Pretty good article about a popular student question, "When am I going to use this?"

And the question itself — "When am I going to use this?" — is nearly always a lie, a front. The asker is not genuinely contemplating the use-value of Material X; rather, he or she is merely announcing the intent to give up. Instead of saying this, however — instead of taking responsibility for lack of ability or interest in the material — the asker would like to suggest, It’s not me, it’s you. It’s not that I am uninterested or having a hard time with it.

Updated to add link to article on 10/29/15.