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Essay #4: Roles on Campus
Assignment #4: Roles on Campus
Rough draft due: April 29, 2009
Length: 3 pages (~1,000 words)
Background:
We've discussed the essays of Mark Edmundson and bell hooks in class. One theme that can be taken from these readings is the role of professor and student in today's classroom. Edmundson feels that today's students are consumers and "shop" for a college just like we might shop for a camera at Best Buy. He says this is a frightening trend because of the expectations the consumerist ethos creates for teachers, colleges, and academic standards. Teachers, he says, should not be entertainers.
bell hooks, however, talks about "engaged pedagogy," classroom as community, holistic instruction, and the responsibility of teachers to "engage" students.
These are just two examples of writers that discuss roles of teachers and students.
Assignment Task:
For this assignment you have two options. You may:
1. Describe and define the ideal role of the professor in today's collegiate classrooms while analyzing the effects of this role on individual students and the classroom dynamic. Should the professor be more like a sales associate or dictator? Should teachers exist to serve or to challenge? How do classrooms differ today from forty years ago? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why? What specific features of pedagogy should a teacher be aware of? You should also take into consideration the purpose and theory behind college educations, as well as the function of a degree and what it's supposed to certify. Your paper will have implications about these issues.
If you choose this option, you will essentially be talking about the responsibilities of the collegiate professor, and you will have to imagine the issues as if you were looking at them from a professor's standpoint. Therefore, you will not write something along the lines of, "I am a student who doesn't like long papers, and therefore the teacher shouldn't assign them." Although, this doesn't mean you are only considering the issue from the teacher's point of view; your paper should take into consideration the viewpoints of both student and teacher.
You might want to discuss Edmundson's ideas of consumerism, or hooks' ideas of holistic pedagogy. Or, you might find other writers who offer more attractive arguments. In any case, you should draw not only on the experiences of you or your peers, but also on those of researchers, writers, and ideally, professors.
OR
2. Describe and define the ideal role of the student in today's collegiate classrooms while analyzing the effects of this role on the individual and the classroom. Should the student be more like a consumer or a slave? Should students be served or challenged? How do expectations of students differ today from forty years ago? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why? What kinds of attitudes should students have in the classroom? Should they be free to do as they please while the teacher is lecturing? You should also take into consideration the purpose and theory behind college educations, as well as the function of a degree and what it's supposed to certify. Your paper will have implications about these issues.
If you choose this option, you will essentially be talking about the responsibilities of college students in the classroom, and you will be examining the issue from a student's standpoint. Although, this doesn't mean you are only considering the issue from the student's point of view. Your paper should take into consideration the viewpoints of both student and teacher.
You might want to discuss Edmundson's ideas of consumerism, or hooks' ideas of holistic pedagogy. Or, you might find other writers who offer more attractive solutions. In any case, you should draw not only on the experiences of you or your peers, but also on those of researchers, writers, and professors.
Assignment Expectations:
-Stay on task. Do not discuss the effects of these changes on society. The assignment is to discuss the effects of these changes on the individual. Also, do not discuss changes in things other than social norms.
-Be specific. Give examples.
-Have a strong, clear thesis, and be sure that all of your paragraphs are unified and relate to your thesis.
-Have a logical, well-organized structure with a strong introduction and conclusion.
Audience:
If you are choosing option #1, you are writing to other teachers. If you are choosing option #2, you are writing to other students. Be sure to make clear your audience.
Research:
For this assignment, you need to draw on at least three external sources and cite them formally or informally; it's up to you. Only one source from our text can count toward these three sources (on pages 275-376 in your text there are a series of essays related to this topic).
For the other sources, I recommend using Academic Search Premier. Note: You cannot use any source you've already used for this class. You also need to draw on your own experience or those of your peers' at least once in the paper.
Rough draft due: April 29, 2009
Length: 3 pages (~1,000 words)
Background:
We've discussed the essays of Mark Edmundson and bell hooks in class. One theme that can be taken from these readings is the role of professor and student in today's classroom. Edmundson feels that today's students are consumers and "shop" for a college just like we might shop for a camera at Best Buy. He says this is a frightening trend because of the expectations the consumerist ethos creates for teachers, colleges, and academic standards. Teachers, he says, should not be entertainers.
bell hooks, however, talks about "engaged pedagogy," classroom as community, holistic instruction, and the responsibility of teachers to "engage" students.
These are just two examples of writers that discuss roles of teachers and students.
Assignment Task:
For this assignment you have two options. You may:
1. Describe and define the ideal role of the professor in today's collegiate classrooms while analyzing the effects of this role on individual students and the classroom dynamic. Should the professor be more like a sales associate or dictator? Should teachers exist to serve or to challenge? How do classrooms differ today from forty years ago? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why? What specific features of pedagogy should a teacher be aware of? You should also take into consideration the purpose and theory behind college educations, as well as the function of a degree and what it's supposed to certify. Your paper will have implications about these issues.
If you choose this option, you will essentially be talking about the responsibilities of the collegiate professor, and you will have to imagine the issues as if you were looking at them from a professor's standpoint. Therefore, you will not write something along the lines of, "I am a student who doesn't like long papers, and therefore the teacher shouldn't assign them." Although, this doesn't mean you are only considering the issue from the teacher's point of view; your paper should take into consideration the viewpoints of both student and teacher.
You might want to discuss Edmundson's ideas of consumerism, or hooks' ideas of holistic pedagogy. Or, you might find other writers who offer more attractive arguments. In any case, you should draw not only on the experiences of you or your peers, but also on those of researchers, writers, and ideally, professors.
OR
2. Describe and define the ideal role of the student in today's collegiate classrooms while analyzing the effects of this role on the individual and the classroom. Should the student be more like a consumer or a slave? Should students be served or challenged? How do expectations of students differ today from forty years ago? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why? What kinds of attitudes should students have in the classroom? Should they be free to do as they please while the teacher is lecturing? You should also take into consideration the purpose and theory behind college educations, as well as the function of a degree and what it's supposed to certify. Your paper will have implications about these issues.
If you choose this option, you will essentially be talking about the responsibilities of college students in the classroom, and you will be examining the issue from a student's standpoint. Although, this doesn't mean you are only considering the issue from the student's point of view. Your paper should take into consideration the viewpoints of both student and teacher.
You might want to discuss Edmundson's ideas of consumerism, or hooks' ideas of holistic pedagogy. Or, you might find other writers who offer more attractive solutions. In any case, you should draw not only on the experiences of you or your peers, but also on those of researchers, writers, and professors.
Assignment Expectations:
-Stay on task. Do not discuss the effects of these changes on society. The assignment is to discuss the effects of these changes on the individual. Also, do not discuss changes in things other than social norms.
-Be specific. Give examples.
-Have a strong, clear thesis, and be sure that all of your paragraphs are unified and relate to your thesis.
-Have a logical, well-organized structure with a strong introduction and conclusion.
Audience:
If you are choosing option #1, you are writing to other teachers. If you are choosing option #2, you are writing to other students. Be sure to make clear your audience.
Research:
For this assignment, you need to draw on at least three external sources and cite them formally or informally; it's up to you. Only one source from our text can count toward these three sources (on pages 275-376 in your text there are a series of essays related to this topic).
For the other sources, I recommend using Academic Search Premier. Note: You cannot use any source you've already used for this class. You also need to draw on your own experience or those of your peers' at least once in the paper.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009.
Switch papers with one of your peers. Answer these questions:
1) Thesis--good? why? not? why?
2) Find two parts that need transitions and rewrite them with transitions.
3) Make a brief outline of the paper. Which ideas need more development? Which are irrelevant?
4) Is the conclusion effective? Why or why not? Rewrite it with your changes.
5) Is the introduction effective? Why or why not? Rewrite it with your changes.
1) Thesis--good? why? not? why?
2) Find two parts that need transitions and rewrite them with transitions.
3) Make a brief outline of the paper. Which ideas need more development? Which are irrelevant?
4) Is the conclusion effective? Why or why not? Rewrite it with your changes.
5) Is the introduction effective? Why or why not? Rewrite it with your changes.
Monday, April 13, 2009
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