While recently reading the article “Lest We Think the Revolution is a Revolution: Images of Technology and the Nature of Change,” written by Cynthia L. Selfe, something clicked in my head and I realized that we are so distracted by our lives that we don’t realize how certain things are targeted to specific audiences. Selfe discusses how advertisers for computers and their parts target men with their ads and commercials. She first brings up the fact that we all agree with the fact that “computer-supported environments will help us create a utopic world in which gender is not a predictor of success or a constraint for interaction with the world.” What this means is that we have created this cultural narrative for ourselves that somehow this computer advancement is going to help us share a non-sexist perfect world between ourselves. Selfe believes that we seem to be so caught up in this idea that we don’t really realize that the advertisements that we are being shown are somewhat sexist. Computer games are designed for boys, computer commercials are aimed mainly at men, and computer environments are still constructed for males. We still see men as the main provider in households all over the United States so many things are target just towards men instead of women. Today, women are making themselves visible a lot more. Women can do whatever a man can do now, so why are we still sticking to our sexist ways? If a man can fix a computer, use it for recreational purposes and do work on them, then a woman can too if she wants.
I can’t even begin to think of a solution to this because we have had these types of stereotypes since the beginning of time. We seem to get a little better with time, but there is always going to be that vision of the working man coming home to the wonderful housewife. Selfe believes that “creating an electronic ungendered utopia means that we might have to learn how to understand people outside of the limited gender roles that we have constructed for them in this country, that we may have to abandon the ways in which we have traditionally differentiated between men’s work and women’s work in the market place, that we may have to provide men and women with equitable remuneration for comparable jobs, that we may have to learn to function within new global contexts that acknowledge women as Heads of State as well as heads of households.” She was able to come up with a number of solutions to think about. It is basically saying that if we put all of the gendered stereotypes behind us, we will be able to grow as a nation because men and women can be equal for the first time ever. A move like that would change our nation as a whole. We would be able to see women in a whole new light. We wouldn’t see the same old vision of them in the kitchen cooking, but maybe by the computer trying to fix it herself without a man’s help.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
My thoughts on Cynthia's article
While reading the article "Lest We Think the Revolution is a Revolution," by Cynthia Selfe, she talks about how technology has created a change so that it can "help us create a global village in which the peoples of the world are all connected, communicating with one another and cooperating for the commonweal. According to this popular social narrative, the computer network that spans the globe will serve to erase meaningless geopolitical borders, eliminate racial and ethnic differences, re-establish a historical familial relationship which binds together the peoples of the world regardless of race, ethnicity, or location." Taking this idea of today's technology, we will simply create an electronic colony; as in all the people in the world are going to be connected to each other and communicate with each other through the world wide web. For example, people in Canada are communicating with people in China; they don't know each other in person, but with technology, they know each other through communication. The idea of creating a "Global Village" through technology can happen, but it won't likely happen because we can just communicate through technology thus making us an electronic colony (people who are connected to everything). We like to believe that technology will be the global village, but it turned out to be the electronic colony. While reading these segments from the article, I believe that this is the most important part that Cynthia talks about.
Coming out of this part of the article, I believe that we need to know what it is to be in a global village instead of an electronic colony. First of all, let's take a look at world hunger in Africa. There is a lot of people starving all over in that country and they will have the first-hand experience in that subject. Then take a look at someone in the United States that has access to the internet. That person will look on there and find out what's the latest situation in Africa and find out exactly what is going on. He can choose to send a donation if he please if he cares that much; but that's all he is doing, he is simply clicking around on the internet and absorbing all the information and possibly sending a donation by clicking a button. He has no idea (no first-hand experience) of the troubles in Africa, he has only seen it on the computer. In order for it to become a global village, the people that are the donators will have to travel to Africa and experience the hardships first-hand. They will have to step in their shoes and contribute to the cause locally. There will certainly need to be more traveling among races to fully communicate and contribute to each other's causes. But for right now, I believe a lot of people will just have to use the good old technology to see what's happening around them; no matter what race or ethnicity, we will all contribute through the web and first-hand for some people.
Jon on Selfe
“An exclusive focus on the positive changes associated with technology, often serves to distract educators from recognizing how existing social forces actually work to resist change in connection with technology…” a powerful statement made by author Cynthia L. Selfe in “Lest We Think the Revolution is a Revolution”. Selfe’s purpose through her writing is to inform the readers, or more specifically English Studies teacher’s, to be aware of the propaganda in images relating to technology and what the true purpose of that image may be. She later gives many examples to support her claim and goes on to show us the connection with the “Global Village” and the “Electronic Colony”. One of the common idea’s shared throughout this technology generation is that it can make us closer and keep us connected. “According to this popular social narrative, the computer network that spans the globe will serve to erase meaningless geopolitical borders, eliminate racial and ethnic differences, re-establish a historical familial relationship which binds together the peoples of the world regardless of race, ethnicity, or location.” Although this sounds like something that we would all hope for, unity, and understanding throughout the world, we can’t do this through a computer screen. Selfe shows that is impossible for us to truly be connected or to relate to someone in another country, especially one that is poverty stricken. That we “In fact, find ourselves as a culture, ill equipped to cope with the changes that the “global village” story necessitates, unable, even, to imagine, collectively, ways of relating to the world outside our previous historical and cultural experiences.” This gives us the feeling that we are a world away without ever leaving our homes. We like to think that we are connected to these people that are thousands of miles away when we truly are that far away.
I agree with Selfe with her narrative of the “Global Village” because my own experience with technology throughout my life can relate to it. Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, and Television can give you that feeling that you are really connected to these people in a significant way. You talk to a friend that you haven’t seen for five years and you find them on face book, you have a conversation about what you have been up to in your life and theirs and it seems like you might know them again. But in reality you are only getting the pieces you are allowed to see or hear. You don’t truly know them or understand unless you are experiencing it yourself. When you go on the computer and look at a picture of a tribe in the amazon it may make you feel like you can understand their plight, looking at the child’s starving face and feeling remorse and sadness for him. You could try and say you feel his pain, but until you walk in the shoes of these people you could never truly understand, further bridging the gap of human connection. It’s a belief passed on to us through the corporations to affect us emotionally and manipulate us to feel and think a certain way, and in many cases it is extremely affective. The goal of Cynthia L. Selfe is for us to know and educate others about these tactics being used on us the “Global Village”, to give us the tools to better understand, and to see things in a new light.
Reading Response #6
In the article “Lest We Think The Revolution is a Revolution,” Cynthia Selfe’s perspective on 21st century technologies is that there is a lot of change involved when it comes to our culture and leads towards productive socialism. She discusses three narratives to get her claim across. She makes the claim that “advertisements are powerful communication devices because they are so loaded with social significance to us.”
reading response #6
Recently, I read an article by Cynthia Selfe about the change in advertisements. It has come to her attention that advertisements reflect of peoples culture and reinforce it. To put this into perspective, a picture of a white family in front of a large house might stand for how “perfect” America is, but us as the viewers know that isn’t true. As a society , and the group of marketers who take the pictures for the ads are trying to expand the culture of people and have more interesting and not so stereotypical images. To have pictures being taken in such a positive way, Selfe describes technology as giving us hope for the future. If we are given the chance to see what to strive for, then it helps us see that were all going to be okay. The positive social aspects of the new technology and way to look at ads over compensates the negative affects. For example, even though it is obvious to see that there is world hunger by looking at a picture, by never having to experience hunger on a personal level, it doesn’t effect the person as much. All the person looking at the picture has to do is send in money to a company and he or she has a sense of person satisfaction by feeling like they made a difference. To have this power to many people never experience the problems some people have to live with today makes it difficult for anyone to relate to them. People tend to not even try to put there selves into the person on the other side of the lenses feels or lives there life. But by having the ability to see what else is going on in the world, it also is helping the increase of people culture because they are becoming more aware of what’s going on around them. Selfe expresses this idea by showing ads about different cultures by seeing how differently they live than Americans do. This idea has large importance because it gives people the ability to explore and make a difference without having to step out of there comfort zones.
By focusing on how to see a picture makes people stay in there comfort zones, Selfe over looks the deeper problem of the few people that the picture makes them come out of there so called comfort zones. If a picture is so intense or means a lot to a person, it might effect someone more than another person. If someone sees a picture that some how relates to them, it makes them more eager to help the cause or it will mean more to them. Another way an ad can make people want to do more would be if it is disturbing them. If it was something repulsive or tear jerking, it might make the person find passion and want to make a change. Personally , an experience with me was when I was seeing pictures and hearing about the poverty in Haiti. My friend Katelyn’s family was in the process of adopting two girls at the time. When I could see pictures in magazines it made me feel helpless but when I knew that I had the power to help those kids, I did my best to do all I could. I gave money to her mother to help pay for bags of rice and my family donated to the program that helped advance there orphanages. The power of advertisements changed my perspective and helped me make a difference in someone’s life.
Dylan Langei's response to "Lest We Think the Revolution is a Revolution"
In Cynthia Selfe’s “Lest We Think the Revolution is a Revolution” her central claim can be seen that positive changes that are associated with technology often distract educators from recognizing how existing social forces try to resist change in connection with technology and how our culture, and the social formations that make up this culture reacts when educators support the status quo when technology threatens to disrupt the world in a meaningful way, even as we praise the changes is promises to bring.
One of Cynthia’s most important claims are when she explains that in the profession of English studies, the teachers hope that computers will create students to become “more productive in the classroom and other instructional settings, more effective as communicators, and more responsibly involved as literate citizens in world affairs.” This claims explains that in the English profession, teachers depend on computers to advance the knowledge of students which directly connects to her central claim that positive changes that are associated with technology often distracts educators from the fact that social forces try to resist change. Another important claim that Selfe leaves the reader is that “because our culture subscribes to several powerful narratives that link technological progress closely with social progress, it is easy for us-for Americans, in particular-to believe that technological change leads to productive social change.” Once again Selfe explains that we are blinded by technology strictly for the fact that our society believes we are exploiting social progress so well and so fast, that we don’t realize when technology threatens to disrupt the world.
I definitely agree with Cynthia Selfe’s central claim that technology often distracts educators because it sheds light on both her other important claims that our society is lead to believe that technological change leads to productive social change and in the profession of English instructors hope computers will better of their students. Technology can be a wall between teachers and students; they believe that technology automatically creates students to become more productive, more effective as communicators, and more involved in world affairs so this ultimately could cause instructors to overlook certain aspects of teaching because they just believe the students have advanced technology so teaching thoroughly is not required. This of course is not in every case, but is a possibility with such dependence on technology. This is not the instructors fault at all but mainly societies because our society is so wrapped around technology that we believe “technological change leads to productive social change.” We ultimately believe that everything that comes out of technology is positive, educationally and socially. This could cause teachers to overlook certain aspects of their subject when teaching because they might assume, oh my students can just look up this main point on Google or a word they don’t understand on Dictionary.com so in depth teaching could be thrown out. This of course shows that this technological revolution can have some very severe negatives socially and in the educational world.
One of Cynthia’s most important claims are when she explains that in the profession of English studies, the teachers hope that computers will create students to become “more productive in the classroom and other instructional settings, more effective as communicators, and more responsibly involved as literate citizens in world affairs.” This claims explains that in the English profession, teachers depend on computers to advance the knowledge of students which directly connects to her central claim that positive changes that are associated with technology often distracts educators from the fact that social forces try to resist change. Another important claim that Selfe leaves the reader is that “because our culture subscribes to several powerful narratives that link technological progress closely with social progress, it is easy for us-for Americans, in particular-to believe that technological change leads to productive social change.” Once again Selfe explains that we are blinded by technology strictly for the fact that our society believes we are exploiting social progress so well and so fast, that we don’t realize when technology threatens to disrupt the world.
I definitely agree with Cynthia Selfe’s central claim that technology often distracts educators because it sheds light on both her other important claims that our society is lead to believe that technological change leads to productive social change and in the profession of English instructors hope computers will better of their students. Technology can be a wall between teachers and students; they believe that technology automatically creates students to become more productive, more effective as communicators, and more involved in world affairs so this ultimately could cause instructors to overlook certain aspects of teaching because they just believe the students have advanced technology so teaching thoroughly is not required. This of course is not in every case, but is a possibility with such dependence on technology. This is not the instructors fault at all but mainly societies because our society is so wrapped around technology that we believe “technological change leads to productive social change.” We ultimately believe that everything that comes out of technology is positive, educationally and socially. This could cause teachers to overlook certain aspects of their subject when teaching because they might assume, oh my students can just look up this main point on Google or a word they don’t understand on Dictionary.com so in depth teaching could be thrown out. This of course shows that this technological revolution can have some very severe negatives socially and in the educational world.
Tristans 6th reading response
In the article “Lest We Think the Revolution is a Revolution” Cynthia Selfe discusses the marketing and advertisements of technology, mainly the usage of computers. Selfe explains that certain types of advertisements target specific people and can be analyzed to a deeper meaning than just what is apparent in the photos. This is all being disputed over with computers becoming more popular and schools starting to rely on the internet and computer usage to be successful. Changes have to be made in order for computers to keep momentum and stay useful, so advertisements of new technology, such as brands, processors accessories will always be apparent in our society.
The first narrative I have chosen to write about is the un-gendered utopia, in which it is said computers are made to give equal access and opportunity to either sex. I feel like this is not entirely true because computers and technology are things a lot of girls do not learn about because they simply don’t have a need for it. In my house when our computer crashes or our internet the girls don’t know how to fix it, my dad or I have to go unplug the routers troubleshoot and fix the error. This is only one point and if a computer never crashes it does indeed give equal opportunity but the procedure is not flawless yet, there are complications. Computers do in fact offer every thing they do to males to females. Girls can play video games, surf the web, use minor and ever difficult programs with lessons, the same goes for a guy. People are not born with the ability to use a computer, it is learned.
The second narrative is that the internet and computers form an online “village” and connect people from all parts of the world. I agree with this 100% because with web cams and chat sites you can talk with someone anywhere on the earth that has internet. The chef at my families restaurant would use his web cam every night to talk to his wife who had moved away for a short period of time to Vancouver. This isn’t a huge distance but they could talk face to face over the internet. Other sources such as facebook, blogs, myspace, twitter, and any chat site provide people the ability to talk and connect with others around the world. It is crazy that the internet has evolved so much and has given almost anyone the chance of experiencing things that never could have been done before.
This second narrative reminds me of the online gaming websites from the video we watched because the game gives you an opportunity to converse with others and basically live a second life if you are not a fan of your real one. With technology evolving more and more we can not begin to imagine what is still to come.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Narrative #3- The Un-gendered Utopia
Popular Narrative-
Computers offer an environment that it does not matter what gender you are you have equal access and oppurtunity.
Revised Narrative-
That men have more access to computers. Evidence: Computer games and computing fields are aimed towards men.
Why Americans Revise it and the Consequences:
-Men work more, it has always been this way, so naturally computing fields will be aimed at men. The consequences is that it creates computing as a "men's world" making it less accessable to females. World has always been sexist and probably will always be to a point.
Computers offer an environment that it does not matter what gender you are you have equal access and oppurtunity.
Revised Narrative-
That men have more access to computers. Evidence: Computer games and computing fields are aimed towards men.
Why Americans Revise it and the Consequences:
-Men work more, it has always been this way, so naturally computing fields will be aimed at men. The consequences is that it creates computing as a "men's world" making it less accessable to females. World has always been sexist and probably will always be to a point.
"Land of Equal Oppurtunity" and "Land of Difference"
Group #2
The "Popular Narrative" would be a second favorite cultural story that we tell ourselves in connection with computers and change focuses our equity, opportunity, and access-all characteristics ascribed to the electronic landscape we have constructed on the Internet and to computer use, in general. This landscape, Americans like to believe, is open to everybody-male and female, regaurdless of color, class, or connection. The Hallmark of our Democracy is an example of this.
The "Revised Narrative" would be our cultural experience that tells us America is the land of oppotunity only for some people. That it is present not in what they show, but what they fail to show.
Americans revise the narrative because they want everything to seem better. We want to envision a better world so revising the narrative creates this better place. The consequences of this revision is overlooking those real experiences with an undifferntiated land of opportunity. Meaning we dont see that opportunity is a commondity generally limited to privileged groups.
The "Popular Narrative" would be a second favorite cultural story that we tell ourselves in connection with computers and change focuses our equity, opportunity, and access-all characteristics ascribed to the electronic landscape we have constructed on the Internet and to computer use, in general. This landscape, Americans like to believe, is open to everybody-male and female, regaurdless of color, class, or connection. The Hallmark of our Democracy is an example of this.
The "Revised Narrative" would be our cultural experience that tells us America is the land of oppotunity only for some people. That it is present not in what they show, but what they fail to show.
Americans revise the narrative because they want everything to seem better. We want to envision a better world so revising the narrative creates this better place. The consequences of this revision is overlooking those real experiences with an undifferntiated land of opportunity. Meaning we dont see that opportunity is a commondity generally limited to privileged groups.
Narrative #1: The "Global Village" and the "Electronic Colony"
Group 1
Caity Chutuk, Sarah Benne, Jared Eckert, Makayla Paige, Jon McEdward, Kylie Garrison, Dylan Langei
Popular nattative: "One of the most popular narratives Americans tell ourselves about computers is that technology will help up create a global village in which the peoples of the world are all connected--communicating with one another and cooperating for the commonweal....cthe computer network that spans the globe will serve to erase meaningless geopolitical bordres, eliminate racial and ethnic differences, re-establish a historical familial relationship which binds together the peoples of the world regardless of race, ethnicity, or location."
Revised narrative: "In the revised narrative, the global village retains its geographica reach, but it becomes a world in which different cultures, different peoples, exist to be discovered, explored, marveled at--in a sense, known and claimed by--those who can design and use technology. Inhabitants of this electronic global village, in turn, become foreigners, exotics, savages, objects to study and, sometimes, to control."
Why do American's revise the narrative?
-American's revise the narrative so that they can experience the world, without having to leave the comfort of their home.
How do we revise it?
-We take stories we already have about American's giving to other lesser civilations than us and applying it to more modern technologies.
What are the consequences of that revision?
-The revision makes American's feel like they're a part of the world, but they're actually removed from it. "...a white blond woman sits in a well appointed living room that is chock full of artifacts from around the world; several big-screen viewing areas in front of her feature images of exotic peoples and far-off locations, a large computer with a world map on the screen, and a globe complete with representation."
Caity Chutuk, Sarah Benne, Jared Eckert, Makayla Paige, Jon McEdward, Kylie Garrison, Dylan Langei
Popular nattative: "One of the most popular narratives Americans tell ourselves about computers is that technology will help up create a global village in which the peoples of the world are all connected--communicating with one another and cooperating for the commonweal....cthe computer network that spans the globe will serve to erase meaningless geopolitical bordres, eliminate racial and ethnic differences, re-establish a historical familial relationship which binds together the peoples of the world regardless of race, ethnicity, or location."
Revised narrative: "In the revised narrative, the global village retains its geographica reach, but it becomes a world in which different cultures, different peoples, exist to be discovered, explored, marveled at--in a sense, known and claimed by--those who can design and use technology. Inhabitants of this electronic global village, in turn, become foreigners, exotics, savages, objects to study and, sometimes, to control."
Why do American's revise the narrative?
-American's revise the narrative so that they can experience the world, without having to leave the comfort of their home.
How do we revise it?
-We take stories we already have about American's giving to other lesser civilations than us and applying it to more modern technologies.
What are the consequences of that revision?
-The revision makes American's feel like they're a part of the world, but they're actually removed from it. "...a white blond woman sits in a well appointed living room that is chock full of artifacts from around the world; several big-screen viewing areas in front of her feature images of exotic peoples and far-off locations, a large computer with a world map on the screen, and a globe complete with representation."
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Reading Response to Professor X’s “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower”
In "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower", Professor X writes about how many students are struggling in college. I chose the passage below to include in this paper because it just doesn't make sense to me and if I elaborate on it maybe I will understand.
"When I am at my best, and the students are in an attentive mood-generally early in the semester-the room crackles with positive energy. Even the cops-to-be feel driven to succeed in the class, to read and love the great books, to explore the potent themes, to write well.
The bursting of our collective bubble come quickly. A few weeks into the semester, the students must start actually writing papers, and I must start grading them. Despite my enthusiasm, despite their thoughtful nods of agreement and what I have interpreted as moments of clarity, it turns out that in many cases it has come to a naught.
Remarkably few of my students can do well in these classes. Students routinely fail, some fail multiple times, and some will never pass, because they cannot write a coherent sentence."
In other words, Professor X is saying that many of his students are losing interest in his class half way though it. Before they were just reading books in class, but when the writing portion of the class comes along, no one is interested. It's like they enjoy the fun stuff, which to them is no homework, only reading which doesn't take that much time. But when they actually have to write about what they read and what-not, they don't like it any more because they have to think and write, which according to Professor X not many people know how to do. It's not until the students start seeing the grades on their papers, does the seriousness of the class actually start to sink in. Since Professor X has stated that some student fail the class, it seems to me that if they see that they get a bad grade on a paper they thought was really good and the grade doesn't go up with time that the students start to lose faith in their writing ability and gradually give up.
Without this little section of writing, the article loses some of it’s main concept, the concept that many student lose interest in the class half way though it. Sure Professor X lets you know about this concept in other paragraphs, but this one explains about his personal experience.
When I first read this passage, I was struck with sadness. I can't believe that so many people fail a class. I mean, it's understandable if they fail it once, they were confused, didn't turn in all the assignments, and/or didn't pay attention in class. But failing a class multiple times that just doesn't make sense. If that kept happening in a class that I taught,it would make me wonder if they were even paying attention to the class and what I was teaching or if there was something wrong with my teachings, in a way that what I am saying is not getting through to the students. I remember not doing well in a particular class and when I confronted the teacher about it, he walked me through how what I had done was not correct and continued to show me what to do in order to make it a better report. Sure I understand that teachers and professors can't do that with all their students, but if they tried then maybe more students would pass their class.
What I don't understand is how student can lose interest in a class. I can understand in happening for a day when you really don't know what is going on, but for the rest of the semester? Is it the topic the professor is teaching on that causes a person to lose interest in class? Is the class just hard to understand? Or is it because of ourselves that it happens? I think the last one is the answer for the most part. We, ourselves, believe that there are better things to do than sitting around listening to a lecture, we get bored with what is going on in the classroom. When really it can only get as fun as you want to make it.
I notice through his writing that Professor X is struggling with the fact that not all of his students will pass. He wants them to succeed, but he can only do so much before the students must continue on their own. He writes in such a way that tells you he is saddened by what is accruing. At first Professor X list out the thing the students are expecting to do in the class, but then he move on to another list. This list includes all the things they did that didn’t end up helping the students succeed in the class.
"When I am at my best, and the students are in an attentive mood-generally early in the semester-the room crackles with positive energy. Even the cops-to-be feel driven to succeed in the class, to read and love the great books, to explore the potent themes, to write well.
The bursting of our collective bubble come quickly. A few weeks into the semester, the students must start actually writing papers, and I must start grading them. Despite my enthusiasm, despite their thoughtful nods of agreement and what I have interpreted as moments of clarity, it turns out that in many cases it has come to a naught.
Remarkably few of my students can do well in these classes. Students routinely fail, some fail multiple times, and some will never pass, because they cannot write a coherent sentence."
In other words, Professor X is saying that many of his students are losing interest in his class half way though it. Before they were just reading books in class, but when the writing portion of the class comes along, no one is interested. It's like they enjoy the fun stuff, which to them is no homework, only reading which doesn't take that much time. But when they actually have to write about what they read and what-not, they don't like it any more because they have to think and write, which according to Professor X not many people know how to do. It's not until the students start seeing the grades on their papers, does the seriousness of the class actually start to sink in. Since Professor X has stated that some student fail the class, it seems to me that if they see that they get a bad grade on a paper they thought was really good and the grade doesn't go up with time that the students start to lose faith in their writing ability and gradually give up.
Without this little section of writing, the article loses some of it’s main concept, the concept that many student lose interest in the class half way though it. Sure Professor X lets you know about this concept in other paragraphs, but this one explains about his personal experience.
When I first read this passage, I was struck with sadness. I can't believe that so many people fail a class. I mean, it's understandable if they fail it once, they were confused, didn't turn in all the assignments, and/or didn't pay attention in class. But failing a class multiple times that just doesn't make sense. If that kept happening in a class that I taught,it would make me wonder if they were even paying attention to the class and what I was teaching or if there was something wrong with my teachings, in a way that what I am saying is not getting through to the students. I remember not doing well in a particular class and when I confronted the teacher about it, he walked me through how what I had done was not correct and continued to show me what to do in order to make it a better report. Sure I understand that teachers and professors can't do that with all their students, but if they tried then maybe more students would pass their class.
What I don't understand is how student can lose interest in a class. I can understand in happening for a day when you really don't know what is going on, but for the rest of the semester? Is it the topic the professor is teaching on that causes a person to lose interest in class? Is the class just hard to understand? Or is it because of ourselves that it happens? I think the last one is the answer for the most part. We, ourselves, believe that there are better things to do than sitting around listening to a lecture, we get bored with what is going on in the classroom. When really it can only get as fun as you want to make it.
I notice through his writing that Professor X is struggling with the fact that not all of his students will pass. He wants them to succeed, but he can only do so much before the students must continue on their own. He writes in such a way that tells you he is saddened by what is accruing. At first Professor X list out the thing the students are expecting to do in the class, but then he move on to another list. This list includes all the things they did that didn’t end up helping the students succeed in the class.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Reading Responce #5
"I gave Ms. L. the F and slept poorly that night. Some of the failing grades I issue gnaw at me more than others. In my ears rang her plaintive words, so emblematic of the tough spot in which we both now found ourselves. Ms. L. had done everything that American culture asked of her. She had gone back to school to better herself, and she expected to be rewarded for it, not slapped down. She had failed not, as some students do, by being absent too often or by blowing off assignments. She simply was not qualified for college. What exactly, I wondered, was I grading? I thought briefly of passing Ms. L., of slipping her the old gentlewoman’s C-minus. But I couldn’t do it. It wouldn’t be fair to the other students. By passing Ms. L., I would be eroding the standards of the school for which I worked. Besides, I nurse a healthy ration of paranoia. What if she were a plant from The New York Times doing a story on the declining standards of the nation’s colleges?"
In paraphrasing this text In the Basement of the Ivory Tower by Professor X, it is important to know that he does not feel good about the grade he gave to Ms. L. This bit of text is like a bad dream. He has guilt for the grade that he gave Ms. L, not because he feels that the grade wasn't justified but because she "had done everything that American culture asked of her". He felt badly about failing a hard worker. He then thinks about passing her, but his paranoia gets in the way. He tosses over whether or not she was doing an assignment on how colleges grade the inept for the New York Times.
This connects to the rest of the essay as Professor X's turning point, not in his essay but in his own mind at the point of contact with Ms. L. The feeling of guilt caused him to rethink the grade he gave her. He states, however, that doing so, he "would be eroding the standards of the school for which [he] worked." It would, therefore, contrast any standard he had set for himself as a teacher as well as the standards his place of work enforced. This, to me, is interesting because earlier in his essay, he expalins that at the end of a course, the college sometimes was not happy with the number of failing students in his class. I find this incredibly hypocritical of the school. There is a reason that standards need to be enforced- schools must give all students a guideline so that they know what would be considered a pass or a fail. Of course there are going to be extreamly hard grading teachers but I think if the school took the time to read some of the work that was considered "failed work", they may come to a better conclusion as to how Professor X was doing his job. I am not saying that Professor X is right, I'm saying that there needs to be a substancial amount of evidence for others to question one's job.
Personally, this essay really got to me. In the small number of years that I have been out of highschool, I made every wrong turn. The first was never taking my SAT's. When I struggled in highschool, I was told that some people just aren't meant for college. I persued other things like acting and singing, where I failed at both. I failed not because I wasn't good, but I wasn't intellectually challenged- they came too easy to me. I knew I needed to do something and ended up being a Cosmetologist. I remember working at a very prestigious salon where I had to have intelligent conversations with clients to even remotely relate to them. Sometime my clients would ask me, "So, are you in school?" That question killed me. I was "not qualified for college". I didn't want to face the real world and risk the failure so I dove into a world of superficial coworkers and a cozy life. So why am I here? Even though Professor X thinks that some are "not qualified for college", (and some aren't) I need to try because I'll always wonder who I could have been. If I fail, at least I know. If I succeed, I can toss my shears and walk out of my salon with my head held high and diploma in hand. Professor X states that he knows "telling someone that college is not for him seems harsh and classist". To the contrary, I have no problem with someone telling me that I do not belong in college. I may be a little more stubborn than most, but it doesn't phase me. Universities have the power to tell me whether or not they want me in their school, but community colleges are open addmissions because of people like me. People that need to try in order to fulfill something in themselves. Let them fail. We are all adults and can take it, we don't need educator sheltering us because we may not pass. I respect Professor X as an educator but judging by the tone of his paper, he's being too hard on himself. His pessimistic and martyrly rant is boarderline irritating. The way I see it, and it may be a little cold hearted, but all of us in college are adults and need to be treated accordingly.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Dylan Langei's Assignment #5
A. I gave Ms. L. the F and slept poorly that night. Some of the failing grades I issue gnaw at me more than others. In my ears rang her plaintive words, so emblematic of the tough spot in which we both now found ourselves. Ms. L. had done everything that American culture asked of her. She had gone back to school to better herself, and she expected to be rewarded for it, not slapped down. She had failed not, as some students do, by being absent too often or by blowing off assignments. She simply was not qualified for college. What exactly, I wondered, was I grading? I thought briefly of passing Ms. L., of slipping her the old gentlewoman’s C-minus. But I couldn’t do it. It wouldn’t be fair to the other students. By passing Ms. L., I would be eroding the standards of the school for which I worked. Besides, I nurse a healthy ration of paranoia. What if she were a plant from The New York Times doing a story on the declining standards of the nation’s colleges? In my mind’s eye, the front page of a newspaper spun madly, as in old movies, coming to rest to reveal a damning headline:
THIS IS A C?
Illiterate Mess Garners ‘Average’ Grade
Adjunct Says Student ‘Needed’ to Pass, ‘Tried Hard’
No, I would adhere to academic standards, and keep myself off the front page.
B. This paragraph sort of left me curious more than confused. The story of Ms. L really kept me attached to this article because I could see and understand how Ms. L was struggling and how Professor X was trying to help her, so I was curious to see if Professor X’s help would work. Yet I can introduce a new idea on sort of a confusing part when I first read this paragraph. Professor X says how he slept poorly that night when he gave Ms. L the F, but when I first read this paragraph I was wondering why he cared that she earned an F. He wasn’t being a mean teacher Ms. L just didn’t deserve the grade and that’s how all teacher should treat their students. Then I finished the article and understood Professor X’s more in depth analogy of how society believes if you go to college you will be successful. Ms. L “had done everything that American culture asked of her. She had gone back to school to better herself, and she expected to be rewarded for it, not slapped down.” This sentence makes a lot more sense now that Ms. L was just obeying what society requires yet her age held her back from meeting the requirements to pass an English 101 class.
C. This passage definitely connects to earlier paragraphs in this article, basically because it explains how society demanded that Ms. L go back to college although she wasn’t properly suited for it. Before Professor X just explains how poorly she understood the technology involved in the class but then expands why he thinks she is going to college unprepared with the paragraph I chose. This was an explanation of Professor X’s earlier claim at how bad he felt for Ms. L for not understanding the material. At first he gives evidence why and how she did not understand the technology and then explains his theory on why Ms. L even went back to college so unprepared. Although he feels very bad for Ms. L he does not give in to rewarding her with a C because he respects his college, so he goes on to defend why he is not giving in to the pressures society put on students and teachers.
D. Personally: My gut reaction to this paragraph is I probably would have given Ms. L a passing grade. Although I didn’t read her essays my mom went to back to Western to finish her four year degree and I see how hard she worked through soccer practices, making lunch, getting my siblings to school, making dinner, making breakfast, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and then do her school work. Not saying my mom did as bad as Ms. L because she graduated but I just feel bad for Ms. L because it’s not her fault she was technologically behind and she probably had some sort of pressure to go back to school like my mom did. My mom’s work sort of forced her to go back to work because she is the Vice President of WECU yet she only had her AA, and more prestigious workers were obviously a sort of lower ranking than her in the workplace. But as I think about it more I value Professor X for remembering that it is his job to give a fair grade and that shows he respects his school and values.
Intellectually: This passage really brings up the fact that society is forcing people to go to college when they are not intellectually ready. Ms. L was obviously not capable of taking Professor X’s English class yet she was most likely forced into taking his class for her job, strive to have a better education, or need of a higher standing. A lot of people hold their education as a very personal aspect of their life. In society today education defines you, if two people are being interviewed for the same job and one has a master’s degree and the other has their AA degree hands down the person with the master’s degree is most likely going to be hired. Also people with a higher education seem to be respected more, if you’re a parent meeting your daughter’s boyfriend and he could either just graduated college with a master’s degree or dropped out of high school, the parents would obviously choose the boyfriend with the master’s because in society today that kid is going further in life. It is just plainly how our society is structured and is why teachers like Professor X have trouble sleeping because they have to fail unprepared students like Ms. L.
Rhetorically and Stylistically: This passage was definitely written with a lot of emotions. Professor X is pouring his heart out and admitting he had trouble sleeping that night because of a random woman in his class. Just reading this passage you can tell that this professor is not lying about his trouble sleep because one woman made him realize how society is strictly structured and forces people to need an education which ultimately causes him stress. Professor X also uses very descriptive words to explain his emotions like, “some of the failing grades I issue gnaw at me” and “she expected to be rewarded for it, not slapped down.” Professor X basically writes that society expects people like Ms. L to get an education and it is his responsibility as a teacher to make sure she prospers but when a student doesn’t understand the material he feels like he ultimately fails his job.
THIS IS A C?
Illiterate Mess Garners ‘Average’ Grade
Adjunct Says Student ‘Needed’ to Pass, ‘Tried Hard’
No, I would adhere to academic standards, and keep myself off the front page.
B. This paragraph sort of left me curious more than confused. The story of Ms. L really kept me attached to this article because I could see and understand how Ms. L was struggling and how Professor X was trying to help her, so I was curious to see if Professor X’s help would work. Yet I can introduce a new idea on sort of a confusing part when I first read this paragraph. Professor X says how he slept poorly that night when he gave Ms. L the F, but when I first read this paragraph I was wondering why he cared that she earned an F. He wasn’t being a mean teacher Ms. L just didn’t deserve the grade and that’s how all teacher should treat their students. Then I finished the article and understood Professor X’s more in depth analogy of how society believes if you go to college you will be successful. Ms. L “had done everything that American culture asked of her. She had gone back to school to better herself, and she expected to be rewarded for it, not slapped down.” This sentence makes a lot more sense now that Ms. L was just obeying what society requires yet her age held her back from meeting the requirements to pass an English 101 class.
C. This passage definitely connects to earlier paragraphs in this article, basically because it explains how society demanded that Ms. L go back to college although she wasn’t properly suited for it. Before Professor X just explains how poorly she understood the technology involved in the class but then expands why he thinks she is going to college unprepared with the paragraph I chose. This was an explanation of Professor X’s earlier claim at how bad he felt for Ms. L for not understanding the material. At first he gives evidence why and how she did not understand the technology and then explains his theory on why Ms. L even went back to college so unprepared. Although he feels very bad for Ms. L he does not give in to rewarding her with a C because he respects his college, so he goes on to defend why he is not giving in to the pressures society put on students and teachers.
D. Personally: My gut reaction to this paragraph is I probably would have given Ms. L a passing grade. Although I didn’t read her essays my mom went to back to Western to finish her four year degree and I see how hard she worked through soccer practices, making lunch, getting my siblings to school, making dinner, making breakfast, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and then do her school work. Not saying my mom did as bad as Ms. L because she graduated but I just feel bad for Ms. L because it’s not her fault she was technologically behind and she probably had some sort of pressure to go back to school like my mom did. My mom’s work sort of forced her to go back to work because she is the Vice President of WECU yet she only had her AA, and more prestigious workers were obviously a sort of lower ranking than her in the workplace. But as I think about it more I value Professor X for remembering that it is his job to give a fair grade and that shows he respects his school and values.
Intellectually: This passage really brings up the fact that society is forcing people to go to college when they are not intellectually ready. Ms. L was obviously not capable of taking Professor X’s English class yet she was most likely forced into taking his class for her job, strive to have a better education, or need of a higher standing. A lot of people hold their education as a very personal aspect of their life. In society today education defines you, if two people are being interviewed for the same job and one has a master’s degree and the other has their AA degree hands down the person with the master’s degree is most likely going to be hired. Also people with a higher education seem to be respected more, if you’re a parent meeting your daughter’s boyfriend and he could either just graduated college with a master’s degree or dropped out of high school, the parents would obviously choose the boyfriend with the master’s because in society today that kid is going further in life. It is just plainly how our society is structured and is why teachers like Professor X have trouble sleeping because they have to fail unprepared students like Ms. L.
Rhetorically and Stylistically: This passage was definitely written with a lot of emotions. Professor X is pouring his heart out and admitting he had trouble sleeping that night because of a random woman in his class. Just reading this passage you can tell that this professor is not lying about his trouble sleep because one woman made him realize how society is strictly structured and forces people to need an education which ultimately causes him stress. Professor X also uses very descriptive words to explain his emotions like, “some of the failing grades I issue gnaw at me” and “she expected to be rewarded for it, not slapped down.” Professor X basically writes that society expects people like Ms. L to get an education and it is his responsibility as a teacher to make sure she prospers but when a student doesn’t understand the material he feels like he ultimately fails his job.
Lindsay Brown-Response #5
“I knew that Ms. L.’s paper would fail. I knew it that first night in the library. But I couldn’t tell her that she wasn’t ready for an introductory English class. I wouldn’t be saving her from humiliation of defeat by a class she simply couldn’t handle. I’d be a sexist, ageist, intellectual snob
In her own mind, Ms. L. had triumphed over adversity. In her own mind, she was a feel-good segment on Oprah. Everyone wants to triumph. But not everyone can—in fact, most can’t. If they could, it wouldn’t be any kind of a triumph at all. Never would I want to cheapen the accomplishments of those who really have conquered college, who were able to get past their deficits and earn a diploma, maybe even climbing onto the college honor roll. That is truly something. ”
The interpretation that I got from this text was rather simple really. Professor X is telling a tale of one of his students that he had, who was just not set up to succeed in his class. Or for that matter he seems to imply not ready for college at all, or that she ever will be. Of course this is why he knows he would sound like an intellectual snob if he told her he didn’t think she was going to do well. Since she was an older woman she just didn’t have the skills with technology that we use today. She may not have been fit for this class, or college, or should have taken a tech class first, but who wants to tell someone they can’t?
The story of this student Ms. L. is a story that backs up his earlier stories of how he has many students that fail, one or more times. But the fact is, he can’t just tell them “no you will not be able to succeed ever.” Not only because it would hurt the students’ feelings but because in all honestly it would not reflect on him well. It could make him look like a “sexist, ageist, intellectual snob.” Along with him not telling people they aren’t going to do well, he has to give them the grade they deserve. How would it reflect on him if say it was--as he mentioned is a fear of his-- a news paper reporter, and he gave them a better grade then they deserved. His reputation could essentially just get bashed in the teaching community.
The reason that I chose the passage that I did to reflect upon was because his tone was rather hard to grasp in this article. I couldn’t tell if he felt bad, worried or if he was just stating the facts. It was interesting to me because he was explaining how he handled the situation and how he handles situations like it, yet he didn’t really say how he felt about it. The structure was basically “I did____” but there was no “I felt___” type of sentence or tone. It was a rather difficult passage to understand at first because I had a hard time just reading it and understanding his message. I really had to dissect it as I reread.
When I first read this part of the essay, I thought he sounded rather rude. Saying that she felt she had triumphed in her own mind, relating it to having an Oprah segment sounded rather unsympathetic, and almost had a teasing tone. After re reading it a couple times I’m realizing that all he is trying to say is college is not for everyone, or at least for everyone that is trying to return to school. Just as some jobs are not for everyone.
As I was thinking about this, and Ms. L.’s case in particular, I realized how big of an affect technology is having on all of this. As technology is developing more and more rapidly, including the amount we use it in school for our resources--sometimes our only one--and simply to get our education in general, people that are not in school and are coming, wanting, or hoping to return to school are falling more and more behind. The more out of date you are with technology the further behind you will be with school as well. I guess it really isn’t as simple as it seems to come back to school, and that in some cases technology really isn’t making getting an education any easier.
In her own mind, Ms. L. had triumphed over adversity. In her own mind, she was a feel-good segment on Oprah. Everyone wants to triumph. But not everyone can—in fact, most can’t. If they could, it wouldn’t be any kind of a triumph at all. Never would I want to cheapen the accomplishments of those who really have conquered college, who were able to get past their deficits and earn a diploma, maybe even climbing onto the college honor roll. That is truly something. ”
The interpretation that I got from this text was rather simple really. Professor X is telling a tale of one of his students that he had, who was just not set up to succeed in his class. Or for that matter he seems to imply not ready for college at all, or that she ever will be. Of course this is why he knows he would sound like an intellectual snob if he told her he didn’t think she was going to do well. Since she was an older woman she just didn’t have the skills with technology that we use today. She may not have been fit for this class, or college, or should have taken a tech class first, but who wants to tell someone they can’t?
The story of this student Ms. L. is a story that backs up his earlier stories of how he has many students that fail, one or more times. But the fact is, he can’t just tell them “no you will not be able to succeed ever.” Not only because it would hurt the students’ feelings but because in all honestly it would not reflect on him well. It could make him look like a “sexist, ageist, intellectual snob.” Along with him not telling people they aren’t going to do well, he has to give them the grade they deserve. How would it reflect on him if say it was--as he mentioned is a fear of his-- a news paper reporter, and he gave them a better grade then they deserved. His reputation could essentially just get bashed in the teaching community.
The reason that I chose the passage that I did to reflect upon was because his tone was rather hard to grasp in this article. I couldn’t tell if he felt bad, worried or if he was just stating the facts. It was interesting to me because he was explaining how he handled the situation and how he handles situations like it, yet he didn’t really say how he felt about it. The structure was basically “I did____” but there was no “I felt___” type of sentence or tone. It was a rather difficult passage to understand at first because I had a hard time just reading it and understanding his message. I really had to dissect it as I reread.
When I first read this part of the essay, I thought he sounded rather rude. Saying that she felt she had triumphed in her own mind, relating it to having an Oprah segment sounded rather unsympathetic, and almost had a teasing tone. After re reading it a couple times I’m realizing that all he is trying to say is college is not for everyone, or at least for everyone that is trying to return to school. Just as some jobs are not for everyone.
As I was thinking about this, and Ms. L.’s case in particular, I realized how big of an affect technology is having on all of this. As technology is developing more and more rapidly, including the amount we use it in school for our resources--sometimes our only one--and simply to get our education in general, people that are not in school and are coming, wanting, or hoping to return to school are falling more and more behind. The more out of date you are with technology the further behind you will be with school as well. I guess it really isn’t as simple as it seems to come back to school, and that in some cases technology really isn’t making getting an education any easier.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
“There is a sense that the American workforce needs to be more professional at every level. Many jobs that never before required college now call for at least some post-secondary course work. School custodians, those who run the boilers and spread synthetic sawdust on vomit, may not need college—but the people who supervise them, who decide which brand of synthetic sawdust to procure, probably do. There is a sense that our bank tellers should be college educated, and so should our medical-billing techs, and our child-welfare officers, and our sheriffs and federal marshals. We want the police officer who stops the car with the broken taillight to have a nodding acquaintance with great literature. And when all is said and done, my personal economic interest in booming college enrollments aside, I don’t think that’s such a boneheaded idea. Reading literature at the college level is a route to spacious thinking, to an acquaintance with certain profound ideas, that is of value to anyone. Will having read Invisible Man make a police officer less likely to indulge in racial profiling? Will a familiarity with Steinbeck make him more sympathetic to the plight of the poor, so that he might understand the lives of those who simply cannot get their taillights fixed? Will it benefit the correctional officer to have read The Autobiography of Malcolm X? The health-care worker Arrowsmith? Should the child-welfare officer read Plath’s “Daddy”? Such one-to-one correspondences probably don’t hold. But although I may be biased, being an English instructor and all, I can’t shake the sense that reading literature is informative and broadening and ultimately good for you. If I should fall ill, I suppose I would rather the hospital billing staff had read The Pickwick Papers, particularly the parts set in debtors’ prison. “
In today’s society there is a large demand for higher education, and training. It ranges from people in social work, managers or supervisors and even sheriffs and marshal’s. This is an idea that seems to be embraced by Dr. X. That literature could possibly spark deeper thought, and maybe put someone in the shoes of the ones who they are paid to help. It is easy for us to forget the situations that arise in one’s personal existence. That some people really can’t afford to get that tail light fixed, and schooling could remind the officers that pull them over of these similar situations that could happen in their own lives. The people that have our lives in their hands should be sensitive to the personal situation and the individual. Reading literature and feeling as if they could see themselves in that person’s situation may give them more perspective and insight on their lives. Ultimately causing them to do a better job and making the people they are helping feel more comfortable and excepted.
It relates to the text and the overall idea of the paper by expressing his personal opinion that education can better someone’s life. Although he explains the troubles and triumphs alike throughout the article in this paragraph he shows how the literature may actually make a difference in America. That although many people may never pass that class or get a degree, they can still take a piece of knowledge and apply to their life in even the smallest way. We all deserve a good education whether we get it or not and the increase in demand may be a good thing.
As I read through this passage I felt that I understood what he was trying to say, an education can motivate a decision. That someone understanding a piece of literature may increase a deeper understanding for all human emotion. It’s easy to feel that you’re the only that feels the way you do, and relating and reading a piece of literature can make you understand that most of us are similar in more ways that we know. In my personal life I know there has been many times I have read something or heard a song that made me feel like someone else understood the way I felt even in that moment. If you can relate to the ones you work with, for, or that work for you then it would be for a much understanding and comfortable situation.
This passage makes me think about how many people, I have known or know now that have no education. Some people really aren’t made for college and I know this, but many don’t realize that highschool is not even close to it. I’m sure most that never go assume that is almost exactly like it, when in reality it is almost opposite. If our public schools taught our students how to think for themselves and that deep thought and questioning authority was okay to do, then many more of my friends would have graduated. In our world today, it seems that we are numb to other’s plights and just want to move on to the next thing. There is no passion in careers, its simply for a paycheck and that’s it.
These piece seems to be written almost as a conversation with the reader, he explains himself very well and gives quotes and situations out of his own life. The tone shows his subtle honesty that he truly believes education is necessary to those of all different career choices. He expresses his idea and backs it up with many examples that you can imagine in everyday life, like the cop that can try and relate to the poor man during a routine stop of a broken tail light.
In today’s society there is a large demand for higher education, and training. It ranges from people in social work, managers or supervisors and even sheriffs and marshal’s. This is an idea that seems to be embraced by Dr. X. That literature could possibly spark deeper thought, and maybe put someone in the shoes of the ones who they are paid to help. It is easy for us to forget the situations that arise in one’s personal existence. That some people really can’t afford to get that tail light fixed, and schooling could remind the officers that pull them over of these similar situations that could happen in their own lives. The people that have our lives in their hands should be sensitive to the personal situation and the individual. Reading literature and feeling as if they could see themselves in that person’s situation may give them more perspective and insight on their lives. Ultimately causing them to do a better job and making the people they are helping feel more comfortable and excepted.
It relates to the text and the overall idea of the paper by expressing his personal opinion that education can better someone’s life. Although he explains the troubles and triumphs alike throughout the article in this paragraph he shows how the literature may actually make a difference in America. That although many people may never pass that class or get a degree, they can still take a piece of knowledge and apply to their life in even the smallest way. We all deserve a good education whether we get it or not and the increase in demand may be a good thing.
As I read through this passage I felt that I understood what he was trying to say, an education can motivate a decision. That someone understanding a piece of literature may increase a deeper understanding for all human emotion. It’s easy to feel that you’re the only that feels the way you do, and relating and reading a piece of literature can make you understand that most of us are similar in more ways that we know. In my personal life I know there has been many times I have read something or heard a song that made me feel like someone else understood the way I felt even in that moment. If you can relate to the ones you work with, for, or that work for you then it would be for a much understanding and comfortable situation.
This passage makes me think about how many people, I have known or know now that have no education. Some people really aren’t made for college and I know this, but many don’t realize that highschool is not even close to it. I’m sure most that never go assume that is almost exactly like it, when in reality it is almost opposite. If our public schools taught our students how to think for themselves and that deep thought and questioning authority was okay to do, then many more of my friends would have graduated. In our world today, it seems that we are numb to other’s plights and just want to move on to the next thing. There is no passion in careers, its simply for a paycheck and that’s it.
These piece seems to be written almost as a conversation with the reader, he explains himself very well and gives quotes and situations out of his own life. The tone shows his subtle honesty that he truly believes education is necessary to those of all different career choices. He expresses his idea and backs it up with many examples that you can imagine in everyday life, like the cop that can try and relate to the poor man during a routine stop of a broken tail light.
Reading Response 5
Cora
“I work at colleges of last resort. For many of my students, college was not a goal they spent years preparing for, but a place they landed in. Those I teach don’t come up in the debates about adolescent overachievers and cutthroat college admissions. Mine are the students whose applications show indifferent grades and have blank spaces where the extracurricular activities would go. They chose their college based not on the U.S. News & World Report rankings but on MapQuest; in their ideal academic geometry, college is located at a convenient spot between work and home. I can relate, for it was exactly this line of thinking that dictated where I sent my teaching résumé.”
While reading this article, I never felt too confused about what I was looking at. I felt like instead it would be better for me to choose something that had an effect on me and I could relate to on a specific level. During my years of high school, I had my ups and downs. At one point, I found myself hanging out with the wrong people and saw my grades begin to slip. I was in a rut like this for quite a while and it was hard to get out of because I had absolutely no motivation at all. I had no long term goals in mind and no inspiration to do well. My grades were a great reflection of my attitude; horrible and mostly Cs and Ds. I would do the least possible to pass the class and nothing more because that required work on my part. I began to somewhat approve due to switching friends, but when my dad committed suicide during my junior year of high school, I fell victim to that rut once again. After a few months, I began to realize that this wasn’t the young lady that my dad would have wanted me to be. While he was alive, he had only seen me getting worse and worse and just thinking of that made me feel so ashamed of myself. I wanted to change for him and me both. I started to pay attention to everything my teachers were saying and did all of my work that was assigned to me. I found our very quickly that school is easy when I put in the effort to do well. I then went from a usual GPA of 2.5 per semester to an average of 3.8. There was still no way that a university would accept me though, so community college was the right step for me in my life. It would give me the opportunity to start off on the right foot and show them that I am capable of being one of the perfect “students” that universities are looking for.
This article has helped reinforce the whole idea that seeking further education after high school is crucial to people’s overall success throughout their lives. Since the day we enter public schooling, it seems like they try to plant the seed of college into our brains. In grade school they want to get our imaginations going by asking us what career we are currently interested in pursuing. Most kids will answer with things like astronaut, doctor, fire fighter and police officer because these are the symbols of our “perfect society.” These careers seem to be the ones our kids look up to and we all know that you can’t be someone like this without years in college. So just by having these jobs as symbols, we are making our kids realize that you can’t be anyone important without secondary schooling. As we go on through middle school and high school, the force to go to college becomes more and more. We are always being rushed to figure out what we want to do so we can find the perfect schooling for our particular goals. Some choose universities due to the prestige that comes along with this type of education, but some choose community college because of the convenience of it. It is cheap, diverse, local and effective. People that just want a professional/technical degree don’t have to spend four years getting it with tuition costs at almost $20,000. It is a great way for people to start off on a new foot. Community college is great for people from all walks of life and most career goals.
“I work at colleges of last resort. For many of my students, college was not a goal they spent years preparing for, but a place they landed in. Those I teach don’t come up in the debates about adolescent overachievers and cutthroat college admissions. Mine are the students whose applications show indifferent grades and have blank spaces where the extracurricular activities would go. They chose their college based not on the U.S. News & World Report rankings but on MapQuest; in their ideal academic geometry, college is located at a convenient spot between work and home. I can relate, for it was exactly this line of thinking that dictated where I sent my teaching résumé.”
While reading this article, I never felt too confused about what I was looking at. I felt like instead it would be better for me to choose something that had an effect on me and I could relate to on a specific level. During my years of high school, I had my ups and downs. At one point, I found myself hanging out with the wrong people and saw my grades begin to slip. I was in a rut like this for quite a while and it was hard to get out of because I had absolutely no motivation at all. I had no long term goals in mind and no inspiration to do well. My grades were a great reflection of my attitude; horrible and mostly Cs and Ds. I would do the least possible to pass the class and nothing more because that required work on my part. I began to somewhat approve due to switching friends, but when my dad committed suicide during my junior year of high school, I fell victim to that rut once again. After a few months, I began to realize that this wasn’t the young lady that my dad would have wanted me to be. While he was alive, he had only seen me getting worse and worse and just thinking of that made me feel so ashamed of myself. I wanted to change for him and me both. I started to pay attention to everything my teachers were saying and did all of my work that was assigned to me. I found our very quickly that school is easy when I put in the effort to do well. I then went from a usual GPA of 2.5 per semester to an average of 3.8. There was still no way that a university would accept me though, so community college was the right step for me in my life. It would give me the opportunity to start off on the right foot and show them that I am capable of being one of the perfect “students” that universities are looking for.
This article has helped reinforce the whole idea that seeking further education after high school is crucial to people’s overall success throughout their lives. Since the day we enter public schooling, it seems like they try to plant the seed of college into our brains. In grade school they want to get our imaginations going by asking us what career we are currently interested in pursuing. Most kids will answer with things like astronaut, doctor, fire fighter and police officer because these are the symbols of our “perfect society.” These careers seem to be the ones our kids look up to and we all know that you can’t be someone like this without years in college. So just by having these jobs as symbols, we are making our kids realize that you can’t be anyone important without secondary schooling. As we go on through middle school and high school, the force to go to college becomes more and more. We are always being rushed to figure out what we want to do so we can find the perfect schooling for our particular goals. Some choose universities due to the prestige that comes along with this type of education, but some choose community college because of the convenience of it. It is cheap, diverse, local and effective. People that just want a professional/technical degree don’t have to spend four years getting it with tuition costs at almost $20,000. It is a great way for people to start off on a new foot. Community college is great for people from all walks of life and most career goals.
response #5
“I wonder, sometimes, at the conclusion of a course, when I fail nine out of 15 students, whether the college will send me a note either (1) informing me of a serious bottleneck in the march toward commencement and demanding that I pass more students, or (2) commending me on my fiscal ingenuity—my high failure rate forces students to pay for classes two or three times over.”
I feel as if there is no part in this essay that drew me to a blank so I chose a passage that I felt reflected on how I thought about Professor X. To read that Professor X fails 9 out of 15 students is absolutely appalling to me because I would refuse to take his class. Because the statistics that he says about his teaching style, I wouldn’t want to take the risk. Coming from being a student with a 3.8 GPA, grades are one of my top priorities and I will do anything it takes to earn a grade I want. With Professor X, it seems like he sets up his students for failure. Since he seems like he has such a sour attitude about teaching in this essay, it makes the feel throughout the essay head south. By having him say that some students will never pass his class makes me think that he isn’t a very good teacher. I want a teacher that is willing to work with me and help me get better instead of one that just assumes that I’m not going to understand the concept and have a “why bother” mood towards me. If I were the boss of professor X worked at, I would question him and rotationally fire him because he’s apparently not doing a well enough job teaching his students. People pay good money to go to college and they deserve the resource of getting help so they can pass there classes to get a good job. That’s how I see running start and high school. Even though I know that I’m probably never going to need to know how to dissect a frog or how to find the square root of 342 in my head, I understand that that’s what it takes for me to earn a good grade, expand my knowledge, get scholarships, get into a good college, and get a job. I feel as if X doesn’t see that his class can effect the students whole future. I bet he’s had students be highly confused on why he or she failed his class and I doubt he had a good reasonable excuse. By reading this essay, it seems to be saying that college is not for everyone so Professor X tries to figure out who it isn’t cut out for. By having him make all of his rules and seeing that students don’t want to be there makes him feels the need to fail them.
My gut reaction after reading this article was the X is kind of an ass. Knowing that he thinks all college students don’t want to be there, makes me want to tell him that lots of people do care and do want to get something out of his class. For example, this class( English 100) I’m not taking just to get the grade, I’m taking it to become a better writer. Having him predict how the semester is going to layout, shows how he treats the classes all the same. It makes me think how science teachers want there students to learn by doing experiments so the teachers don’t give exact answers. The study behind this is that if a person logically figures something out instead of just having people tell them an answer, they will learn better. I feel like X is trying to use this method in a way by observing that some kids don’t want to take up the challenge, but others are willing to do so. This makes me question if some of my teachers do this to me. Having them look in the past and seeing that I’ve had very successful years in the past, are they grading me harder or easier? It would make sense for both because if they graded me harder, it would be because they want to push my learning, but if they were to grade me easier, it would be because they might assume that I tried my best. Professor X seems to have to high of standards for his students and maybe he should reconsider lowering them.
I feel as if there is no part in this essay that drew me to a blank so I chose a passage that I felt reflected on how I thought about Professor X. To read that Professor X fails 9 out of 15 students is absolutely appalling to me because I would refuse to take his class. Because the statistics that he says about his teaching style, I wouldn’t want to take the risk. Coming from being a student with a 3.8 GPA, grades are one of my top priorities and I will do anything it takes to earn a grade I want. With Professor X, it seems like he sets up his students for failure. Since he seems like he has such a sour attitude about teaching in this essay, it makes the feel throughout the essay head south. By having him say that some students will never pass his class makes me think that he isn’t a very good teacher. I want a teacher that is willing to work with me and help me get better instead of one that just assumes that I’m not going to understand the concept and have a “why bother” mood towards me. If I were the boss of professor X worked at, I would question him and rotationally fire him because he’s apparently not doing a well enough job teaching his students. People pay good money to go to college and they deserve the resource of getting help so they can pass there classes to get a good job. That’s how I see running start and high school. Even though I know that I’m probably never going to need to know how to dissect a frog or how to find the square root of 342 in my head, I understand that that’s what it takes for me to earn a good grade, expand my knowledge, get scholarships, get into a good college, and get a job. I feel as if X doesn’t see that his class can effect the students whole future. I bet he’s had students be highly confused on why he or she failed his class and I doubt he had a good reasonable excuse. By reading this essay, it seems to be saying that college is not for everyone so Professor X tries to figure out who it isn’t cut out for. By having him make all of his rules and seeing that students don’t want to be there makes him feels the need to fail them.
My gut reaction after reading this article was the X is kind of an ass. Knowing that he thinks all college students don’t want to be there, makes me want to tell him that lots of people do care and do want to get something out of his class. For example, this class( English 100) I’m not taking just to get the grade, I’m taking it to become a better writer. Having him predict how the semester is going to layout, shows how he treats the classes all the same. It makes me think how science teachers want there students to learn by doing experiments so the teachers don’t give exact answers. The study behind this is that if a person logically figures something out instead of just having people tell them an answer, they will learn better. I feel like X is trying to use this method in a way by observing that some kids don’t want to take up the challenge, but others are willing to do so. This makes me question if some of my teachers do this to me. Having them look in the past and seeing that I’ve had very successful years in the past, are they grading me harder or easier? It would make sense for both because if they graded me harder, it would be because they want to push my learning, but if they were to grade me easier, it would be because they might assume that I tried my best. Professor X seems to have to high of standards for his students and maybe he should reconsider lowering them.
Reading Response #5: Professor X
Caity Chutuk
“In each of my courses, we discuss thesis statements and topic sentences, the need for precision in vocabulary, why economy of language is desirable, what constitutes a compelling subject. I explain, I give examples, I cheerlead, I cajole, but each evening, when the class is over and I come down from my teaching high, I inevitably lose faith in the task, as I’m sure my students do. I envision the lot of us driving home, solitary scholars in our cars, growing sadder by the mile.”
When I first read this paragraph in Professor X’s “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower,” it was just another part of the article, but as I progressed in his writing, this paragraph stayed with me throughout the whole reading and continues to make me think. I feel like his closing sentence stating that both him and his students lose faith in the task assigned is an experience I’ve had many times before. When a teacher is explaining a task to me, sometimes I feel really excited to write the essay or learn more about the science experiment. I begin to think of different ways to do the assignment and other assignments that could branch off of the original assignment, excited for what I’m about to learn. But later, other thoughts come to mind and like Professor X and his students, I come down from my learning high. X’s words outlined, for me, the truths behind the classroom door that I feel aren’t recognized often enough.
When reading this excerpt, my original thoughts expanded in many directions, but eventually turned into possible solutions for the lack of faith. My first reaction was that X was exuding a lot of unnecessary effort with his students; knowing at the time of assignment which students would pass and which he would see again in another quarter. As I read on, the thought expanded further, thinking that perhaps X shouldn’t have to be so motivating, that those ready and willing for college would produce quality work as per his request. Ending the article left me with the thought that in order for X’s students produce quality, college level, work, X himself must have faith in the tasks he assigns, and must relay that faith and excitement to his students. Weather that means finding an article that they can all read and relate to, on elaborating more on The Wizard of Oz, the only way to get a student to produce their highest quality of work is for the instructor to do the same. However, these are only my solutions and when coming to the end of his article, I was curious, what will X do to keep the faith of him and his students? How do I stay interested in topics I don’t care to learn about? Do other professors double guess themselves and their teaching abilities? How will students get the education and schooling that they need if teachers don’t believe in what they are teaching? And if they don’t believe in what they’re teaching, why do they expect students to believe it, and how will it help the ‘next generation’?
X sets the stage of this passage with how hard he tried to motivate the students into working harder, how much he tried to persuade them, and how much he cheered them on, leaving readers with a sense of how hard X is working to keep his students interested in his subject. He then moves on to say that like his students, he loses interest in his assignments and can picture them all saddened by the tasks at hand, which left me wondering how he expects his students to pass his course if not even he himself can stay motivated in his subject. X’s tone in this passage is sad and sounds as if he is giving up. Stating that he tried motivation, and he tried cheering his students on, only to receive little interest seems to be disappointing to X and in turn takes away his faith in the tasks he assigns his students. I feel that in order for him to regain his faith in the tasks he assigns, he must be assigning tasks worth having faith in.
“In each of my courses, we discuss thesis statements and topic sentences, the need for precision in vocabulary, why economy of language is desirable, what constitutes a compelling subject. I explain, I give examples, I cheerlead, I cajole, but each evening, when the class is over and I come down from my teaching high, I inevitably lose faith in the task, as I’m sure my students do. I envision the lot of us driving home, solitary scholars in our cars, growing sadder by the mile.”
When I first read this paragraph in Professor X’s “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower,” it was just another part of the article, but as I progressed in his writing, this paragraph stayed with me throughout the whole reading and continues to make me think. I feel like his closing sentence stating that both him and his students lose faith in the task assigned is an experience I’ve had many times before. When a teacher is explaining a task to me, sometimes I feel really excited to write the essay or learn more about the science experiment. I begin to think of different ways to do the assignment and other assignments that could branch off of the original assignment, excited for what I’m about to learn. But later, other thoughts come to mind and like Professor X and his students, I come down from my learning high. X’s words outlined, for me, the truths behind the classroom door that I feel aren’t recognized often enough.
When reading this excerpt, my original thoughts expanded in many directions, but eventually turned into possible solutions for the lack of faith. My first reaction was that X was exuding a lot of unnecessary effort with his students; knowing at the time of assignment which students would pass and which he would see again in another quarter. As I read on, the thought expanded further, thinking that perhaps X shouldn’t have to be so motivating, that those ready and willing for college would produce quality work as per his request. Ending the article left me with the thought that in order for X’s students produce quality, college level, work, X himself must have faith in the tasks he assigns, and must relay that faith and excitement to his students. Weather that means finding an article that they can all read and relate to, on elaborating more on The Wizard of Oz, the only way to get a student to produce their highest quality of work is for the instructor to do the same. However, these are only my solutions and when coming to the end of his article, I was curious, what will X do to keep the faith of him and his students? How do I stay interested in topics I don’t care to learn about? Do other professors double guess themselves and their teaching abilities? How will students get the education and schooling that they need if teachers don’t believe in what they are teaching? And if they don’t believe in what they’re teaching, why do they expect students to believe it, and how will it help the ‘next generation’?
X sets the stage of this passage with how hard he tried to motivate the students into working harder, how much he tried to persuade them, and how much he cheered them on, leaving readers with a sense of how hard X is working to keep his students interested in his subject. He then moves on to say that like his students, he loses interest in his assignments and can picture them all saddened by the tasks at hand, which left me wondering how he expects his students to pass his course if not even he himself can stay motivated in his subject. X’s tone in this passage is sad and sounds as if he is giving up. Stating that he tried motivation, and he tried cheering his students on, only to receive little interest seems to be disappointing to X and in turn takes away his faith in the tasks he assigns his students. I feel that in order for him to regain his faith in the tasks he assigns, he must be assigning tasks worth having faith in.
Tristan
“What actually happens is that nothing happens. I feel no pressure from the colleges in either direction. My department chairpersons, on those rare occasions when I see them, are friendly, even warm. They don’t mention all those students who have failed my courses, and I don’t bring them up. There seems, as is often the case in colleges, to be a huge gulf between academia and reality. No one is thinking about the larger implications, let alone the morality, of admitting so many students to classes they cannot possibly pass. The colleges and the students and I are bobbing up and down in a great wave of societal forces—social optimism on a large scale, the sense of college as both a universal right and a need, financial necessity on the part of the colleges and the students alike, the desire to maintain high academic standards while admitting marginal students—that have coalesced into a mini-tsunami of difficulty. No one has drawn up the flowchart and seen that, although more-widespread college admission is a bonanza for the colleges and nice for the students and makes the entire United States of America feel rather pleased with itself, there is one point of irreconcilable conflict in the system, and that is the moment when the adjunct instructor, who by the nature of his job teaches the worst students, must ink the F on that first writing assignment.”
In this paragraph that I chose Professor X is discusses how colleges do not care what happens to a student in their classes. He implies that he himself does feel remorse for his many students who repeatedly fail his class but it is never brought up in any school board meetings. He says that other teachers and board of staff ignore the fact completely, never coming to discuss the vast amount of kids who are failing classes and chose to not go to school. X explains how the society we live in sets a high standard on our era attending college even if it is not wanted by the student, most jobs require it. In an earlier paragraph X talks about the kids in his class that want to be cops, or need schooling to obtain a raise or to move up in their company. When these are needed and we are paying money to go to school X displays that he thinks higher expectations should be placed on students.
This passage relates to the other ideas in the text because like I said earlier, X thinks that a higher emphasis should be placed on students. He states earlier that students come for a variety of reasons and need these credits for legitimate reasons. X thinks that college English is the hardest class to grade because it is not simple answers or multiple choice, he is grading someone’s hard work. When bringing Ms. L into his writing he explains how she was so proud of herself for writing a college paper at the age of 40, even though she received an F on the paper. Later he refers to her again while talking about how college has become so focused on using the internet as a teaching source that students who have never used a computer struggle immensely with school. Again this brings us back to how X thinks students should receive more support to pass their classes.
When I read this paper I react with complete acceptance. I can fully understand why an adult or a kid who rarely uses the internet and/or relies upon support could fail classes. While trying to set up my classes I had to come into the open counseling where you had to wait and one or two counselors helped multiple students with a ratio that should be unacceptable. While attempting to decide what classes I needed and wanted I received no support at all accept for a sheet giving requirements to gain your AA. I thought this was extremely annoying and made me not want to attend the school at all. This passage makes me think of this exact moment and how other people have had reactions just like mine.
As far as intellectual thoughts on this paper I do not have many. I wonder how a teacher or counselor can see students struggling and not offer help or support to get their grades back up. It is not morally correct to want students to fail classes just so they can make more money on the tuition fees to take the class again. Our world has become so corrupt that thing like this are extremely common, and I want to know when someone is going to step up and make a difference. If I was in a university and paying 20 thousand dollars a year for school and I started failing a class I would hope to have a counselor or teacher step in and offer to help.
While reading this paragraph I sense some remorse in X’s writing, it is almost like he regrets not bringing up the topic of all the failing kids to the board but he knows it would not be productive at all because they would just ignore it. His tone did not change much but you can see this change from the style of writing he uses and his language used.
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