We’ll use Perusall to annotate and read together. Bartholomehhhhh
This really long and boring article really made me want to sleep..
No but really, it had a lot of good points that I agree with. “Inventing the University” is an accurate representation of what university professors expect of their students. For example, when taking a class that isn’t in your major but the professor is expecting you to write how an expert in that field would write, it becomes exhausting and the student doesn’t really learn anything. Google is usually my bestfriend when I’m writing a paper for a GE class and I don’t care to understand what I’m reading and writing because I’m just looking to write the way that the professor wants.
Personally, I used to have more difficulty with writing when I was in high school than I do now. I had just learned English and writing papers was definitely not my expertise. Sometimes, even though I understood the material, I couldn’t put words onto paper. In 9th grade, I was taking a Biology class, and I understood most of what I’m being taught, I just didn’t know how to write a paper, probably because I had never written a paper at the time; it was my second year in the US. Instead of helping me with the biology material, my teacher asked the administration to put me in an ESL class “because I don’t understand what I’m being told.”
I didn’t care about being in ESL but the laziness in helping students understand the material baffles my mind.
I’ve learned to change my voice/tone according to the subject I’m talking about and/or the professor. It’s very important to know what the professor wants and get to that point BY using your own voice and not using the professor’s voice. If that makes sense.
One Reply to “Bartholomehhhhh”
I agree with the points you make. Most of the time students will just try and mimic the diction of their professor or of the field. This is great, but if someone is only mimicking diction and not understanding content then you don’t really get anywhere. To me, one of the biggest indicators that a student truly understands or comprehended the material is if the can speak about it in their own words, with their own voice. So it’s important to encourage students to write with their own voice and find a balance between that and sounding professional.