Paper Writing = Busy Work

[sanantone]

Sure it is! I've taught college level for 2 decades. You can't take it on. This isn't going to sound nice, but you know me and so I hope you know that I like you very much while you read this But, by feeling personally responsible for your student's successes and failures and interest in the class (as opposed to their interest in the credential) you really are seeing education through a self-serving lens. A lens that puts you at elevated importance. That's not to say that teacher's don't impact students, they do!!! I have had a handful send me notes that brought me to tears (literally). But, to inject yourself into their life so deeply is really just serving your own needs. At the end of the day, the teacher is not who makes learning happen, it's the student. The student who wants to learn can't be stopped, and the student who wants to check the box can't be taught. (that's very rhyming lol, maybe I'll use it again) But, your role is a facilitator, nothing more. Now, back to the part where I think you're great! Know that when I say "you" I am speaking you the noun, not you the proper noun.

No offense taken, but it does affect my job. If employers don't take my school's graduates seriously, word will get around. Word has already gotten around and enrollment has dropped. They might have to lay off instructors. For the students in my program, if they don't pass a comprehensive exam at the end of their program, then that reflects poorly on all of the instructors in the CJ program. If I were a tenured professor, then it probably wouldn't matter.

Employers are starting to even have a low opinion of graduates of traditional colleges. I read an article that mentioned a survey where most employers said that college graduates lack writing and critical thinking skills. Overall, enrollment in colleges has dropped, degree programs are being dropped, and the number of tenure-track positions are decreasing. As everyone can see, public school districts are now thinking about tying salaries to performance. I personally believe that the poor performance of students is mostly caused by their lack of internal motivation and parental support, but politicians are putting the blame on the teachers.

From the economic perspective, all of these stupid people in the U.S. hurt the economy. From the employer's perspective, well...I would probably hate being an employer. I've thought about opening a security company, but I was a supervisor and the stupidity of my subordinates made me want to rip my hair out. Not only could they not write coherently, they also lacked common sense. Of course, security does attract low-skilled people, but even white collar employers are complaining about the poor writing skills and lack of critical thinking.

[corpsole2]

A couple years ago I did a paper on the prevalence of cheating on essays in college. It is saddening just how prevalent and easy it is. I actually found websites where you put into the desired fields what your topic will be about, and for about $80 it could spit out a Master's thesis or a Doctoral dissertation. But college software is getting smarter, and they are much better at spotting these fakes.

And I am in a TESC capstone course. I am about halfway through, and I do agree that it seems a bit unnecessary to have it so you can demonstrate that you actually learned something from college. I agree with Sanantone and Westerner in that there is a lot of repetition of phrases, particularly in the intro of each chapter, as you reiterate the purpose of the study and the questions you will ask.

The main thing about the capstone course is you are supposed to demonstrate your research, analysis, and synthesizing information skills. Also, my mentor told me that this is good practice for a Master's thesis, should I decide to go that route. But since this is what stands between me and the B.A., I do the work. Besides, I know I will be proud of the finished product, but I secretly vow not to do that kind of writing for a very long time.

[corpsole2]

Sanantone, I heartily second the statistic you cited of employers complaining that their employees can't write worth a darn. I read in a few places that some HR managers actually say they prefer graduates of the liberal arts because they generally know how to write well enough, and how to analyze enough. One CEO mentioned that he could teach the jobs skills, but he couldn't teach good communication. Many of the readers who weighed in on the articles mentioned that their "worthless" liberal arts degrees actually were in demand, and some were running IT and engineering companies even though none were very literate in computer programming.

This is actually where a completed capstone would help. From now on, when I go into interviews where I know much writing would take place, I'll bring a copy of my paper along with me, just to give them a visual that "yeah, I can write."

[sanantone]

The bad thing is that employers are less likely to hire liberal arts majors these days. They are unwilling to train people. Most jobs in business are really not that hard to learn on the job. The only people who really need an education in the field are those in accounting and finance.

[corpsole2]

The bad thing is that employers are less likely to hire liberal arts majors these days. They are unwilling to train people. Most jobs in business are really not that hard to learn on the job. The only people who really need an education in the field are those in accounting and finance.

You can actually learn finance without getting a degree and before you get the job. I am looking at the curriculum that the big hedge funds and investment banks use. Certification by the curriculum provider usually will score you at least one interview, and you have a leg up on the competition since you don't have to be trained.

[SweetSecret]

I also agree that I hate writing essays. For me though its not just about busy-work. I've encountered two issues with essays, particularly in English Composition courses. First, instructors often have their own perspective on things, & can not separate grading grammar from grading opinion. Second, if a student gets too technical/scientific, again it becomes an issue of the instructor not knowing how to grade the paper. For history I've also had instructors hand me back papers and say they didn't even know how to grade it because it was so far beyond what was covered in the course, and they didn't know that much about the topics I delved into. At the time when that was happening though I was dating a guy with 5 masters degrees (MA in Archaeology, MA in Celtic Studies, MA in Business, MA in Sports Medicine, MA in Accounting) & a PhD (Archaeology from Durham University). Every time I had to write something he'd show me sources beyond the class. We used to have brunch with his ex-wife, & I eventually learned that him interfering with her own college learning was the reason they got divorced. He was annoyingly too smart to the point of being socially awkward... it was like always being in class. He lacked the ability to just relax & have fun. Documentaries, which I enjoy, became unbearable to watch with him because he'd pause it every five minutes to elaborate on a topic. The after affect of this though is it changed my mode of learning to realizing that I really feel I learn better on my own than through the U.S. educational system, & now I feel that the having to write essays is often annoying & demeaning because its filled with limitations.

[sanantone]

I remember having to write an essay on a special interest group. The group could be controversial such as white supremacist and black separation groups. I chose to write about a pro-life, Catholic organization. The instructor gave me a "C" and didn't explain why I got such a low grade. When I contested my grade, I think it was raised to a "B" with little explanation (I can't remember exactly what the result was). I got the feeling that the instructor didn't like reading about a pro-life group. I didn't take sides on the abortion issue; I just presented what the group stood for.

[UptonSinclair]

In a discussion with a coworker last night, he mentioned that a Computer Professor had marked down a network architecture paper for having too many commas. I had to laugh about this technical instructor worrying about punctuation.

[SweetSecret]

In a discuss with a coworker last night, he mentioned that a Computer Professor had marked down a network architecture paper for having too many commas. I had to laugh about this technical instructor worrying about punctuation.

LOL I used to use tons of commas; then I discovered the semicolon!