Self-esteem, and how it affects the classroom is what the article focuses on. Who is responsible for self-esteem? Is it the student or the professor? I would say the student, but professors don't need to be unnecessarily harsh. Still, professors can also have self-esteem issues. Their confidence may waver if students are having trouble understanding what is being taught, or misunderstand constructive criticism for dislike of the student or their work.
Also, just because professors are encouraging, building self-esteem, how does this affect students' work? Even though your workshops have a comfortable open atmosphere, that doesn't mean the students are going to produce great work. It is the professor's job to be honest about the work submitted, to critique it and make it better.
To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this article. I'm open to any and all views on this. Help me out here guys. What do you think?
BK
3 comments:
You mention something that I hadn't thought about before: the teacher's self-esteem. In one of my classes, the students don't talk. Period. The teacher asks a question and we sit there for an eternity waiting for him to give us the answer. It's awful. Crickets, don't just chirp, they die in the time it takes for him to give up. Of course, it's a gen-ed course, and I'm not sure if it happens often in Creative Writing classes, but that must be really really hard for the teacher.
Teacher self esteem is an interesting point. And I think it is absolutely the teacher's job to be honest. Not in a harsh way, but to be frank and open about the strengths and weaknesses of the piece.
The problem is that we as students fall into the idea that "whatever the professor says is solid/sound." Once folks realize that we are all humans sitting in a room, things instantly ease up. Students should recognize a professor as someone in the field, a part of the scene that they, as students, are trying to become involved in. We shouldn't put the prof on a pedestal just as we shouldn't write off prof's comments either. "Even though your workshops have a comfortable open atmosphere, that doesn't mean the students are going to produce great work." Absolutely right way to look at it. Ultimately, it's the writer's responsibility to write, so don't blame teach for your awful essay!
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