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Writing should matter

By Evan J. O'Brien

The Chronicle of Higher Education posted a piece yesterday, "Academic Bait and Switch," by a pseudonymous Henry Adams, about his experience as a teaching assistant for a first-year composition course at an elite university. In it, he describes the situation commonly faced by first-year students--who often find themselves being taught by graduate students like Adams, who are well-meaning, but also unable to teach the class effectively. Even at schools that require writing (and not all do) such a state of affairs indicates the faculty is not making this immensely important subject a priority. Surely, the students deserve better.

Evan J. O'Brien is ACTA's Robert Lewit Fellow in Education Policy and a recent graduate of Harvard University.

Posted by Noah Mamis on June 19, 2009 at June 19, 2009 01:20 PM

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