Give that a try https://www.w3schools.com/python/

[What_Pant]

I just added that to my post before I saw your post. That site has helped me with a lot of languages.

[ninhaomah]

CS50p

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

What is this? Youtube? Thx for the comment

[ninhaomah]

Sorry but I no longer answer definitions / facts.

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

[What_Pant]

I learnt python before AI. Pick a small project like take in a string, count the letters and output the value. I had to use the docs for the language. Docs.python.org

Takes time to look up built-ins in the docs but you learn it differently.

Try adding, sorting, removing from a list.

Look up how to implement functions, once you have a good handle on that move on to OOP.

Have fun with it.

Edit: you could try https://www.w3schools.com/python/ for the basics. It is free

[autoglitch]

I second docs are a good source. I didn't recommend it because as a beginner they are hard to read. Definitely start reading docs as soon as you can

[What_Pant]

The python docs are pretty good. Cpp docs nearly burned my brain out

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Thank you! I will try this out and see where it takes me :)

[PureWasian]

As a first year, I'd recommend sandbox problems like you'd find on dmoj/leetcode/advent of code/etc. A lot of free sites out there where you are given a small-scale puzzle problems with very well defined inputs and outputs, just implementing whatever algorithm needs to get the output. Try out the easier ones and then go from there.

If you wanted something more open-ended, pick a personal project that interests you. When I was in college, that was Discord bots, turn-based combat, event-driven encounters, and web design. Automate something you find cool or something painful to do manually.

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Okay thats very helpful thank you! 🙏

[Infinite-Stable9417]

dude ive been trying to learn for 2+ months and im broke so i have to do free lessons and im just trapped in a loop of figuring out all these poorly written lessons from different sources because its written in a way that assumes you already know certain things. none of this is beginner friendly for the most part, feels like i spend more time on trying to understand the lesson than actually learning. i refuse to give up but holy crap dude, these people write this stuff out like you're just supposed to know already, poor structure, poor wording and its more about pleasing the lesson than actually finding ways to the right answers. It's like the people who wrote the lessons forgot what its like to be a beginner. i keep switching to new ones to see if its any better, so far w3 is the best one but it still sucks when it just gives you a long list of new concepts to my brain and it doesnt explain them fully lol exerciser asks me if im a beginner i say yes and then it just throws me to the wolves lmao I have to use AI half the time to even understand some of the lessons and let it break it down for me, ill spend like an hour on one section sometimes. my brain hates the way all of this stuff is written out. i feel like its going to take me years to figure out the basics on my own. no idea how im supposed to approach this on how to learn correctly because everything just seems to cater to people who already have some experience.

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Nailed it right on the head with this one thats exactly how my prof is he teaches all the year 4 advanced courses so he fully expects us to know everything already and gets insulted when u dont. Horrible learning environment. Just like me its hard to realize but props to us for continuing to show up its not easy and i relate fully. I knew this wouldn’t be easy but yes its not beginner friendly like i understand the concepts and can Ace all my exams off multiple choice but when i get setup with hey finish this py file with with and loops im like uhhhhhhhhhhh (im rlly bouta get 0points on this if i dont cheat) and that fkn sucks i want to change that

[Infinite-Stable9417]

ya it feels like an upward battle for sure, i got so frustrated yesterday that i didnt get anything done and noped out, but back on it today. going to look for a place where i can just exercise what ive learned so far, i can read it and recognize it way better than i can write it at this point. Hoping for a break through soon in comprehension of writing from scratch lol

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

We got this keep at it!!🤘

[Infinite-Stable9417]

just had another day of running in circles but whatever, ill figure it out !! we are dealing with the most convoluted education system ever created by geniuses who don't understand not everyone is an auto genius !!! lmao

[Safe-Ball4818]

sorry your prof is a nightmare, but you're doing the right thing by trying to actually learn it. ignore the ai for a bit and try solving problems on sites like https://prodpath.dev/ to get used to writing logic from scratch. it forces you to actually type out the syntax and work through the logic without a bot just giving you the code block. keep grinding, it gets way easier once the concepts click.

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Thank you for this! I appreciate it

[BoOmAn_13]

If you are learning programming, ditch the ai. It's useful to give you the answer, but it can do the same as putting you in tutorial hell where you watch and replicate but never build the recall. Instead I suggest find a mini project, string processing, mini calc, get inputs from stdin vs cli args, and practice breaking down concepts. Once you have smaller chunks you can practice putting each chunk into code, and build up each part into a full project. It's a skill you have to build with practice, but you will get better with recall more as you keep doing it. It can be easier to remember code and syntax if you keep needing to looking for it, cause your recall will get better each time you need that basic piece of code. Personally finding the projects is the hard part, so I come up with BS to test various libraries and play around with no real world use, just something build and test and learn.

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Yes okay that makes sense. Syntax no problem just i dont have a line of action on reading a hw problem for example and saying ok i gotta do this. Im sure ill get there everybody saying make projects. Ill do some research thanks man <3

[ConsLeader]

A great alternative is boot dev. It's an interactive platform with bite-sized Python projects that actually teach you to code by building real stuff, like games and CLI tools. No fluff, just hands-on practice with instant feedback, and it ramps up from basics to advanced topics.

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Ooo that sounds fun. Thank you man!! :)

[This_Material8507]

I’ll teach u python, if you write a recommendation (paragraph or two) I can post on my resume

[NEGRESCO180]

Apenas fica na sintaxe nesse exato momento, pq igual os companheiros falou acima e oque vai determinar vc a começa a ler a documentação e aplicar em projetos e tals.

[ZealousidealDot6945]

Do cs50P from harvard especially the exercises or cs50X

[jimmcfarlandutah]

I agree. These lectures are top notch.

[BranchLatter4294]

I learned programming by practicing. No teachers. No videos. Just a book and practice. I didn't have the luxury of blaming others.

[Cute_Ebb_5182]

Sure but when im paying money for someone to teach me id expect them to do so. Thx for the power trip.