by driftword

So what is the big deal about semester conversion anyway? Semesters, quarters, year-long programs…these are all just artifacts with no real inherent meaning at all. Isn’t it just another convenience? A pre-packaged collectable, consumable, ready-for-our-cost-consciousness consumption? What is this education system all about, really? And what are we asking our students to get from their educational experiences?

Funny that we never have enough time, even though people around us act as if we have all the time in the world. Wasting time is one of the greatest blunders in the history of the human race. The human race indeed. Racing to what, I ask? We hurry from one thing to the next all the while complaining that we can’t seem to connect in meaningful ways. The vast majority of people simply don’t spend their time wisely. We’re after that quick fix, the next sound bite, the fast-edit reply montage, the gain with no pain—the “hurry-up-with-that-instant-gratification, why-don’t-you?…I’ve-been-waiting-five-minutes-now” mindsets. It’s embarrassing. So few people seem to care.

The problem with time in academia seems just as profound. Our academic calendar dictates that we run the scheduled, pre-packaged programs in spite of the net effect. Too-much information packed into a too-small container offered to students who don’t have the experience to appreciate the gravity of the moment. Add to it no-penalty, unexcused absences—two minimum, courses served up with pre-formatted outlines and notes peppered with test-dropping options to counterbalance “poor performance” or “test anxiety.” Top all of this with unspeakable grade inflation to keep our “clients” happy. Tell me…how does this prepare our students for the real world?

Speaking of grades—too often we grade our students on a standard that often has little relevance to the 20th century, let alone relevance to the 21st century. Granted, some facts and figures are what they are—but our relationship to them has changed…and will continually change…over time. Yet we use these same “time-tested” approaches year after year. In case you haven’t noticed, we are not getting the same results as we did in the past. We are devolving—we are becoming increasingly disconnected to present times. And the future—forget about it! Evolution is not best observed in a test tube or in fossilized rock. Look around. It is happening right under our noses. Take a good look at our students. They are not like we are. They do not view time as we do. They simply cannot do it!

We are becoming more irrelevant and consequently losing more of our audience every year. We are failing to connect with this generation because we are their enemy. We think about time and spend time differently than our students. Consider this: What if we measured time in minutes and counted by sensation, and not by calendars as Benjamin Disraeli recommended. What if we measured time in the classroom in moments where each moment had the opportunity to expand into meaningful experience. As educators, we think we get it (the subject matter we teach in our classes) because we profess our wisdom as deep truth. But it is our truth—not their truth. Our “wisdom” was gained over the course of years, forged in the fire of trial and error, and is made evident to us from these deep experiences. But this experience takes time. Learning takes time. Seems to me that semester conversion can help us gain control over time…not by looking to extend our curriculum calendar but by measuring time through active, meaningful, classroom engagement and experiences. Why ARE we in such a hurry anyway? Catch my drift.

driftword is a pen name. This contributor chooses to remain anonymous.

Tags: academia, academic calendar, connections, experience, grades, Semester Conversion, time

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 12:59 pm and is filed under 21st Century Teaching & Learning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.