Study Brittle

SS asked today if she ought to drop the class; she claims to have difficulties writing the analysis paper. My response was less tactful than it should be, perhaps: "I'm not going to beg you to stay in class," I said, "but don't make the assignment more difficult than it is."

The reality is that she hasn't focused enough on the topic to know what she knows and what she doesn't know. The assignment is, admittedly, a challenge in that I'm asking students to use touchstones to analyze their own previous writing. It's pretty difficult to wing this one, and it's nearly impossible to complete this in a quick-and-dirty form.

It's too bad that some students don't realize that Comp II really, truly requires thinking. They are used to throwing something together as class begins, calling is their best. I may be wrong, but I think this assignment is beginning to make some students realize that they actually have to work at this course. That's difficult when some have been getting by for a long time with no real work. So much has to do with the reluctance--not inability, but reluctance--to read. That's why I like course management software. I provide it, and they have to read it.

I still think that the ultimate culprit here is No Child Left Behind. The more our elementary and secondary teachers are pressured, the more the kids become accustomed to blaming them--holding them responsible. It's a new experience for students to have no one to blame if they screw up but themselves.

Fortunately, these kids are in the minority. We're beginning to see veterans returning. They are stressed but really well-disciplined. They are study brittle.