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.
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