This reminds me of some of the conversations I had with Dom. Especially last summer when I was taking the class that focus on Latino students at Salem State.
I still feel undecided on the issue. I think most of the teachers at SSC were kinda wrong-headed. But then I think this author makes a great point.
When you say “the freshman stupids” you’re not referring to the students themselves, but the ignorance they bring with them from their high school English classes, right? The sentence stopped me on a dime because I know you don’t think of your students as stupid.
yes maybe I should have punctuated that the “freshman stupids”?
By that phrase I mean to describe a particular condition or ailment that seems to hit kids as soon as they leave off being a senior in high school and become a freshman in college.
Maybe it’s because college requires so much more self-discipline—they’ve been trained in high school to expect someone to hold their hand and lots of warnings before they get in big trouble—I don’t know. But many of them seem so helpless and incapable of scheduling their time and managing relatively simple tasks. A lot of it boils down to failure on the part of their prior education to inculcate any critical thinking skills.
But no, I didn’t mean to imply that I think my freshman are stupid. Just immature.
I meant it in the same way that I would say I get the “late night stupids” when I am up past my bedtime and begin to say inane things. (Not to be confused with the early morning grouchies, when I just can’t think of how to say anything nice so I don’t say anything at all.)