Sept. 10, Jo Guldi, SMU Dedman history professor, for a commentary on how she and students benefited from a give-and-take situation over her high expectations in one of her history lecture classes. Published in Inside Higher-Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/09/10/teaching-students-who-embrace-challenge-high-academic-standards-opinion
At midterm, half of the class was failing. I had encouraged everyone to come to my office hours, and so they did, flooding in to ask questions and complain. At least one of my student visitors presented outrage at the way he had been treated and said he wanted me to account for the grades.
The particular subject of his outrage was my standard of clear, well-supported, written argumentation. “We’re supposed to be learning about history, not about writing,” complained my student. I was taken aback. I briefly considered wrangling with his assumption that historical understanding and clear writing could be divorced, based on the commonly held belief that one can understand a subject without being able to communicate about it clearly. But given my student’s impatience, I took a more pragmatic attack. After all, I teach in a university where the vast majority of applicants declare an intended business major before they even arrive.
“I want my students to be able to compose an email to a CEO, a senator or a newspaper,” I explained. “Clear writing is a capability that will serve you well, whatever your occupation or calling, and therefore maintaining a high standard of writing is a service that this class provides to all its graduates.”