> Now, in that exercise, this exchange where she sent me out with the
> material, some critical questions to ask myself, and told me to come back
> and make an argument - I probably learned more in that two weeks, in those
> two office sessions, than any student at a traditional uni ever learns in
> an intro lit course.
>
Only insofar as most students won't take that kind of initiative. Students *can* learn much more than they usually *do* in "traditional" intro courses if they put in the kind of work you did. But that being said, the structural issue I'm always complaining about is that education of the kind we're talking about doesn't scale. Information delivery scales. What we *want* do is massively inefficient. And that is the problem with traditional intro courses. Of course, in majors like bio or chem, the intro courses are "weed-out" courses designed to get rid of the chaff. In majors like religion or philosophy, intro courses are the only chance we have to convince students that our majors are interesting and valuable in any sense. Also, our courses are fluff courses, and so they're surprised when it's demanding, but since our courses are filler, they're also *mad* when the courses are hard. But of course, there's this part of them, many at least, who are disappointed with gut courses. At some level, they seem to get that the more gut it is, the more waste of time it is. at least some of them.
okay, i ramble. but my point is, the traditional structure is a problem, but so is motivation, initiative, and so on. just another reason to get out, really. out of the structure, i mean.
> Also, evaluations; no grades.
>
i hate grades and hate giving them. students, however, are in a love-hate relationship with them, fueled in part by scholarships with GPA requirements. but i agree.
>
> It's hard work to teach this way. It's easy to
>
Shuh. It's hard work to be a student this way. But the problem isn't the hard work. it's hard work to teach the way i already do. but i imagine better results and more satisfaction in a different structure.
But you seem to have gotten cut off . . .?
j