<p>In</a> the Basement of the Ivory Tower
The idea that a university education is for everyone is a destructive myth. An instructor at a college of last resort explains why.</p>
<p>Been there, done that--and quit teaching. Great article.</p>
<p>Oh, that was so hard to read...
Sad.</p>
<p>Interesting article. Thanks for sharing the link.</p>
<p>Well. that's my life. I teach those classes, to those students, as an adjunct. (I also work at the same college I adjunct at full time as an advisor in a support program.)</p>
<p>I don't have time tonight to react in detail, but I am extremely dismayed by Professor X's views. I know adjuncts like him. Heck, I know full time faculty like him, too. And i don't buy it. yes, some students will fail, multiple times, but many more should be able to pass and move on. If his approach doesn't work (and i myself abhor the "rhetorical styles" approach which turns writing into ill-designed, mechanical recipes) than maybe he should consider another. Or get out of the field. If the Scarecrow doesn't really deserve his diploma, perhaps Professor X is a Tin Man who fakes having a heart. (meaning not that he should give pity grades, but that he should work at finding a way to successfully teach more of his students--9 out of 15 failing is at some level a failure of his.)</p>
<p>It would seem the difference between HS and community college is that the college environment is more about holding to a standard where as in HS there are other priorities.</p>
<p>I remember taking my college English at such an institution (dual enrollment with my Senior year in HS). I can remember the instructor feeling the same about the bulk of his students in the class. It was actually a bit depressing to be a successful student in that class, as the "competition" was so weak that it made me wonder if I had actually earned the grade I got or whether it was the mind numbing work of others in the class (we routinely passed priliminary drafts between class members to be critiqued as a learning experience and believe me it was hard to read some of it) that made my efforts seem worthy.</p>
<p>I had the same reaction as Garland. I thought that Prof. X was failing to engage his students. He could have given Ms. L more concrete ideas about what a historical paper should look like. The goal is to get students to learn, not to grade them. And one thing they should learn is what type of questions they should be asking. It's more important than bewailing their lack of familiarity with Edward Said or Shakespeare.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if Prof X was failing to engage his students, as Ms. L seemed to want to do well and seemed to take the effort to come to Prof X. </p>
<p>I do agree though that he probably should provide good examples of term papers (on subjects they would be familiar with like the Wizard of Oz) and then break them down (show the outline, the development of the thesis, etc.). I think more students could be taught with (for lack of a better name for the method) monkey-see, monkey-do. Most college paper formats can be learned. Whether, the students can put together the logic - well - that is a whole different subject.</p>
<p>He provided plenty of examples of bored students. And I had to roll my eyes at the titles he chose (and yes, I have read Edward Said--multiple times).</p>
<p>Yes, he did cite the behaviors of the bored. However, I think the CC night school community is not as homogenous as the traditional 4-year school, so what might engage one segment of the population, may very well bore others. A more difficult task, indeed.</p>
<p>A related piece in Inside Higher Ed: Students</a> Fail — and Professor Loses Job</p>
<p>
[quote]
Who is to blame when students fail? If many students fail — a majority even — does that demonstrate faculty incompetence, or could it point to a problem with standards?</p>
<p>These are the questions at the center of a dispute that cost Steven D. Aird his job teaching biology at Norfolk State University. Today is his last day of work, but on his way out, he has started to tell his story — one that he suggests points to large educational problems at the university and in society. The university isn’t talking publicly about his case, but because Aird has released numerous documents prepared by the university about his performance — including the key negative tenure decisions by administrators — it is clear that he was denied tenure for one reason: failing too many students. The university documents portray Aird as unwilling to compromise to pass more students...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I take it that English 101 is a basic introduction to English. In such a class, one has to expect a heterogeneous group, even at top universities. One does not expect students to be engaged in a post-modern or post-colonial take on Mansfield Park</p>
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<p>It does seem like he could think of more ways to help the students who are having trouble.</p>
<p>That's an unfortunate story/article. </p>
<p>I'd have to think that this teacher's shock/horror at his student's ineptitude somehow is connected to a certain elitist view of what teaching/college is all about. He seems personally affronted by the 'ivy league' (stone tower, etc.) appearance of his colleges and -- by contrast -- the myriad inabilities of his students.</p>
<p>Isn't the point of teaching to help students from wherever they are? Maybe it detracts from his personal image as 'college professor' to have to instruct students in the basics of writing/reading/what a research paper is/etc. But the fact is -- those are the challenges they need to surmount (with a teacher's help). </p>
<p>His premise seems to be that certain people aren't 'cut out' for college. I think absolutely anyone can benefit from learning to write coherently and present their ideas in an understandable fashion. Perhaps the police officers, officer-workers, etc. would receive even more significant benefits from proper teaching of these essentials in English class than the average, adept college student who has already mastered these and is only learning the finer points of literary analysis, polish, etc.</p>
<p>His reaction sounds like an easy out --- these students are (exceptionally) hard to teach and they have many educational deficits coming into class; thus, encouraging them to pursue higher learning is futile. A more responsive approach might be---what can I do to help them in a more effective way?</p>
<p>Just as a start, he knew, that the student didn't understand the assignment, and rather than clarifying, he just pointed her to the librarian and then waited for the expected failure-level paper. Who teaches research paper writing without drafts and outlines? Where is the tutoring or writing center, and why isn't he recommending she go there for further clarification and one on one help? Also, why is he expecting a comp class to be a classic lit class. In my comp class this semester, we read one book of fiction(Kite Runner) and one nonfiction (Field Notes on a Catatrophe). We weren't focusing on literary elements so much as critical reading/thinking (ie, not "theme, symbol, quest narrative, foreshadowing" etc, but, choices, reasons, motivations, connections to larger issues, etc), and then being able to express that critical thinking in academic level writing. I find that most students can do that, if taught how. And if the instructor believes they can.</p>
<p>I found amusing his envy of the science teachers who deal with facts! Not so easy, actually.</p>
<p>My husband, a high school science teacher, bemoans students who are in his class who don't have the basic math skills to perform an experiment, or balance an chemical equation. Or the writing skills to write up a lab report. Or the reasoning and abstract logic skills to follow his attempts to explain the concepts about why a cell membrane works.</p>
<p>Or the many English-as-second language students who have been in the US for only a year or two and are trying to follow the arcane vocabulary used in science. Some exceptional ones succeed, but for many it is very hard.</p>
<p>Prerequisites are important.</p>
<p>For the author of the article, I think he needs to reset his mindset - basically, he is teaching a remedial class, not a weeder class. What can he do to help? How does he get them to a certain level?</p>
<p>I teach writing to programmers, who traditionally don't like to write. Rather than taking them through all the possible nuances of the English language, I give them a series of specific techniques that will make their writing clearer.</p>
<p>Specialized? Yes. Does it help? Yes.</p>
<p>I rather think the underlying educational requirement is wrong at the schools. For those who are pursuing degrees for career reasons, it makes far more sense to have targetted business writing courses - How to write a proposal, How to write a business report, How to make an effective presentation, How to write a "one-pager" that summarizes a series of articles.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, I love literature, as you might be able to tell from my name. But I don't think understanding literature is the underlying need for most of the people who are pursuing continuing education certificates or degrees.</p>
<p>I also agree with Jolynne that he has a chip on his shoulder. Why the "Ivory tower" title?</p>
<p>My college is not an ivory tower; it's real bricks and mortar with real students, and I do not spend any time here thinking about what it's not and who my students aren't--I'm too busy responding to the people they are, and the successful students it's my job to help them be.</p>
<p>I can think of at least one way, the way my son became a decent writer. His teacher freshman year in high school assigned an essay. The top grade in the class was a 65 or so. My kid got a 62. He had to rewrite that essay until he had a score in the 90s. By the end of that year he could write. He just got his grade back in from his required freshman writing course at Carnegie Mellon. It was an A. Thank you Mr. McK.</p>
<p>As for Ms. L. Did she have to use internet sources? Can't you write a history paper using sources from the library? I had a lot of college courses where there were a dozen or so suggested paper topics. Would it have been so terrible for a beginning course to have a little more guidance? </p>
<p>There's no question it's hard to teach a class where you are making up for a deficient high school education, but I do think this guy could be doing a better job. You might also let the students write about what they know. My sister-in-law learned a lot about football when she taught the beginning writing course at the University of Michigan.</p>
<p>I have done some adjunct teaching as well, and it's certainly true that some of the students are woefully unprepared. But I agree with others that a key to helping students like that is to give them clear examples of what you are looking for. You also have to do lots of hand-holding, and give plenty of feedback from the very beginning. What I've found is that many students are willing to work very hard, as long as they really understand what they are supposed to do.</p>
<p>Actually, Prof. X might be surprised at the level of assistance Ivy League students receive. There are booklets, pamphlets, handouts, sections of websites devoted to tips on writing papers. Eg: what is a thesis statement? What is a topic sentence? What citation system should be used? Include a bibliography! How to use web sources (JSTOR being only one of them); the difference between source and evidence; avoiding plagiarism; and so on and so forth. Some profs/TAs encourage students to submit first drafts as well.
I wonder if Prof X did any of these things.</p>