Journalism Professor Frank Durham wrote an interesting op-ed piece in the DI today. You can view it
here. And while I don't disagree with him in any way, I did feel that a response was necessary, so I wrote one. Hopefully you will see it in the DI on Thursday. Here it is early though...
A Quasi, semi-sort of, not really response to Professor Frank Durham.
I don’t believe anyone would say binge drinking is a “good” thing. I also don’t believe that anyone would try and argue against the statements Professor Durham made in the Guest Opinions section of the Daily Iowan on Tuesday May 12. However, something should be said in response and luckily being direct does have its place. Here goes.
In two days I will have finished my junior year here at the University of Iowa. I will be one class shy of completing an undergraduate degree in Journalism and four courses shy of completing another in Informatics. The majority of my time here has been spent furthering my education, though I have certainly willingly participated in binge drinking on a number of occasions.
Professor Durham, you are 100% correct in saying the problems of the world are ours to inherit and attempt to solve – we accept this challenge willingly. As a soon-to-be senior though, it has been my experience and that of my peers that this university and its faculty are not always conducive to providing us with the necessary tools.
Much too often do I see dedicated, ambitious students fall victim to professors and classes dedicated not to the actual learning and understanding of real-world concepts, but rather busy work and irrelevant assignments that promote grade-grubbing more than knowledge. Too often are students enrolled in classes where the majority of their grade is based on attendance and homework assignments that should be used for understanding and not evaluation, rather than conceptual papers and tests. Too often are students enrolled in classes where overly qualified and intelligent foreign professors cannot speak our English language or understand the basic structure of our national society.
Please do not misconstrue my words. I have no doubt about the intelligence of the foreign professors utilized on this campus, but is there no screening process? Some people are simply not meant to teach – I assume this is why Iowa offers an education degree program, to develop practical and useful teaching methodologies. No student should be subject to the teaching policies of someone they cannot even verbally understand.
I would never argue that a student who skipped all of his classes would thoroughly and explicitly understand intricacies of a specific class, but the merit of his or her grade should not pertain to his or her presence in a lecture hall. Most likely if a student is skipping enough class, his or her grades will be so reflected, but if a tuition student chooses to skip class and subsequently fail out, so be it.
And while these problems seem common place among the student body, they appear to be either unknown or utterly ignored by the administration. Along with classmates, I have submitted three end-of-semester evaluations honestly critiquing professors and their classes (two in the journalism department) in such a manner as to hopefully warrant a serious review of their teaching practices and course syllabi. All three of those professors continue to teach and with relatively unaltered syllabi.
Certainly I am not naive enough to believe any single set of those end-of-semester evaluations are taken in the least bit seriously, but even that in-and-of itself is genuinely discouraging as a student. In a conference with the interim director of the journalism school this semester, he admitted the amount of course work expected for a specific journalism was absurd. It will be interesting to see the dynamics of that class next semester.
I have had truly incredible professors at this university; professors who have challenged my views on education, work ethic and life in general; professors who have dedicated their time to the further advancement of the men and women in their classes and myself; professors who have acted much more than simply published scholars and academic employees; professors who have helped all their students continue to believe in the intrinsically good nature of human beings.
Make no mistake, the students at this university wish to learn and better themselves not only to the point of personal success but also to the points of influencing the lives of others in positive ways. We strive time and time again for excellence because we realize the enormous pressures and problems that stand ever growing and ever waiting for us once we enter the “real world.” We want desperately to do what you say Professor Durham – save the world. We know there are professors out there, men and women alike who want to help us. Sometimes though, we just need something, however small or large it may be, to restore our faith.
