Dear Liberal Arts-
The College Problem.
To Universities in the United State et al-
- ) Why are English Literature and Writing taught together? As in, what does an English degree mean? Does it mean (a) the individual is accomplished in conveying thought and narrative through writing? Or (b) the individal is well read in ‘English’ literature?
The ability to write well has very little to do with a thorough knowledge of English literature. Conversely the ability to read deeply, think complexy, and grabble with literary themes has zero bearance on a person’s writing skill.
Example: Ira Glass thinks Shakespheare is rubbish; most English Professors can’t write for shit. (Ask them what they’ve published — mostly unreadable.)
There needs to be a distintion between degrees in English Literature and degrees in writing narrative. Either have students read English literature — or write. Don’t have them write about English literature. That is the worst of both worlds.
2.). Trivial work
What is with all the busy work? For $2500 a class there should be some portfolio building. Outside Design classes, and particulary in the Liberal Arts, most work assinged is trivial. Tell me, besides fufilling a grade for a specific class, what good are these inane tests and papers?
If an ‘English’ or ‘Coms’, or ‘Poly Sci’ class is going to assign a paper — it should only be done so that the end product can also be published or utilized outside the classroom. The student is paying a lot money for this class — make it worthwhile.
But this is never done. (At least that I know of.)
Instead, Liberal Arts students depart with a degree in one hand and nothing in the other. No portfolio. No useful writing assignments. No class projects that can be used as examples toward their professional life.
A great product is developed by making it, and then iterating on it over — and over again, until something of value is created. But many college classes are structured so that a teacher gives an assigment. A student completes it. A teacher grades it. And then the teacher moves on to a completely different assignment. WHAT.
This (1) hardly allows students to develop a skill, and (2) translates to the outside world none at all.*
*Unless your career is digging ditches repeately.
3. Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)
Also on the subject of money, please explain why a 3 credit hour class cost $2500, when it is being taught by a person paid $10/hr?
Especially when these people, have on average zero teaching or training experience, are usually only 3 years older than the ungrad themselves, and normally there only to further his or her own career.
I know the new Student Recretional Bonanza Center cost a pretty penny but what kind of system is this? Do you know what image shows up when you type academia in the Google search bar?
Anyway — $2000 x 20 students= $40,000. Ergo let’s pay he or she (GTA) $10/hr.
I smell a rat.
4.)Professors.
Why does the professor say ‘uhm…” and mumble all the time during lecture and have an inability to empathize with his students?
Is it becuase your institution does all its promoting and hiring toward professorship based on publication rather than teaching ability? Do you use this system of promoting and hiring based on publication instead of teaching, becuase it’s easy gauge the numbers and see how your university compare to others? Therefore, hopefully rank higher than other universities in trivial university ranking programs to therefore justify charging even more tuition money?
I think it does…
It should be: “Publish and the students perish.”
5.) Free market. Why do I hear so much about ‘free-markets’?
“The United States promotes free-markets.”
Are free markets good? If so, why do I know so many free market advocates that want tenure?
8.) #Social Media. Why do you create social media accounts if you don’t hire students to run them, don’t engage with students on them, and just hawkishly watch your own hashtag?
#fail.
9.)Why are you so opaque? Ideally students pay your wages and fuel the economic behomoth that is a university. So you’d expect some transparency between the beaucracy and its students. But I know the reality. The reality is a lot of your funding comes from donors whom grant department chairs, alumni associations, and the State. And we know who comes first.
We students are like a 4th tier lender on Credit Default Swaps. We invested too, but got the least return.
Sincerely,
A few non-defaultable student-debt holders.
addendum: Of course this article doesn’t imply that all teachers at universities are awful. (Many are very good.) Or even that GTAs are bad per-se. But sometimes general observations must be made, in order to drive home very specific points.
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