Death in education

Within a week of each other, the following three articles were published in three different publications:

Chronicle of Higher Education: "10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly"

New York Times: "Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits"

Philadephia Inquirer: "The Lecture is Dead"

What these articles have in common thematically is death: death of diligence, perseverance, and work ethic even at the highest levels of the education community; death of attention-span, common-sense, and structure of any kind for students; and these articles also lay the foundation for what seems to be coming faster than some of us would like: the death of the traditional college classroom where we interact face-to-face two-three times per week with our students, getting to know them and their personalities, quirks, and strengths. At worst, taken together, these articles announce the result of decades of growing laziness, convenience-addictions, and computer-assisted-dependence. At best, these articles are identifying serious and fundamental problems in the education system for the participants.

When it comes to academics writing "less badly," which my students just loved as a title (oh yes, I made my college composition students read that article for information and perhaps some relief that none of us writers are perfect), the biggest problem seems to be an over-abundance of self-importance and a lack of gritty work-ethic. Especially in grad school when it comes to finishing projects like dissertations on time. And everyone in the academy knows someone who fits Munger's "poseur writer" description, right down to the hipster skinny jeans and too-cool-for-school scarf or jaunty hat on a head so filled with ego that no real (and useful) ideas may penetrate.

For most of us, Munger's assessment is not shocking or even remotely surprising, but for those outside the ivory tower, his pronouncements may be unsettling. After all, aren't we supposed be advanced and hard-working idea people and wordsmiths cranking out publications for our own and our home universities' glory? Well, yes, but have you seen the average teaching/service workload for a tenure-track professor recently? This is something I'm recently discovering, although only three weeks into it and I did manage to find time to complete a book review. But maybe I'm just the weird, old-school one who works too hard and believes in deadlines? (And I also don't spend 4.5 hours per day on Facebook.)

As for the death of study habits, well, no shit. Hell, in 1987 when I was in high school, you could count my study habits with one fist. Namely, I had none. And certainly, secluding myself away in a little corner with a desk, a lamp, a hard chair, and no noise would have driven my teenage mind bonkers. Only later, after a career in advertising and one in journalism, when I returned for my advanced degrees did I discover the need and joy for silence when I studied. And usually in a soft, comfy chair with a cup of tea or Diet Coke or water and with my cat, Lucy, climbing all over me.

But the problem isn't when and where and how students study, it's that they don't study. And they don't care enough to retain new information. Well, many of them. Admittedly, I've only taught 400 students (not including my current 90) over the short four years I've been teaching in the university setting, but many of my students were so tightly and narrowly focused on one particular career goal (engineer, accountant, "business"...whatever the hell that means anymore) that they resisted giving thought-space to subjects that the university deemed valuable such as world literature and writing. Mostly, my students were swell but were more interested in just getting through those classes than in actually LEARNING and RETAINING anything. So in today's university setting, which is becoming more and more consumer-oriented with outcomes and goals that read like a fact sheet for the Widget Factory, with every piece in its narrow place, the value of studying subjects outside one's specialty/major may be in danger of being de-valued.

Thinking about devaluation, that last article is both true and a little scary. On one hand, I agree that lectures don't really work - students fall asleep, have the attention-span of a gnat (when it's not something they are already interested in), and are easily distracted by other more exciting tasks like texting, doodling, making paper footballs, and staring slack-jawed into space. I've seen it happen, which is why I chose to conduct my world lit survey classes without one lecture from me. I made the students present and lead class discussion (with me chiming in to add details, ask questions, and provide background when appropriate). Every day. And despite some hearty fear and resistance at first, they delivered tremendously and did (imho) get more out of those discussions than they ever would have by me just talking at them for an hour a day. So yes, I agree the lecture is dead, but my concern is what university administrations are doing with this type of information.

If the classroom is no longer a place where students are lectured at by brilliant PhDs, why have a classroom at all? Why not go online? In fact, why hire PhDs to teach those online courses? Why not hire Tony Robbins-esque type public speaking dynamos and give them a pre-crafted syllabus and readings and let them loose to dazzle the students via video-pod?

I'll be honest. This unnerves me because I did not become a professor to teach solely online, but I do see that's the direction of most universities because online education is a solid money-maker. And considering the speed at which things change nowadays, I'm wondering how long I have to create interesting, discussion-based, classroom-grounded environments in which my students can get to know me, each other, and some new useful material. Five years? Ten? More? Less?

I'm not averse to hybrid courses where students come to class once a week and then are responsible for a vast amount of work on their own time. That seems a smart compromise. But going online 100%? I'm not convinced that is the right direction to educate vast numbers of young people (undergraduates) who already spend too much time in front of their computer and TV screens.

Although, that would create the perfect workers who are content to sit for 10-12 hours a day at a computer screen in their pajamas...who would fit cog-like into the Widget Factory's concept of uncomplaining and controllable worker productivity at low cost, would it not?

Goals and expectations of new college writers

When you were in college, did you ever ignore assignments that were either being graded directly or were being included in your overall grade? My four composition classes had a blog post due this Monday by midnight. Both sections of College Comp have 25 students - in one section, 22 students posted, in the other, 17 posted. In my Advanced Comp class, only three students haven't posted and two were because I had to re-submit their invitations, so they will likely post before Wed. In my Intro to College Comp course, I have 19 students...only four posted a blog entry. Even after my emailed reminder last night at 8pm. In fact, about four students didn't even respond to the blog invitation email.

I admit, I'm confused by this. The class blog is part of the participation grade, which is 20% of the overall course grade (and this is not only listed in the syllabus, we also went over this in class). And I see the students' names - they accepted the invite and started a profile. My goals and expectations for this semester include helping students improve and expand their writing skills and abilities by blogging (a great idea that my friend, AHab, successfully used in her World Lit class this past summer - and she inspired me to give blogging a try with my students). So far, I count the blogs a success in three of the classes...and I can't wait to find out why so many students in the Intro class set up their accounts and then promptly didn't do the assigned post listed on the class schedule. I can honestly say that once I got to college, I never just blew off an assignment that my professors gave me, especially those that were included in my grade. To me, this indicates high school thinking where homework is quickly becoming extinct (according to my friend, Mo, whose stepson's school has stopped providing any homework).

The upside to the blogs and the students who ARE participating is the opportunity to express themselves in a different type of environment that is so prevalent in contemporary society. Many of them have never blogged and are excited to get some practice. The first prompt was simply a reflection on where they are as writers and what goals and expectations they have for the class. Not surprisingly, many of them share similar concerns such as wanting to increase their creativity with writing, improve their overall confidence as writers, and put more of their individual voices or personalities into their writing (especially in more formal and "academic" writing assignments).

One student wrote that he has trouble starting and wants to know how good writers get started. This prompted a lengthy in-class discussion today about what students mean when they say "good" writers. This transitioned to a related issue - what they define as "the wrong way" (don't use "that," "like," any contractions, "I" or anything creative) and "the right way" to write academic papers. As it turns out, they define "good" writers as successful, memorable, experienced, published writers. When I asked them if they thought that was a realistic goal for a 15 week composition course, many of them nodded yes. I shook my head no, prompting some nervous giggles. I explained that writers who fit that description have been writing for years and that's the only way to get "good." So we discussed more realistic goals - striving to improve in specific areas, but leaving the idea of perfection out of it.

Vocabulary was another big issue that many students raised. They want to know more words so that when they write they aren't repeating the same ones over and over; they want to get away from simple words and become more adept with complex and advanced words so they can "sound smart." Although I hated to burst their bubbles of expectation, I had to inform them that the only way to expand and improve their vocabularies is to read more frequently and more varied materials. In my 10am class, when I asked for a show of hands of how many read a newspaper once a week, only two hands went up. When I asked how many read blogs or online news sites, no hands went up. When I asked how many read a novel or some short fiction each week, about four hands went up. When I asked how many read magazines of some kind weekly, about 2/3 of the class raised their hands. This prompted my explanation that in order to improve vocabulary and acuity with language, they need to pick another type of writing and read it regularly. Relying on a thesaurus is an adequate quick-fix, but doesn't solve the problem. The danger is that they won't understand the nuanced meaning of the word and end up sounding confused and unclear in their meaning. The more diverse their reading, the more skills they will pick up for their writing. No magic bullet there. Some seemed genuinely disappointed.

My favorite is the five paragraph essay complaint, or what one student lamented as wanting to "break out of the high school writing shell." Almost every student raised this issue as a style they would like to get away from and fortunately, I agree. Nothing they will read is in this restricted and confined format and hopefully, they will become more comfortable breaking themselves of this high school habit. This format certainly helps as a foundation for organization and structure, but is really limited as far as helping anyone develop more advanced writing skills.

Finally, the most interesting goal that many students shared was a desire to stop procrastinating. They were very honest about being heavy procrastinators and how much that has hurt their grades and performance in the past. They realize that writing takes time and doesn't just happen, but admit how much they struggle to start projects early and not wait until the last minute. I hope they achieve this goal most of all because if they start early, they will have the opportunity to get substantive feedback from me and their peers on drafts and pieces of projects well before the due dates.

Having goals and expectations at the start of the semester is one thing, but working to achieve those goals requires commitment, sustained diligence, and a strong work ethic. Hopefully my students, particularly the Intro class, will embrace these characteristics or at least try them on and take them for a test drive in order to bring their goals to fruition.