Between Preparation and Spontaneity

Spring semester begins tomorrow.  Early.  I am teaching the same class I taught last semester: PoliSci 399 Interpretation and Methods. At the same time: 8am.   Teaching the same class twice in a row saves a lot of trouble.  There’s no need to prepare new materials from scratch.  I have a baseline of what worked and what didn’t.  I know what to expect. 

But that’s exactly where the problem lies.

I've come to really appreciate the energy that spontaneity creates in the classroom.  The uncertainty, the unexpected, the unaware – they come so easily when you’re teaching a class for the first time.  For all the prepping and planning, I often rely on ideas that strike me late at night or driving to class.  I rely on the classroom dynamic, student participation, questions and reaction. 

The recipe for a successful semester is preparation, clear learning objectives, consistent communication and execution of a plan.  But that’s like mixing up crepe batter without any milk and butter.

I've heard that no one should teach the same class more than three times: once to learn the course, once to perfect it, and once to bore of it.  

While I refined the course based on my experience last semester, I’m not thinking about how I can perfect the class.  I’m approaching it with a different attitude: I’m trying to hold open a space for the mysterious and the unknown. 

Lessons on Writing from Ben Franklin

Political Science majors dread the Junior Year Writing requirement at UMass. Even before I ever taught the class, I knew that students dreaded it.  Faculty complained about low attendance and poor year end evaluations.   Students put off the class until the last moment; others did the least amount of work possible; others grin and bear it.   But no one seems to enjoy it. 

The semester began this year, my first semester teaching the class, with a perfect reminder of the dilemma I faced.  I have a handful of returning students who have attended my classes in past.  I thought this might be a good sign.  You know, like a sign that students were excited to take a class with me.  Not quite.  In one student’s words “well, if I have to take the class, I might as well take it with you.”  So, the semester began with a reluctant concession to turn rotten wormy apples into apple sauce.  

But why?  Despite its subpar reputation, the principle behind the class is noble:  help students develop advanced writing skills tailored to a particular academic or professional community.   U.S. News & World Report even named it as one of the twenty-five “Programs that Work.” 

Still, students expect the worse and unless you can counter those expectations…well, that’s what they’ll get. In order for the class to be successful, the students need to buy into the value.  After all, the only way for them to develop “advanced writing skills” is to commit the time and energy to the craft of writing.  And that’s on them…not the teacher.

So, here’s a reminder of why writing matters for Political Science students:  

In 1729 the people of Philadelphia debated whether or not to increase the amount of paper money in the colony.   BenFranklin recounts the story in his autobiography:

“Our debates possessed me so fully of the subject that I wrote and printed an anonymous pamphlet on it, entitled “The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency.” It was well received by the common people in general, but the rich men disliked it, for it increased and strengthened the clamor for more money; and they happening to have no writers among them that were able to answer it, their opposition slackened and the point was carried by a majority in the House.  My friends there, who considered I had been of some service, thought fit to reward me by employing me in printing the money; a very profitable job and a great help to me.  This was another advantage gained by my being able to write.”

Over the last three centuries, there have been monumental changes in communication technology (obviously).  But there is one thing that hasn’t changed: The ability to write, to connect and to communicate effects change.  It matters for politics, it matters for business and it matters for life. 

I appreciate the value of the UMass writing requirements, but they might consider investing in some good PR.