[Englecturers] Devon's Take on the NY Times Article

Sun May 22 22:36:44 PDT 2005

Not to be overly paranoid/cynical, but . . . timed, supervised writing is 
the only sure way to make sure that the students are doing their own work. 
Everything else can (and will) be plagiarized.

Dan Hepler
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <englecturers at lists.ucr.edu>
To: <englecturers at lists.ucr.edu>
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 11:07 PM
Subject: [Englecturers] Devon's Take on the NY Times Article

> Howdy y'all:
>
> I agree with Ben about signing emails to the listserv; given the fractured
> nature of our work, this is perhaps the only plausible way to share ideas,
> concerns, and thoughts around the beer keg. It is nice to know who we are
> talking to, and more importantly, who we are listening to (or reading from 
> as
> the case may be).
>
> As far as the Staples piece, I have mixed feelings about the reliance on 
> timed
> writing tests. Four years ago when I was hired on at UCR, I was placed in 
> the
> writing lab. Never having experienced the Subject A or life at a UC 
> school, I
> was taken aback by the binding importance placed on this exam, both by the
> university (i.e., all of "us") and by the students.
>
> Any writing test can be used for two purposes: to assess a student's 
> skills
> and then channel the student into a prescriptive program, or to assess 
> skills
> and use that assessment as a gatekeeper, allowing "proficient students"
> through. At its best, the Subject A (APWE) did both to some extent; hence 
> the
> foreboding it created. Given the new structure of the classes at UCR, I 
> wonder
> if this is still the case. Obviously, the SAT falls into the second 
> category
> even though colleges are free to use the results to facilitate placement
> within a program.
>
> Furthermore, having graded the first round of SAT essay tests on-line, it 
> was
> clear to me that the essay rewarded students who were proficient in 
> literary
> extrapolation and writing compound-complex sentences that used 
> subordination
> effectively. In part, I was amazed by some of the results generated in 
> that
> short of time. However, like any essay test, the greater familiarity with 
> the
> topic, the greater the chances of writing a higher scoring essay. I know 
> few
> of us could write a thoughtful argument about irradiating meat or 
> explaining
> the fundamentals of ballet, or even explaining the issues surrounding 
> NCLB:
> hell, I cannot write a clear essay about the Spanish influence in 
> California
> history even though I am a California native and this is a required study 
> in
> fourth grade. (I skipped the fourth grade for a multitude of reasons). 
> Because
> I signed some
> do-not-share-our-secrets-upon-penalty-of-grading-essays-for-an-eternity-in-the
> -coldest-corner-of-hell oath with Pearson (SAT test administrator), I am
> reluctant to share the specific topic or sample essays of the March SAT, 
> but I
> hope you get the idea here.
>
> Also, having taken part in John Briggs study on the weight of timed 
> writing in
> English 1A classes, I was interested in the tenor of the results message. 
> In
> all openness, why should timed writing make up such a large part of 
> academia
> (if it even does?) I understand the need for testing in controlled 
> conditions,
> but as the N. Y. Times essay suggests and then seems to contradict, very
> little essential writing takes place in a spurious manner.
>
> Between 1987 and 2001, I worked as part of a management team for a 
> regional
> shopping mall. During those fourteen years I wrote memos (and later 
> Emails),
> participated in annual budget spreadsheeting, penned employee evaluations 
> and
> wrote accident reports even though my main job was to repair and maintain 
> the
> physical structure of the mall. Each of those types of writing had unique
> demands, very separate from the demands of most college writing. None of 
> them,
> outside of rudimentary, informative internal memos and Emails, required
> spontaneous writing. Many had deadlines that stretched over days or weeks,
> some months. Furthermore, it seems that if businesses were concerned with
> writing on demand as part of the job requirements, they would test 
> applicants
> on this skill in some manner. I know of very few companies that make
> applicants write an opinion essay on some esoteric topic in sixty minutes
> without a computer, dictionary, or Internet access.
>
> Perhaps Staples' message is a bit obscure; he seems to be suggesting a
> different series of writing topics and demands, a move toward a business 
> style
> of writing being taught in the public schools. I know many of us cringe at
> this thought and start compiling an arsenal of reasons against this 
> approach,
> but I ask why? One common theme I hear from my students at UCR and 
> elsewhere
> is this: "Why can't we write on things like we did in high school?" 
> Obviously,
> the focus of high school writing and college writing is very divergent; if 
> it
> need be so divergent is a discussion worth having.
>
> Finally (I can almost hear the hooray!), the problem should not be the 
> English
> teachers' alone. At my other teaching job (St. Elsewhere), students are
> required to pass a writing test to graduate. As part of the grading team 
> for
> that test, I meet with professors from across the disciplines and they 
> always
> seem to lament that their students cannot write very well. One of my first
> questions is what grade the students are receiving in the professor's 
> class.
> If writing is minimized in other classes, or if the grades attributed to
> writing assignments are de-emphasized, what message does this give to the
> student studying chemistry, business, or engineering?  I know the trendy 
> push
> for WAC (writing across the curriculum) has passed, but maybe now is the 
> time
> for it to be "rethunk." Collaborative teaching is one method, but there 
> are
> others (insert whatever implication you wish for English 1C here). If we 
> are
> to assume that the basic desire of our students is to gain employment, 
> should
> we bend to that desire at least in part?
>
> Only questions to get the party started. Grab a big red party cup, have a
> drink, eat some chips and let's groove. I'll try not to step on any feet, 
> but
> I'm a terrible dancer.
>
>
> Devon Hackelton
>
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