Some of you know I have a daughter in her first year of college. The Kid attends Santa Barbara City College. She had a 1310 on the SAT, scores of 4 on her AP Lit and APES tests, and a 3.5 (ish) GPA in high school. But, she really wanted to go to UCSB and didn’t get in, so this was her solution.
Since I’m always thinking about what my students are going to encounter in the next stage, I’ve been fascinated by what she is (and isn’t) seeing.
First of all, The Kid has teachers who absolutely forbid any electronic devices to be in class/ lecture. If they see devices, students are asked to leave class and receive no credit for any of the day’s activities, including quizzes or tests. Originally, she had thought that she would be bringing her laptop to school every day, but after the first week, she has not brought it once. So, what does this mean for my own students? Maybe nothing. Maybe she goes to the only school in America where they still take notes by hand. But, if there are a couple of other backward places like Santa Barbara City College where my students might go, I think I should be encouraging both new-fangled and old-school styles of approaching and managing note-taking (and their lives).
Secondly, she is currently taking a philosophy course that is challenging in both content and pace. They have had seven lectures so far this semester, and the following is half of the study guide for the midterm that she just took exactly one month in.
Explain Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and how it relates to epistemology. You have to understand what epistemology is as well as know the allegory of the cave. Relate the story of the cave to how we might perceive reality today. Use political, historical, or religious examples regarding the treatment of the escaped prisoner. Why did he return and why was he treated as he was?
- Why does Plato posit a world of Forms? In your answer, describe his Dualism and how such a theory helps explain how we can have certain knowledge. Explain how he distinguishes between appearance and reality.
- What was the form of skepticism employed by Descartes and what was his purpose in using such skepticism? What fundamental truth did Descartes arrive at through this reasoning and how did he defend his conclusion? Be sure to include all of the steps he made to get to his indubitable truth.
- Explain the analogy of the Brain in a Vat or the Matrix movies to Descartes’ method of doubting. If you knew there was a virtual and a “real” reality, how would you convince others?
- Explain fully Locke’s distinction between primary and secondary qualities. In your answer, include a discussion of Locke’s Representative or Indirect Realism and explain how it differs from Direct Realism. Also address the problems Locke’s indirect reasoning could lead to. Include the Magritte painting in this last part.
- How does Berkely critique Locke’s primary/ secondary distinction? Briefly explain his form of Idealism in response to Locke’s Indirect Realism.
- What is the Whorf-Sapir Hypothesis concerning language and epistemology? Use examples from Begley’s article and especially Scott’s paper on Rosario Castellanos feminist critique of the dominant language.
- Explain Pinker’s argument against the Whorf Hypothesis. What is Pinker’s theory? Do you believe that thought is dependent upon words? In other words, do you agree with Whorf or Pinker? Explain and defend your answer.
- I am thinking of my U.S. History students, who read about something in their textbook, and then I reference it in class, usually involving slides, and then they might watch a video about it or they might analyze some primary documents related to it. I try out all of these ways to make the material approachable and memorable. I think I’m teaching for content depth, but if college is looking for ability to learn and process material for breadth, I’m not sure I’m getting them ready.
Thanks for sharing Lisa. Cassidy's experience with "tech" has been much different. Textbooks and notes online exclusively. The nice part about that: I've only had to pay for her literature books and she is getting use of her laptop. In terms of teaching to breadth-I'd agree that is the expectation based on her assignments in her Humanities classes. And in terms of her writing-no lit analysis but multiple argumentative and personal narrative essays, two of which were double digit page assignments. The biggest surprise-a couple mid-terms and finals that were mostly multipe choice.
This is a great insight, Lisa! It is important to balance how we teach in high school and what they will be experiencing in college. A holistic approach will help them develop the skills to approach the difficult assignments in college!
About two-thirds of the students who enroll in never graduate with a bachelors degree. One reason is the new found freedom. Many students cannot resist the party atmosphere. The other is the geometrically increased difficulty of the curriculum.
High school student depend on detailed instructions and resources for completing assignments. It is not like this in college. The questions you enumerated are a great example. How does a student answer such questions when she barely knows who Plato is, might as well what he what he wrote about. Piecing together the puzzle can only be accomplished through independent research. Do we teach students research skills? Finding answers in test book is not research. DBQ's are a beginning. But how do we prepare our students for real independent research? How often do we throw out an essential question and let students figure it out with nothing but the library and the search engines?
If we can teach students some self discipline and some serious research skills, they might be able to a part of that one-third that actually graduates from college. Getting into college is easy. Graduating is not.
I am extremely concerned for our reluctant learners. I think it's time that we offer time management and study skills as a required unit during sophomore year.
why sophomore year?
Hey Lisa,
Thanks for the blog. I took some liberties and actually reformatted your blog because the formatting did not include line breaks so it was a scroll nightmare. Not sure I got your numbers right so let me know if I messed up…
The sad fact is that colleges are not the place where you find the best teaching… and community colleges are often pretty underserved in that realm… so truth known, our job is not to model bad teaching, but it is to instill some resilience and provide a super strong foundation that will give them the tools they need to deal with the crappy teachers…
I was that undergrad, not that long ago, that hand wrote all notes. I was a freak for never bringing a laptop to class even though I was on it every night in order to write papers, look at texts, and view videos. I think the combination of hand writing to typing was the key for me. It is assignments like those that definitely explain why students pay others to do their work. Assignments like that are time consuming, work intensive, and often graded with little feedback. Sometimes I think that an effective high school education is of greater value long term.
I've found that freshmen are so eager to do well that they prioritize school. Also, our freshman curriculum is more forgiving than the other three years.
Elizabeth I'm curious, why would you consider the Philosophy teacher (or perhaps the ones that don't permit electronics) to be sub-par teachers? I don't see anything wrong with the study guide but it does show that it is a challenging course. As far as electronics I don't see how they are essential in education, though they can be helpful. Kevin I definitely like the convenience (and reduction in cost) of having the textbook in digital formal.
Although I was fortunate to have some wonderful and talented teachers in high school, I must say that the calibre of teachers I experienced in college was wonderful and enlightening. To be lectured by the most recognized music education writer (my undergrad) in Australia was amazing. And that was comparing him to one of the most talented teachers I've ever met in my high school. My historical and cultural lecturer had standing ovations after connecting Plato's Republic to our modern society. I didn't like all of my lecturers and I debated on where I felt they were wrong, but they were still amazing educators (for the most part).