Wish I Could Think

The administrators want standardized curricula and accountability (read lots of paper-work full of check lists that really adds up to busy work). The time and energy used up in filling all these boxes and bending to meet the standards deprives both teachers and students of a meaningful experience with writing. There is little room for creative problem solving or writing to explore and discover, to pursue writing as a way of knowing, of making knowledge. There is little surprise because the time is all mapped out, and based on content that is easy to test, to fill in the box marked "assessment." Of course, from the administrators standpoint, this is all for the good: they get their "data." From the other side, teachers and students will fail to see writing as an opportunity to develop in ways that only a more flexible, creative, and less standardized curriculum might offer. They will find the course infinitely forgettable, which is what happens with most content-driven courses. I don't know why grad students would want to teach in a program that fails to develop them in their chosen fields of study. Just sayin.'