Anyway, before I get off onto a tangent about nothing, I received a lesson in teaching already that was very unexpected and unintended by my professor. Our first assignment was just to write up a page about ourselves so that she could get to know us, since we won't ever interact in person. I slapped some stuff into a Word document and uploaded it, not really putting a whole lot of effort into it. When I saw my feedback today, here was my professor's one comment: "Well written introduction, Leah-the first I have read that didn't require editing."
Let me make myself clear by saying that I am in no way trying to toot my own horn or show off. My point with this is that, really, writing a commentary about YOURSELF is a simple task, no? How hard is it that no other person submitted a paper yet without any errors? I mean, I really hope this doesn't come off in a snarky way, but it does take some effort and accomplishment to be admitted into ANY institution for higher education, be it ivy league, state school, or community college, and each and every person who does this should be commended. That being said, why are we falling short in doing something so simple as writing about yourself? Especially in a world where you can't type on a computer anywhere that doesn't have spell-check, this just saddens me.
I realize that many of us, myself included, often use short-hand when texting/emailing family and friends. However, this class is taught by a professor who has written over 140 books and contributed to 16 scientific journals in her field. I just don't see why it would take so much effort to proofread a one-page introduction that others just choose not to do it.
I also realize I may be *slightly* overreacting, but my whole reason for writing this is to point out that somewhere along the line, a lot of teachers have been snoozing on the job. If we have reached a place where college students cannot use the English language properly, there is a problem. Maybe teachers are lazy, or maybe they don't know the proper usage themselves. Either way, a simple comment from my professor has made me realize that I have my work cut out for me, and makes me all the more anxious to learn to be the best that I can be for the sake of my future students.
