I did not mean to imply that there's something intrinsically wrong with being an English major, or that there's something wrong with the discipline. English majors and scholars are vital both in and out of the academy.
When I tweeted "Encouraging Ss to become ENGL majors is arguably more unethical than encouraging them to stay in college" the other night, I was doing two things:
- contributing to the "ethical" theme that was dominant in this week's chat and
- making a larger argument about our role as writing teachers.
For context, the theme of this week's chat was FYC and retention. The initial question at the top of the hour was:
"So why does FYC have such a big impact on students' retention?" followed shortly by
"Is it your responsibility as a professor to try to keep students in college?"
Here are some of the responses:
I had this amazing student one year who told me he hated college, it wasn't challenging, and he wanted to leave... I didn't know what to tell him about staying in school
It's certainly not my job to keep them in college no matter what. That's a question that can stray into ethical areas.
He was so smart and engaged. I thought he would do well in school. But yeah, ethically, I didn't know what to say
Did you tell him there's nothing wrong with leaving? Do we have to sell education?
I tried to just listen and offer my best advice
Pushing is one thing. Helping Ss think through their options and consequences is valuable, though.
I agree. I am very uncomfortable with selling the university. I'd rather spend my time helping them analyze it!
Absolutely, it is not our job to keep students from leaving, but there are ways we can help.
At my cc, I sometimes encounter Ss who aren't confident about being in college or have been told outright they won't succeed...so they may benefit from retention-focused FYC in multiple ways....
because "college isn't for everyone" still implies failure on the student's part.
yes, exactly! not the message I want to send
Do you talk about conversion of FYC students to English majors are part of your retention conversation?
We do. It is now in the syllabus and orientation to encourage good writers to become ENGL majors
Encourage students to become ENGL majors? Why?
Encouraging Ss to become ENGL majors is arguably more unethical than encouraging them to stay in college
My point here is that ethically, encouraging students to stay in college is one thing. Encouraging them to become English majors (or any major, for that matter) is a completely different story.
We FYC teachers find ourselves in the position of advising students all the time--or, rather, students come to us far more than they do most other professors, because they usually know us better. The ethics of this are discussed regularly--as they should be. We're not academic advisors. We're not counselors. We're writing teachers. Still, students come to us for advice, and we all make our own decisions about what is and is not appropriate.
I've had the "should I stay in school" conversation several times. I listen. I nod sympathetically. I try to shift the focus to completing my course successfully. Last year, I had a student who had no interest in being in school at all and was here because her mother wanted her to have at least a year of college under her belt. "You're almost halfway there," I offered. "My advice to you is to do the best you can so that if you choose to return at some point down the road, you'll at least have a couple of classes on your transcript that you won't have to repeat."
I think this is sound advice. But converting FYC students to English majors? No. Here's why:
The majority of my students have declared, even as first-semester freshmen. I do not think it is appropriate to impose my discipline on my biochem or aerospace engineering or finance or dance majors. As for the undeclared: I tell them to take everything. I encourage them to think in terms of courses, not majors. A course is a semester-long decision. A major is a multi-year decision with direct consequences on their graduate and/ or professional careers. Again, I'm not an advisor.
Moreover, I don't endorse the idea that good writers should be English majors. Just because you're a good writer doesn't mean that you should be an English major. Rather, it means that you are well-positioned to go further in your chosen field because you know how to think critically and communicate your ideas effectively. That's what we need. We need good writers in all disciplines, and we need to help students understand that this "English" class is not an "English" class at all--it's a life skills class. We focus on critical thinking, rhetorical analysis, information literacy, efficient research skills, and effective argumentation. These skills are not the sole purview of English departments. We teach these skills so that our students can succeed in all of their other courses.
I don't want to keep all of the good writers. I want to send them out to all of the other departments on campus. I want the engineering and environmental studies majors to write as well as the English majors. I want our students to research what they're passionate about and be able to contribute to their fields without having a panic attack when faced with a ten-page writing assignment and running down the hall to find an "English major" to help them write their papers.
That's where I'm coming from.
I hope that this helps. I'm sorry if my words stung; I didn't mean to offend. As always, I welcome your comments.
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