In "Message to My Freshmen Students," Keith Parsons, a seasoned professor of philosophy at the University of Houston, shares his observations concerning today's college freshmen after not teaching a first-year course in many years. He makes it a priority to heavily contrast high school learning to that of a university education. He strongly defends his traditional method of teaching through lectures, which he feels are "under attack" from today's college freshmen with their unmotivated interests and short attention spans that can be "measured in nanoseconds." Today's college freshmen from the perspective of Parsons show a significant lack of respect for his methods of teaching and a clear misunderstanding for the purpose of attending college. Parson emphasizes throughout his argument that college is not just a place to get a degree but a place to expand one's knowledge and henceforth making the "world richer" through learning and teaching. He reiterates that students today have ever-shortening attention spans that give them a sense of involvement in how they learn in a class. Parsons, however, asserts that their only responsibility is to learn and, while it is their choice of whether or not they "drink deeply or only gargle" from the "fountain of knowledge" he leads them toward, he enforces that it is solely his choice of which path or method he takes to lead his students. While Parsons has the right to determine how he teaches, his reasons for why he chooses to teach through lectures are not very valid. He desires respect from his students and in a sense, he himself feels entitled to that respect. However, Parsons neglects to respect his students by calling them out on behaviors developed from habit. For instance, students in high school feel they must ask permission to use the restroom while Parsons explains bluntly they do not need a pass to leave but rather they are "free to leave." The same goes for how teachers and professors are different. As a former high school student and current freshmen student myself, I have experienced a variety of teachers and professors that teach in different ways. In high school, I was in an AP European History course, where my teacher used lectures for a great percentage of the class. In most of my prior classes, I was taught through presentations, discussions, projects, and other various newer methods. My AP teacher expected much of what Parsons expects from students and it operated in much a similar way to a college class. My teacher did not reach out to students; students were expected to reach out to him. As a student, I held myself responsible for learning in class but I found it difficult to process all of the information from his lectures. On the occasions that he used discussions or projects to teach, I found myself grasping the material more and tended to do better on exams when tested over that material. Parsons' insistence on solely using lecture reflects a lack of interest in helping students learn. Sometimes students need more than one way to absorb information because every student is an individual. Parsons also makes a broad accusation that a majority of freshmen are "disengaged" and generally uninterested in learning. His failure to see every student as an individual further shows he does not respect his students. Parson projects a sense of entitlement to his students' respect and attention but he is not will to return the same. As a college student myself and as someone who has had a professor like Parsons, I know that it is hard to listen to a teacher or professor that speaks condescendingly of my abilities or attention. Parsons gives off a patronizing outlook from the beginning and instead of achieving his goal of capturing their attention, he is in a way, insulting his pupils. I know from experience that a professor willing to connect with his or her students makes people want to learn and want to focus. Perhaps this is where Parsons approaches the situation wrong.
3 Comments
9/1/2015 07:04:34 am
I completely agree that as high school students we are in a way conditioned to learn and progress in a certain way. This is not the most effective way to prepare us as students to foster in higher institutions or even in the work force. Parson's address to his freshmen comes across as uncongenial and does not encourage any sort of mutual relationship. If Parson considers himself a sage he should pride himself on his ability to establish relatable connections to his students and not provide the exact opposite by drawing a proverbial line in the sand outlining the separation from educator to student.
Reply
9/1/2015 10:58:54 am
I completely agree with your points. I too can relate to having a lecture class and having a hard time concentrating. I currently take Environmental Physics, a lecture class with 200+ students. The class is complete lecture, and a good bit of the students seem uninterested and disengaged, and I at times find myself being like that as well. However, in my English 1101 class, where we do a lot of hands on work and have a teacher who interacts with us, I find that I concentrate much better and can actually learn, and I take this class at 8 in the morning!
Reply
9/1/2015 10:59:55 am
The first sentence of your response to Parsons is what pulled e in. While he does have the right to teach however he wants, the way he chooses to teach will subsequently have a negative or positive effect on his students. Your reflection on your experience as a high school student provides good insight into how you feel about Parsons and his lecturing style, with which I agree with completely.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
About MeMy name is Taylor Floyd and I am a college freshman at Georgia Southern University where I am majoring in Graphic Design. I enjoy writing, Photoshop, and watching classic movies. Archives
October 2015
Categories |