Posts Tagged ‘Inside Higher Ed’
I have a book review in the College English Association’s new journal issue. I review the new anthology Teaching Literature and Language Online. Big thanks go to my editor Janine Utell for putting up with my delays during the summer.
I also strongly suggest checking out the other reviewer, Lee Skallerup’s, work both in the journal and for Inside Higher Ed.
Is there ever a time when a leader shouldn’t sit down and talk with an enemy?
If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. The apartheid government in South Africa used to say they didn’t talk to terrorists, and they said Madiba [Nelson Mandela] was one of those. But of course, there’s no point in talking to someone else—someone who is not a leader, who has really no constituency—when that “terrorist,” so-called, is almost certainly the person that the oppressed regard as their leader. If you choose to talk with somebody else, the people will say, “That’s a stooge.” Any agreements you have with that one will have no credence.
How does peace come? Peace doesn’t come because allies agree. Allies are allies—they already agree! Peace comes when you talk to the guy you most hate. And that’s where the courage of a leader comes, because when you sit down with your enemy, you as a leader must already have very considerable confidence from your own constituency. Then, when you do things that are risky, your people know that you are not likely to do something reckless. If you are doing something that is a bit dodgy, they will give you the benefit of the doubt.
This week’s video is from Black Flag’s very hard (as in, I can’t even find a full copy on the Internet hard to find) “Live 86″ video. Here they are playing the song In My Head:
There is an article up over at Inside Higher Ed about once a week classes right now. This article goes into the problems with these kinds of classes. As Michael Arnzen notes, here is basic summary of her argument:
Wilson laments the lack of learning that happens in these longer, less-frequently-meeting classes. The crux of her argument is that there are “not enough practice-and-feedback loops to help students absorb, retain and apply information” in a class that meets once a week. Conversely, in more traditional courses, “students have a chance to replay the information in their heads and practice. With the guiding hand of the instructor, they can get even more direction and be assured that they are ‘getting it.’”
Like Arnzen, I am involved with night classes quite a lot. He teaches them, I take them. Honestly, I have no reason for taking them other than if that is when the class is taught I take it. I have a flexible enough schedule that I can fit in classes at anytime of the day. Once the sun starts to go down there is certainly a change in how the teaching of classes goes about. Classes are longer, students (and professors) are coming from a day of work or school. Many are trying to fit in dinner and a little bit of time to relax. However, like Arnzen I think there are many ways to make night classes work-
The primary benefit of teaching a once-a-week, three-hour course is mostly evident in the amount of time you are given to work with. Having three hours allows both more flexibility and greater focus. Obviously, you have more flexibility in a class with three hours, rather than fifty minutes; if a class discussion is going well and you want to extend it, you can do so. You can commit larger blocks of time to group work, writing exercises, than you normally would, and even screen films or enact skits, and still have time for discussion afterward. It’s great for writer’s workshops or seminars where entire books are being discussed. I find having all that time quite useful; nothing frustrates me more in a traditional class than having to cut something productive off because of the (virtual) “bell.”
I think the best way to handle night courses is to mix it up until you find something that works. Group work, student led lectures, and other formats can keep class time fresh and interesting. More often than not, students who take night courses seem to be more serious about their work. They are often fitting classes in to fulfill a second major or another degree. This seriousness can lead to a very positive and intellectual atmosphere. If a class is very lucky, within a few weeks they will find a learning style that fits for them and will thrive with it.
Another essential for night courses that Arnzen points out is the need for breaks. He recommends at least one, I might go as far as to say a quick five to seven minute break per hour in a three or four-hour class will keep everyone fresh and alert.
There is more to think about here of course. There is no perfect, fail safe, way to deal with a class but Arnzen offers a good starting point.
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