Apparently professors are real people after all!
In Uptaught by Ken
Macrorie, specifically the article Publicize
Their Errors, the writer admits that professors take joy in publicizing
their students’ weak attempts at the masterful art of writing. I found this
hilarious, it seems every profession does this to some extent; the fact the “boring”
academic world has a true sense of humor, in some way, familiarizes me more
with the inner workings of the “college world”:
“Engfish teachers pass around to each other what they call
‘bloopers’ made by students in their papers. They post them on bulletin boards…three
of the commonest slips printed are:
1. His parents were having martial trouble.
1. His parents were having martial trouble.
2. He took it for granite.
3. The boys were studying in the lounge of the girls’
dormitory.” (72)
These witty bloopers, to most, would not hold interest, but
professors find them posting worthy purely based of their relative comical
value. Additionally, the professors refrain from including the students’ names
along with the quoted blooper. This allows the student to save some form of
dignity, whether they know it or not, while allowing the professors the space
to share comical work in their work place. Otherwise, according to the book Uptaught, the professors’ job is full of
dull/lifeless writing with no hope in sight.
The majority of the rest of the book seems to be full of
professors complaining about the dryness of their students’ writing. This is a
fair claim when considering the students’ level of interest in what the professors
are assigning. Many articles suggested students’ writing became more
interesting once they wrote more comfortably, I would agree when the prompt or
professor aren’t intimidating the students prior to them writing their text. When
the professor allows the student the freedom any writer deserves, the student
is automatically enabled to produce creative/interesting writing.
This constant battle between student and professor, when it
comes to producing text, produces great works across every academic institution.
Regardless if the professor uses students’ “bloopers” for comedic relief or if
the professor feels his students need more “freedom” in their prompt, it all
works together in its’ academic way to produce, hopefully, creative writing.
This is a fascinating process showcased in Uptaught,
one that is replicated many times in the “real” world workforce. Hopefully
as we dive into this writing capstone class we can look deeper into these academic
elements, I also suspect the second half of Uptaught
will partially quench this thirst.
I had a similar take in my blog. Though my analogy was a dance, but a battle has merit as a valid analogy as well. I can see the difficulties that arise when student produced writing must also be a showcase of ability for the professor. For the teacher, the question becomes how do I assign something that will prompt the student to exhibit specific skills while not leading them too far into the realm of "here, student, write this". For the student, the question becomes how do I write what the teacher wants me to write while writing what I want to write? On top of that, what formatting considerations should be made? What about word choice? Is the teacher a prescriptive or descriptive linguist? Knowing answers to these questions has proven extremely important to me. What professor A considers dull and lifeless, professor B calls eloquent and concise. What professor A considers imaginative, professor B considers childlike and underdeveloped. I'm thinking the real world operates the same as well. So, good writing is subjective, just like in the real world. Skill in "knowing your audience" is as important as being able to write nicely.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that writing is subjective. I am also a marketing student and I feel like for the most part I know what writing my teachers are looking for: to the point, not much imagination. However, I have had some teachers that do not mind some self expression.
DeleteYou bring up an interesting notion that if the professor assigns an interesting assignment then the student will create interesting work. I am not sure if I necessarily agree with that because in the end, it is up to the student. Classes can teach us everything we need to know about writing, but that does not mean everyone can write. Writing comes from that inner desire to put thoughts onto pages, and place them in the most significant and powerful order. Just because a creative project is assignment, does not mean everyone will enjoy it. I personally hate writing for creative objectives, and would prefer an 80 page research assignment over a short story or poem any day. Does this make me any less of a writer? Hell no, it just means that my creativity is best served in other places. In terms of the professor, writing comes in many forms, and maybe most people just don't know what kind of manner they prefer.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that teachers did this, but with that idea planted in my head I can totally imagine some of my professors partaking in this. I think that Macrorie brings up an interesting and kind of depressing point or reality about teaching; that a professor’s life is dull/ lifeless writing with no hope in sight. I’m not a professor however when I come to class say after day I have never felt as if any of my professors feel hopeless. In fact all of them are excited about teaching and passing on knowledge; but then again they could all have just had a good laugh at my writing.
ReplyDelete