Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: LexBaird
Exactly. But I'm not sure in some classes students really appreciate how much they "know" until they get out, and say, "Oh, yeah, we learned about that in history class."

As I say, my evals are at the very top of the department---I've never gotten a perfect, although a couple of my colleagues have, but I've come close. But it does contribute to the mentality that "you are here to serve me," as opposed to, "I am here to learn from you."

This, then, results in curriculum that have certain structures (won't bore you with details) which result in the fact that we only teach U.S. Civil War once a year in the SUMMER, never during the regular school year; and haven't taught the "Age of Jefferson/Jackson" in 10 years.

23 posted on 01/29/2008 7:33:22 AM PST by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of News)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies ]


To: LS
This, then, results in curriculum that have certain structures (won't bore you with details) which result in the fact that we only teach U.S. Civil War once a year in the SUMMER, never during the regular school year; and haven't taught the "Age of Jefferson/Jackson" in 10 years.

Still, if I were to take a U.S. Civil War course, as a student I could certainly tell if I was being taught about the Civil War or if the teacher had hared off into European Colonial African history and slave trade with occasional references to the Emancipation Proclamation.

I may come away with world history knowledge of the mid-19th century that would serve me later, but did I really learn about the U.S. Civil War? Did the teacher serve the need that I paid for? Yes, I am here to learn, but I am here to learn what I was told you'd teach.

It is the nature of a technical service industry that you are paying for the expertise of a professional, but you wouldn't seek that professional out if you didn't have a specific need to be filled. If a professional insists that your needs are secondary to what he wants to provide, then you are just going to end up with your needs unsatisfied. At some point, you are going to decide that the professional simply isn't providing the service advertised.

26 posted on 01/29/2008 8:39:46 AM PST by LexBaird (Behold, thou hast drinken of the Aide of Kool, and are lost unto Men.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson