Saturday, October 16, 2010
Chapter Two: Whistling in the Dark by Merrill J. Davies
The title alludes to the fact that the author feels that high school teachers are "whistling in the dark": "pretending to be confident when they are in fact scared to death" that what they're teaching isn't aligned with college expectations. Nevertheless, the author feels that there are four areas where students must be prepared : mechanics, analytical skills, the ability to develop a specific idea in detail, and the ability to organize said ideas in such a way so that readers can follow said ideas with ease. He acknowledges that voice is becoming prevalent among academic circles, but notes that it doubtful that professors can create exact guidelines for college level writing.
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The author makes it clear that becasue expectations of college-level writing may always shift and be unclear, an open line of communication between the high school and college environments is necessary. He makes two suggestions: Teacher Education Programs, and local collaboration/meetings. While I think these are good sugegstions, they are difficult to implement, especially given the differing personalities and philosophies of educators at both levels.
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